Oxford

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

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

Bodleian Library

The main research library of the University of Oxford, the Bodleian is one of the oldest libraries in Europe (opened in 1602, based on the collection of Thomas Bodley), and in the UK is second in size only to London's British Library. The Bodleian now possesses numerous branches throughout the university; visiting bibliophiles will be most keen to peruse the central site, which includes Duke Humfrey's Library above the Divinity School, the Old Schools Quadrangle with its Great Gate and Tower, the Radcliffe Camera, Britain’s first circular library, and the Clarendon Building.

Christ Church

The college of Brideshead Revisited fame, Christ Church is an Early Modern period college founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey as "Cardinal College". Noted for associations with Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) and was a location for the filming of the first Harry Potter film. Although not used for the actual filming, its Great Hall served as the inspiration for the design of the Great Hall of Hogwarts set in the Harry Potter film series. The Christ Church Meadows south of the college is a beautiful green space offering nice views of the spires and quiet corners to relax.

Adults £16-19; seniors, children and students £15-18

Christ Church Picture Gallery

Houses an internationally renowned collection of Old Master paintings and drawings – some 300 paintings and almost 2000 drawings. The paintings include works by Carracci, Tintoretto, Filippino Lippi, Van Dyck and Frans Hals. Christ Church’s collection of Old Masters drawings is one of the most important in the country and includes work by major artists such as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Durer and Rubens. For reasons of space and conservation, it is not possible to show the entire collection but a selection of drawings is always on view.

£3/£2

Godstow Abbey

Godstow Nunnery

A nunnery dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and eventually abandoned during the English Civil War. A beautiful place to explore, as it is completely open and able to be wandered through. It was the final resting place of a mistress of Henry II.

Hertford Bridge

Bridge of Sighs

A quaint pedestrian bridge for the students of Hertford College which has popularly become known as the "Bridge of Sighs" of Oxford.

Magdalen College

Founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, Magdalen (pronounced Mawdlin) is frequently the first college seen by many visitors if coming into Oxford on the London Road, its high tower serving as a much-loved landmark. A must-see is the glorious deer park and the Gothic chapel. Significant Magdalen alumni include C.S. Lewis, Oscar Wilde, Seamus Heaney and Edward Gibbon. Visitor gift shop and afternoon café. Maximum 20 people in a group.

1 October–21 June 1–6PM or dusk (whichever is earlier), 25 Jun–30 Sep noon–6PM, closed 22–24 June·Adults £5; seniors, children, students £4

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

Museum of Oxford

The museum tells the tale of the growth of the city and university.

Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM

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

Oxford Castle

Oxford Castle was built shortly after the Norman Conquest. The castle later became a functioning prison until the late 20th century. Today, guided tours take visitors through cells, the Saxon St George’s Tower, and up to the motte for sweeping views over Oxford.

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

Oxford University Parks

Large expanse of park along the Cherwell River with paths running from Marston to the City Centre.

Closing times vary according to the season

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

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

Radcliffe Camera

Built 1737–49, this is a library and reading room for Oxford students and so is not generally accessible. The grand exterior, however, is well worth viewing.

Sheldonian Theatre

This unusual building was Sir Christopher Wren's first major architectural commission. At the time he was a professor of Astronomy at the university. There is a series of busts outside the theatre facing Broad St with strange expressions and facial hair.

Taylorian Institute

also known as the Taylor Institution

The university's centre for the study of modern European languages and literature, established in 1845. Its library contains the largest specialist collection in its field in Britain. It is in a neo-classical building designed by Charles R. Cockerell and erected between 1841 and 1844 by the university to house the institution and the Randolph Galleries (now the Ashmolean Museum).

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

The Story Museum

Family-oriented museum about the power of story-telling and fiction.

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

University Church of St Mary the Virgin

Some of the best views of Oxford are afforded from the tower of the church, dating to 1280. The church, rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries (with various additions after this time), is full of architectural and historical interest. The church has a coffee shop, the Vaults and Garden, now re-opened under the management of Will Pouget (already known for his 'Alpha Bar' in the Covered Market) and specialising in organic food and fair trade tea and coffee.

University of Oxford Botanic Garden

The oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world.

Nov–Feb: daily 9AM–4PM; Mar Apr Sep Oct: 9AM–5PM; May–Aug: 9AM–6PM; last admission 45 minutes before closing·£4.50 for adults, £3 concessions during peak season, free during weekdays out of season