Oxford

Oxford trip ideas

Oxford City and University Walking Small Group PUBLIC Tour

Badge of ExcellenceOxford, England

Oxford City and University Walking Tour including College Visits

1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

If you’re interested in Oxford’s rich history, look no further than this walking tour for a comprehensive overview of the historic city. In a small group limited to 15, visit Bodleian Library—home to 'Harry Potter' filming locations—and one other college, and learn about Oxford University alumni such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Plus, receive an ILoveOxford map showing all of the main sites.

Guided walking tour of Oxford city center and Oxford University colleges
An education tour ideal for history buffs
Recognize locations used to film the 'Harry Potter' films
Visit Bodleian Library and one other college (depending on the day)
Small-group tour limited to 15 people

What's Included

Your guide will give you a complementary ILoveOxford map, showing you of all the main sights.
PLEASE SEE EXCLUSIONS SECTION FOR DETAILS OF ANY CLOSURES TO VENUES.
The tour typically visits inside either Balliol or Exeter or St Johns college

Tour does NOT visit Bodleian, Christ church, Magdalen or New colleges ( which cost £8-£18)
Christmas notice: colleges are usually all closed from approx Dec 21 to Jan 2nd
On graduation dates, we may not always be able to enter a college so see graduation dates below:
2024 Graduation dates includes....
January 20, Feb 24, March 2, May 11, May 18 of 2024

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

15-16 Broad St, Oxford OX1 3AS, UK
Meet your guide wearing red iloveoxford lanyard by our red sign, OUTSIDE Oxford Tourist Info centre, 15 Broad street, OX1 3AS.

Start time

12:45 PM

End point

Bridge of Sighs
New College Ln, Oxford OX1 3BL, UK
The tour either ends outside New college or next door outside the Bodleian library.

What To Expect

Wadham College (Pass By)

Exeter College

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Balliol College (Pass By)

Bodleian Library

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Bridge of Sighs (Pass By)

Radcliffe Camera (Pass By)

University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Radcliffe Camera (Pass By)

All Souls College

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Brasenose College (Pass By)

Hertford College (Pass By)

Jesus College

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

St John's College

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 day of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
We cannot always guarantee entry inside any colleges during Covid19 and on graduation dates or Xmas period from approx. Dec 22nd to Jan 2nd
Wheelchair accessible
Please take note of any advertised university graduation dates mentioned below, as those dates can have less options of colleges to visit.
Graduation dates- please see 'EXCLUSIONS' section.
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

96 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 96 reviews

Great way to get to know a lot about Oxford in a short time

Kim_S, Oct 2023

Delightful tour! Really enjoyed it and I think we got the 'extended version'! Pay attention to meet up information as there are a lot of tours beginning in the same area and we were originally in the wrong spot!

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Thanks, KIm!

brings Oxford's rich history to life

lauragoff, Jul 2023

Our guide Jacob was lovely and informative. Great tour with ability to customize to interests of the group.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thanks for recommending the tour. Sincerely, Alasdair

Our guide was terrific

Laura_T, Jan 2023

Our guide Murray was fantastic! He was knowledgeable, flexible, and fun. Very grateful for him and the view of Oxford he provided. Thank you!

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Thanks

Not to be missed

Bruno_P, Jul 2022

De tour was excellent en Johannes Made it more special. Thanks City is really interesting and we discovered really interesting places.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Hi Bruno, Thanks for recommending your university tour with Johannes. Sincerely, Alasdair

Oxford brought to life

Denise_E, Jun 2022

Peter was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Oxford, which came through right from the start. He gave us plenty information in an entertaining way accompanied by lots of anecdotes and amusing asides about all aspects of the city now and in the past. We very much enjoyed being introduced to Oxford and learning of its history, the university, its beautiful buildings and the writers who have been inspired by it. We would recommend this tour very highly and perhaps hope to do another one with Peter when the opportunity presents itself.

Response from Host, Jun 2022

Hi Denise, Thanks for recommending your tour with Peter. Sincerely, Alasdair

Informative and entertaining tour.

margaretmanchester, Feb 2022

In addition to learning more about the history of Oxford and its environs, we especially liked the description of Oxford’s influences on writers, poets, and artists, such as Tolkien, Carroll, and Rowling. Peter was very personable and provided us with little chocolate treats. Lots of connections to films, which we personally found very interesting. Because we had expressed on interest in the Harry Potter films, he also brought a hat and wand. He also took lots of photos of the two of us before some of the sites.

Response from Host, Feb 2022

Hi Margaret, Thanks for the recommendation.

A joy... money well spent

Sarah_B, Sep 2021

An excellent guide, Peter who was very engaging and enthusiastic. He imparted an mass of information entertainingly and tailoring it to our interests. He could obviously pitch the tour just as easily to children as well. We enjoyed his company. It was a joy being introduced to Oxford which we know well through new eyes, seeing it from new breathtaking angles and learning something of its evolution and history. It was altogether a wonderful birthday treat and money very well spent....something we will recommend very highly and perhaps hope to repeat when more of the colleges are open! Peter was also very helpful making sure we found our right bus to get home...

Response from Host, Sep 2021

Hi Sarah, Thanks for leaving such a super review and yes, Peter does go the extra mile, as you mentioned.

Walking tour of Oxford University & Oxford city

Alison_H, Sep 2021

The guide was very knowledgeable, the pace of delivery was good. Would definitely recommend. Tour was interesting, lots of interesting stories.

Response from Host, Sep 2021

Hi David, Thanks for recommending your university tour with me, Sincerely Alasdair

Great tour

alan_h, Aug 2021

Brilliant tour, would highly recommend. Peter is extremely knowledgeable. Knows his subject. Well worth booking on this tour

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Hi Alan, Thanks for the recommendation.

