Explore the ‘uncomfortable’ side of the Ashmolean Museum. This tour highlights the contentious histories within museum spaces, bringing forward discussions about colonial origins, object transferal networks, and requests for repatriation. It encourages critical thinking and engagement with the Ashmolean Museum, its collections, and its displays. Delving into the intricate layers of history behind the exhibits, this tour will provide insight into the imperial connections that led to the development of the first public museum in England. Through the questioning of labels, displays, and exhibits, this tour asks participants: What is the purpose of a museum? All our tours are led by university researchers who have completed our official Uncomfortable Oxford training programme. Our guides combine expert knowledge and performance, ensuring each tour is a fun and educational experience. The tour has been developed in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum staff and curators.
Prices are per person when two book together; a solo traveller pays $175.
Larger groups pay less per person.
From the operator’s live schedule on Viator, checked Oct 3.
Take a full guided tour of the Ashmolean Museum with one of our Uncomfortable Oxford™ trained guides. Meet at the Statue Gallery, near the Main Entrance.
We begin our tour in the Ashmoelan Story Gallery, discussing the historical origins of the museum and the legacies of early colonial collecting practices.
In the Cask Gallery, we raise questions about the focus on Greek and Roman culture, enslavement practices, and esthetics in ancient sculpture.
In the Hellenistic World, discuss the ethics of excavations, display, and replicas.
Examine and discuss the display on colonialism and repatriation designed by the museum.
Finish the tour in the Egyptian Galleries, discussing mummies and human remains as display items.
Excurgo comparison of 262 Viator tours, recalculated daily.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Ashmolean Museum Tour - by Uncomfortable Oxford™ lasts about 1h 15min. The itinerary has 6 stops.
Prices start at $94 per person for this Oxford experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. That is the per-person price when two book together; a solo traveller pays $175. There is 1 booking option, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
According to the operator’s current schedule, it runs every day, starting at 1:00 PM, 1:30 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
The meeting point is Meet the guide in the Statue Gallery of theAshmolean Museum, just to your left when you enter. Guide will be wearing a blue vest and carrying a tote bag with the Uncomfortable Oxford Logo. Hotel pickup is not part of this experience.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 12 participants.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Wheelchair accessible Transportation options are wheelchair accessible All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Yes, bookings are confirmed instantly.
Travellers rate it 4.9 out of 5 across 9 verified reviews; it is run by Uncomfortable Oxford.
As someone who has lived in Oxford and a member of the Ashmolean and visited many times I found the tour give me a deeper understanding of the museum as did the related tour of the National History tour Alan Jenkins
Thank you so much for your kind comments and for supporting our work, Alan. We are delighted that you enjoyed the tours and were able to connect more deeply with the museums. We hope to see you again in the future on other themed tours.
This was an excellent tour. The tour guide had an open and friendly approach and provided interesting and relevant information. We had a stimulating discussion, which was most enjoyable.
Thank you so much! We're so glad the guide connected with you. Join us again soon!
An interesting and engaging tour with an excellent guide who sparked great conversation in our small group. I recommend to anyone who wants to understand more about how and why some of the exhibits made their way to the museum and the dilemmas facing modern curators.
Thank you so much Judy - join us again soon!
This is a really informative, and engaging, tour. It provides critical insights into the origins, curation, and mission of the museum. Our guide, Devika, did a great job of encouraging reflection and discussion. I would highly recommend it to all.
Thank you for taking the time to write a review; we are delighted that you found the tour and your guide, Devika, enagaging and informative. We hope to see you on another tour in the future.
I know the Ashmolean well, but the guide Jonathan really made it come to life and taught me many new things about the exhibits, the curation of the museum and its history. He was incredibly knowledgeable, but more than that, his love of the subject really came through. The tour was more like a conversation where all views were accepted and discussed. I recommend this tour very highly for anybody who wants to think about museums and the provenance of objects in a different way.
This was the third Uncomfortable Oxford tour I did and it certainly lived up to the other 2! I had been finding myself feeling more conflicted about museums but this tour brought up things I had not considered yet. The tours encourage discussion among participants and this really added to the experience as it was fascinating to see how different people responded to the items we looked at. The tour made me see how much labelling is dedicated to the money - the people who paid for various exhibits are often more prominently labelled than what the item is and where it is from! It was especially interesting to be discussing marble sculptures and casts given the conversation around the Parthenon Marbles was in the news that very week. I will definitely be visiting museums with an even more critical eye in the future. Thanks so much to Charlotte and Georgia for being such great tour guides.
The amazing knowledge of the tour guide...The beautiful way everything was presented. The ambience of the Museum.🌟🌟🌟
This was a very informative and interesting tour. I saw a museum I have been to many times in a completely new light. This is an interactive tour, where the participants were encouraged to discuss the questions raised by the guide, and I found this a really helpful way to engage with some of the more debated elements of the museum and its collection.
A fascinating and intellectually stimulating tour of the Ashmolean. We were a very small group -- just two of us aside from the guide, Anja (who did a great job on her first tour!) -- which allowed for plenty of participation, discussion and friendly debate. This makes you feel much more involved and engaged than you do on a typical tour. A really interesting experience that's made me keen to check out what else Uncomfortable Oxford has to offer.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashmolean Museum Tour - by Uncomfortable Oxford™ | 1h 15min | 4.9 (9) | $94 | |
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