See inside Oxford University, Harry Potter film site and the Bodleian Library on this authentic 2-hour Oxford student led tour. The tour gives you an insight into student life in this prestigious university and offers you in-depth history of many of the famous colleges and sights such All Souls College, Trinity College, Oriel College, Hertford College, Merton College, Radcliffe Camera, University Church of St Mary and many more.
This 2-hour Oxford University walking tour, starting in central Oxford at 2pm (departures at 11am and 2pm on weekends), is designed to show you the world behind the doors. Using Oxford University students as your guide, the walking tour unearths the drama behind this historic institution with a unique style.
Small intimate groups enable the guides to concentrate on more diverse aspects of University life and you to ask more from them.
Go inside one of oldest College of the University, as well as the Bodleian Library, experience a taste student life. Get an in-depth history of the University colleges, including All Souls College, Trinity College, Oriel College, Hertford College, Merton College, Radcliffe Camera, University Church of St Mary and many more University sights.
Also get an equally in-depth history of the town. Learn about ceremonies at Oxford, famous graduates, and their little known experiences at Oxford, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and also the famous "finishing story" which details how the most powerful Archbishop of Canterbury England has ever seen, came to be burnt at the stake in Oxford!
Enjoyable tour with knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide - lots of incredible history. Note, that the tour guide is reliant on tips from the attendees - so please be prepared to pay the guide.
Review by: ana.sofia.nfmanso, January 2018
Very interesting experience. Our guide was very good.
Review by: Ana Sofia R, December 2017
Very informative!
Review by: Caroline S, November 2017
Fantastic tour with wonderfully interesting and informed guide.
Review by: Clare C, November 2017
A well organised walk . Chloe gave a fascinating talk and had a great knowledge of the history of the colleges. As the group was small she was able to answer all questions in depth. A fantastic introduction to Oxford.
Review by: birgitte0bak, October 2017
We did not go, as we were captured by another tourleader. We were at the right meeting spot, but you but your travel guide was not. So we vasted our money
Review by: Silky W, October 2017
The tour guides showed us the gems that I would not notice a typical oxford tour., and showed his passion in leading a great tour as well. They were polite and welcoming. If you loves learning about the local cultures and a book lover, you must go to this tour.
Review by: OntheRoad, October 2017
This tour was the highlight of our first trip to Oxford. Our guide, Tom, is a student at Oxford and shared a wide range of stories, anecdotes and history about the city, the university and its many colleges. We were able to enter several of the colleges to walk through courtyards and see some selected building interiors. We were also able to learn the background of so many of the buildings and historical figures of Oxford. Tom was knowledgeable and entertaining he provided tips about seeing different colleges and reveled in helping us to get a sense of the glorious, although sometimes violent, sometimes silly aspects of the university and the city over the centuries. We covered a lot of ground...sometimes very quickly. We'd pause briefly for photographs to be taken, but there was so much to take in. Like us, you may find that you'll need to allow time to retrace your steps to take more photographs. This is a tour we'd do again in a heartbeat. And will, on our next visit to Oxford!
Review by: Brian W, October 2017
This tour was extremely informative. Not only did we learn heaps of interesting things about life in Oxford as a student and how the whole structure of colleges work, we also saw fabulous manuscripts, some amazing buildings and went inside areas of New College that members of the public do not necessarily see. Our guide Spencer was excellent. We also now know why Oxford survived World War 2 unscathed.
Review by: Ken B, September 2017
Our tour guide Fred was excellent. Knowledge and cantor were beyond reproach. The pace of the tour was very good and too fast or slow. Time was allowed for questions from the participants. We very much enjoyed our experience and will gladly recommend it to others.
Review by: james l, September 2017
Our student led tour of Oxford couldn't have been better. We had a wonderful tour guide named Alicia who was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. She knew so much about the history of the University and the town itself. Alicia answered all of our questions, even when we asked about people, places, and the architecture that may not have been part of the standard tour. She never rushed us through nor did she imply by her demeanor that she was on a set schedule. She even pointed us to the pub where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis spent much time. As we had spent the earlier part of the day wandering on our own, having a professional guide made the experience so much better. Without Alicia the experience could have been overwhelming and we would have missed a great deal. Thank you, Alicia, and best of luck as you continue your studies._br/_ Diane and James
Review by: james l, September 2017
Our student led tour of Oxford couldn't have been better. We had a wonderful tour guide named Alicia who was incredibly knowledgeable and engaging. She knew so much about the history of the University and the town itself. Alicia answered all of our questions, even when we asked about people, places, and the architecture that may not have been part of the standard tour. She never rushed us through nor did she imply by her demeanor that she was on a set schedule. She even pointed us to the pub where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis spent much time. As we had spent the earlier part of the day wandering on our own, having a professional guide made the experience so much better. Without Alicia the experience could have been overwhelming and we would have missed a great deal. Thank you, Alicia, and best of luck as you continue your studies._br/_ Diane and James
Review by: Erika A, September 2017
The walking tour led by Steve was excellent for hearing about many of the colleges and their history. We had only a day and a half to spend in Oxford so this was a must do for us and well worth it. We were about to enter a couple of the colleges but not the Bodelian sp Library because of restrictions on that day. The stories about people and the sites were most interesting.
