Oxford University and City Walking Tour with College Entry

Broad Street and the Sheldonian Theatre

The tour starts on Broad Street, one of the widest streets in central Oxford, by the gates of Trinity College. Lined with colleges, bookshops and the old Clarendon Building, it is the perfect first view of the city of dreaming spires. Your guide introduces the history of the town and the university, which has taught students since at least 1096.

Close by stands the Sheldonian Theatre, completed in 1669 as one of the first major buildings by a young professor of astronomy who later rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral in London. It is still used for university degree ceremonies, held partly in Latin, and for concerts. Look for the row of carved stone heads on the pillars outside, a favourite Oxford photo.

Bodleian Library, Divinity School and Radcliffe Camera

Behind the Sheldonian lies the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe, reopened in 1602. Its Old Schools Quadrangle is surrounded by doors painted with the names of the subjects once taught there. The tour includes a visit to the Divinity School, finished in 1488 as the oldest lecture and examination room in Oxford, with a stunning carved stone ceiling that has appeared in several films.

A few steps away, the Radcliffe Camera, completed in 1749, is Oxford's most iconic building and still a busy reading room where students revise for their final exams. Your guide explains how these buildings shaped university life, and Radcliffe Square is the best spot for photos of the domes and spires.

Inside a Historic Oxford College

Every tour goes inside one of Oxford's historic colleges, each with its own chapel, dining hall and quadrangles. Colleges visited regularly include New College, founded in 1379, with its cloisters and a long stretch of the medieval city wall in its gardens; Balliol, founded around 1263, with one of the university's most majestic dining halls; Trinity, founded in 1555, with its chapel and sweeping lawns; and University College, founded around 1249.

Which college you enter depends on the day, since colleges and the library can close at any time for exams, ceremonies or events; when this happens, the guide takes you to another college instead. Inside, you walk the quads, see the architecture up close and imagine centuries of student life.

Hertford College and the Bridge of Sighs

One of the most photographed sights on any Oxford colleges tour is the Bridge of Sighs, a graceful covered bridge completed in 1914 that links two parts of Hertford College across New College Lane. Hertford itself was refounded in 1874, though teaching on the site goes back to the 13th century.

Here your guide explains the collegiate and tutorial system, unique to Oxford and Cambridge: students belong to a college where they live, eat and study, and are taught in small weekly tutorials with a senior academic. You also hear about student traditions, formal dress for exams and the friendly rivalries between colleges, which bring the history of the university to life.

Planning Your Oxford Visit

How to get to Oxford from London? Direct trains from Paddington or Marylebone take about an hour, and coaches from central London about one and a half to two hours. The meeting point on Broad Street is about 15 minutes on foot from Oxford railway station, so it is easy to join the tour on a day trip.

The best time to visit Oxford is spring or early autumn, when the colleges are lively and the crowds are lighter. If you want to stay longer, you can also book the Dark Oxford evening option at 16:00, a twilight walk with entry to a famous haunted college, or a private tour for your own group at a time you choose.