1.5-hour Oxford City and University Walking Tour
Description
Short on time but want to make the most of your visit to Oxford? Our City and University Tour is the perfect 90-minute introduction to the iconic city and its world-famous university. Designed for first-time visitors or those wanting a good overview of the history and main sights, this guided walking tour covers all the key central landmarks, stories, and highlights that make Oxford so unique. Led by an expert local guide, the tour takes you through Oxford’s historic heart — from the grandeur of the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre to the iconic Radcliffe Camera and picturesque college quadrangles. Along the way, you'll learn about the University of Oxford's rich history, traditions, and quirky customs, as well as the city’s role in everything from royal intrigue to scientific discovery.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour will begin at the blue gates of Trinity College and take you into some of the oldest colleges, usually including New College, which was founded in 1379 and made an appearance in the Harry Potter films.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Up to a mile (1½km) of walking is involved in total
- Dress suitably for the weather
- Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
- Wheelchair accessibility: some parts of the tour may involve stairs where, due to the age of the buildings, there is no wheelchair access. There are also some uneven surfaces and curbs. If assistance is required, passenger must provide their own carer
Reviews(1,472)
Our guide was not only knowledgeable and full of interesting facts and details, he offered the interesting perspective of a current student. He was respectful and willing to answer philosophical questions about the pros and cons of the different colleges. We would take a tour with him again,
We had amazing tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and animated. He provided the history of Oxford but also gave fun facts about current day books and movies that take place in Oxford Because we were a small group we go up to go places others did not.
An excellent tour with a great overview of the Oxford College and Tutorial system. Our guide Jeremy was informative and able to answer all our questions. He shared a number of anecdotes as well as numerous stories and topical details on various television and film locations. Highly recommended.
It was a great experience! Our tour guide Lunan was very informative and showed us around the University explaining great histories and oxford traditions. Our family had great time.
I would like a refund. This tour felt like a scam. We were at the meeting point at the appointed time; we have gps so we know we were in the right spot. There was only one guide there at the appropriate time and 5+ minutes afterwards, so it was “your” guy. It was so sophomoric. I spent 75$ more or less for a tour guide who barely introduced himself and then started a tour without providing an overview, and instead treated like a prospective student tour. When it was clear we were underwhelmed (who cares what the student menus are?) he tried to pivot to history, but it was discombobulated and the painfully obvious - again with no frame. It was as though we were experiencing an AI generated tour. We left, and later caught the end of a professional tour - a world of difference. I would like to be reimbursed because we feel completely taken. How could this have popped up to the top of a Trip Advisor list? I look forward to a human reply.
Our guide was very knowledgeable, personable, and entertaining, and gave us various options to customize the tour to our liking. Unlike some other guides we had during our trip to England, she spoke very clearly so we had no trouble hearing her. She also gave us a good suggestion to do walking tours of Oxford at different times of day, to maximize the variety of things that are available to see, and we plan to do that if we visit Oxford again.
We got what we expected and hoped for. The guide spoke clearly and the information was interesting
Sophie took us on a very interesting walk around the colleges and places of interest with a very easy going pace and some amazing information! Having lived 10 miles from Oxford my whole life I’ve waited until retirement to actually do a tour and find out some amazing facts and places to see. I’d highly recommend this to anyone, it was good value, informative, fun and so interesting! Thank you Sophie!
Jason Thomas was a fabulous guide. Very engaging, informative and a thoroughly nice chap. I think he must be ‘one of the best’. Interested to hear what we had to say as well as imparting facts & stories to us. He never came across as ‘scripted’ or distracted - a wonderful 1.5 hours, wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this particular tour and especially Jason 🙂
Fun and informative tour of Oxford, focusing on the University and its history. Our guide, Tom was very knowledgeable and expanded on the history with several interesting anecdotes and sights along the way. The meeting point is just given as an address, but it is across the street in front of the big blue gate to Trinity College. This should be better explained in the details. Overall a well spent couple of hours.
