Free things to do in Oxford

Free things to do in Oxford

1. See

   Ashmolean Museum

   Vast, impressive, and has undergone major redevelopment, the Ashmolean is Britain's oldest public museum, having been founded in 1683. The museum displays ancient art from Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome, a fine collection of Western art and artifacts and a sizeable Eastern Art collection. Highlights include the Amarna Princess Fresco and the Alfred Jewel. A restaurant and gift store also feature.

   Daily 10AM–5PM·Free

2. See

   Bate Collection of Musical Instruments

   Museum with a collection of 2000 instruments, run by the University of Oxford. The collection focuses on orchestral instruments.

   Mon-Fri 2-5PM·Free

3. See

   Modern Art Oxford

   An art gallery often showing temporary exhibitions of art and photography by renowned contemporary artists, which are accompanied by well designed talks and workshops. Excellent cafe with cheap and great quality eats.

   Free

4. See

   Museum of the History of Science

   This museum is in the Old Ashmolean building and houses an unrivalled collection of early scientific instruments. The Old Ashmolean building is the world's oldest surviving museum-purpose building. It is a department of Oxford University and a public museum. Its website offers an online database of their collection.

   Tue–Fri noon–5PM; Sat 10AM–5PM; Sun 2–5PM·Free

5. See

   Oxford University Museum of Natural History

   Houses the university's scientific collections of zoological, entomological, geological, palaeontological and mineralogical specimens, accumulated in the course of the last 3 centuries. The exhibits occupy a large central court with elegant Victorian cast-iron columns supporting the great glass roof, and surrounded on four sides by upper and lower arcades. They are devoted to the history and diversity of life on Earth and the rocks and minerals that form it. Highlights include the famous Oxford Dodo, the largest display of dinosaur remains outside London, a great collection of skeletons, and the nesting swifts in the museum's main tower.

   Daily 10AM–5PM except for Easter and Christmas·Free

6. See

   Oxford University Press Museum

   This small museum explains the history of the University of Oxford's involvement in printing and publishing from the 15th century to the present day. Among other things, the exhibitions show the OUP's buildings, printing equipment, the first publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and how the Oxford English Dictionary came to exist.

   The museum closed due to COVID-19·Free

7. See

   Pitt Rivers Museum

   Oxford's museum of anthropology and ethnology, still largely arranged in Victorian style, making this a rare museum experience. The Pitt Rivers requires time and effort but gives great satisfaction. The collection is displayed according to the types and functions of the objects, instead of periods or origins. The museum does a great job educating about its past role in reinforcing colonial power structures. Certain controversial items, such as the Shuar tsantsa ("shrunken heads"), remain in the museum's inventory but are no longer on display due to ethical concerns.

   Daily noon–4:30PM·Free

8. See

   The Shark House

   An ordinary terraced house in suburban Oxford, with a 25-foot shark buried face-first in the roof. Supposedly erected as an anti-war statement, this one-time controversial sculpture has become a much-loved public artwork and photo spot.

   24 hours daily, but exercise common sense and respect for the neighbours·Free

9. See

   Tolkien's House

   Fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien lived in this mansion from 1930 to 1947, and wrote The Hobbit here. For the uninitiated little more than an average house in a residential street, but a must see for Lord of the Rings fans.

   Appointments only·Free

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Oxford (CC BY-SA 4.0).