Excellent tour

James_D, Jul 2021

Excellent tour about both the city and the university, including a look into one of the colleges. Highly recommended

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Thanks for the recommendation.

Excellent

Patricia, Jun 2021

Had a great walk very enjoyable and informative .Alisdair had lots of tales to tell. Would recommend

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Thanks for the recommendation.

Good!

Rebeca_G, May 2021

Alasdair was our guide. He was on time and he was pretty nice and made it something fun! Recommended :)

Response from Host, May 2021

Hi Rebecca. Thanks for recommending your tour.

Excellent tour

Beatriz_R, May 2021

The tour showed the main historical buildings and history points of Oxford. We felt the tour guide, Laura, was really friendly and explained everything with detail. We highly recommend the tour if you want to find out more about the history of Oxford. Thank you Laura for showing us this historical city!

Response from Host, Aug 2021

Thank you!

Well worth it

Tanya_J, Oct 2020

Attended the oxford university tour yesterday. Our guide was Alasdair. He was knowledgable and a good guide. Nice and informal group of 6. Able to socially distance without any issues. Well worth it even though university colleges closed at the moment. Tanya and Alister

Response from Host, Feb 2021

Hi Tanya, Thanks for sharing your review. Sorry that somehow I didn't see it sooner to reply! We are hoping that lockdowns might end in March so we can start up tours again.

Highlighting Oxford

Helen_L, Oct 2020

In appalling weather my wife and I had a personal guided tour as we were the only ones booked on the trip. A fascinating and informative walk and talk through the history of Oxford. Its origins, colleges bye ways and college laws, the characters past and present. Brigit kept a fast pace to get all the sites and places in the two hours but she was informative and enthusiastic about her subject. and ready to answer questions. Could not have have wished for a more interesting tour or informative guide. She obviously loves Oxford. The highlight, standing on the martyrs cross.

Response from Host, Oct 2020

Hi Helen, Thanks for recommending your tour experience with Birgit on Sunday...and indeed for braving the weather! That was actually only Birgit's second time to guide a tour, so this is most appreciated and encouraging feedback to share. Sincerely, Alasdair

Peter The Oxford Tour Master

Baljinder_Rathour, Sep 2020

It was amazing day out with Peter. He took us around while sharing his in depth knowledge and introducing with every brick of Oxford history in a funny way. His extended help in moving around is also appreciated. He is a Tour Master .... All Stars....

Great tour with fun insights and stories

Maike_L, Aug 2020

We did a tour with Peter and it was AMAZING!! He was extraordinarily knowledgeable (I’m sure he could easily have talked for several more hours without ever repeating himself). He also had so many fun and interesting facts and stories to tell about the various landmarks and objects he pointed out to us. In summary: a brilliant tour, would recommend to everybody! Went with my two teenagers who loved it as much as I did.

Response from Host, Sep 2020

Hi Maike, Thanks for leaving such a super review here for your Oxford tour with us, as led by Peter, who is himself half Ravenclaw and half Oxford university alumni! Sincerely,

University outside building tour

Elaine_S, Aug 2020

Hamish very informative however was expecting as sold on internet to have access to at least one college long time at end just killing time for no reason as access was not available therefore felt not value for money

Response from Host, Sep 2020

Hi Elaine, Thanks for choosing our tour and I am sorry that you found it disappointing. That said, I did immediately email you after your tour and I mentioned that although colleges have been closed since March, we can and will offer you the opportunity to enter a college or to join a whole new tour with us, whenever the colleges may re open. In addition, I want to point out for the benefit of anyone reading this review and my reply that you booked our city & university tour on viator- where it does clearly state the following about closures which have been ongoing since March: A) What makes this tour unique (main description) section: COVID19 NOTICE: B) Then in the section which states Inclusions & Exclusions, we did reiterate the fact that colleges have been closed. This text has since however been changed to reflect the fact that as of Sep 1st, the Divinity school has re opened and thus all our tours are going inside the Divinity school (but still no colleges accessible). C) Near bottom of the website page, there is also a section called Information Travellers Need From You, which states again for third time that: If you have any other constructive criticism of the quality of the tour or of your guide, I apologise for that but your complaint mainly seems to be a frustration that you could not enter inside any colleges and as this fact was communicated three times over in our advertising, that's not something which you should have missed realising when you booked the tour. I do try to update the tour descriptions to be as accurate as possible, as and when any circumstances may change. As such, on Aug 30th, I spent several hours updating all our tours across all platforms such as viator to inform clients of the fact that tours can now as of Sep 1st, enter the Divinity school. On a final note, both myself in communications with all clients and the guides themselves have been trained to inform all our clients since lockdown ended for us on June 15th that although colleges are closed right now to guided tours, we can and we will happily let all our clients rejoin the start of a tour or another whole tour at no charge at all, whenever we get passed this period and when the colleges start re opening again. It's hard to say when this might be but unlikely to be until 2021. In the meantime, our tours are still introducing many of the beautiful colleges but from the outside. Sincerely, Alasdair

University Tour

Chrystelle_A, Aug 2020

We had a lovely tour with Laura. The pace was perfect as well as the amount of information. It was enough to keep us interested (including a 14 year-old; thank you for the references to Harry Potter!) and to trigger our curiosity. We went straight to Blackwell to purchase a book about the University (Oxford Scene by Chris Andrews) which complemented very nicely the information provided by Laura.

Response from Host, Aug 2020

Hi Chris, Thanks for leaving such a super recommendation of your tour with us, as led by Laura. Sincerely, Alasdair

Magdelen College is a must!

Bhawana_R, Aug 2020

Peter was highly insightful and accommodating. Hope to come back again and visit some of the sites we missed due to gov guidelines around social distancing.

Response from Host, Aug 2020

Thanks for sharing your review