Review by: Andrew M, September 2017
Jamie was an excellent local tour guide and provided a wealth of information about Oxford and it's history, colleges and local attractions. We were lucky to have him as he is an actor and starts a run of performances in London this week. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. Great walking tour!
Review by: SHAMPA S, September 2017
I loved Oxford and the places we visited. But the guide Achmet was not ready to share details about the literary giants who studied here, in spite of repeated requests.He kept repeating Harry Potter scenes, which I felt did not do justice to this great institution, which has seen so many great footfalls. I did not like his attitude. It was veiled but present because I definitely sensed it. I wish now that I had chosen the other guides, who were far more open.
Review by: Stephen A, September 2017
The tour was extremely enjoyable . Our guide was a student from one of the universities and she was very knowledgeable on the history of Oxford . We saw some amazing buildings and we were kept informed at all times about the history of one. I would highly recommend this trip
Review by: Jessica B, September 2017
My mother and I really enjoyed this walking tour. I'm rubbish at remembering names but I think our guide may have been called Tom. He was very knowledgeable and funny, peppering the talk with amusing jokes and anecdotes. Every site we visited was stunningly beautiful. Our guide was obviously very passionate about the area and the university and he was very helpful he even stayed behind after the official end time to chat to people about what else there was to do in Oxford and to provide insider tips about where else to visit. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Oxford.
Review by: Sally T, August 2017
Really informative and interesting tour. Highly recommend.
Review by: Jay F, August 2017
Our guide, Cosmo, did a fantastic job. He was very knowledgeable about both the university and the town and he kept us captivated for the entire tour.
Review by: Urja J, August 2017
Ahmed who was our guide was excellent. Since he was a ex Oxford student he knew A lot of inside stories of Oxford.
Review by: Kathleen C, August 2017
Cosmo was an excellent tour guide who described the life of a Oxford University student, the Oxford application process, the delineation of the many colleges, and tons of history. The tour went into Trinity College courtyard and chapel entrance fee included, the Treasures exhibit in the Weston Library of the Bodleian, under the Bridge of Sighs - Oxford, and Divinity School entrance fee included. While the tour was interesting, it didn't meet what it was touted as a Harry Potter tour. The only location we saw was the infirmary in the Divinity School. The rest were either concepts based on locations around Oxford or filmed in other areas of Oxford not included in the tour. This should not be listed as a Harry Potter site tour with only one site included. One is lead to believe that so much more is included when it is not. Excessive amount paid for this tour when we should have just gone on the free tour and then added on the Harry Potter locations ourselves since they were extra and not included anyways.
Review by: Alex K, August 2017
Excellent guide, very interesting tour!
Review by: S O, August 2017
Very interactive guide Fergal, informative with relevant anecdotes plus given sufficient time to explore the buildings/landmarks! Truly, an enjoyable afternoon in Oxford.
Review by: Louise P, August 2017
We had a super and informative tour with the charming young man Cosmo last week. It was excellent to hear the history of this great city and university, along with present views from Cosmo who is currently studying there. We wouldnt have changed a thing, well worth doing, especially if you havent ever been to the city before. All managed at the perfect pace for all ages and good timings. _br/_ Would highly recommend.
Review by: Paul S, August 2017
Made the tour with Aiden in a small group of people from different countries. Interesting visit, very interesting with lots of information with a humoristic note. An excellent experience.
Review by: Meg B, August 2017
This was really good. Just the right amount of information. I had a Belgian student with me and everything was explained clearly. The group wasn't too big and we could easily hear everything the guide had to say.
Review by: Katrin S, August 2017
The tour was very good. The guide informative and fun. Good value for money.
Review by: meredith g, August 2017
Interesting tour with personal insights regarding student life at Oxford.
Review by: Marc G, August 2017
Très bon tour complet durée environ 2 heures explications uniquement en anglais mais commentaires très bons
Review by: André K, July 2017
This 2-hour walking tour was as expected and as described. We got told very interesting facts and funny stories, too. Visit of famous University and other architectural highlights of Oxford.
Review by: Yanyun W, July 2017
Love the tour guide. Learn a great deal about University of Oxford
Review by: Leon de Wit, July 2017
Tour covered as much as you can reasonably expect to cover in only two hours. Interesting insights into student life. Guide seemed to have better things to do than be on the tour. I don't think a guide should give the impression he's really just a little too good for the people he's guiding.
Review by: Malcolm K, June 2017
Very good and informative way to start to get to know Oxford, by visiting some of the College sites. Our guide Will was very engaging and personable.
Review by: Margaret H, April 2017
Great tour by Sam. It was great to see inside the Colleges and Sam being a University student had great stories and information to share. Very worthwhile.
Review by: Margaret O, April 2017
I booked this because Footprints use either present or past Oxford students as tourist guides. Our guide was Romanian born, with a very attractive accent, and a great sense of humour. His 'insider' knowledge made our two hours fly past. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience, and, assuming all Footprint guides are as informative and entertaining as ours, would highly recommend this tour to other visitors to Oxford.
Review by: Juliet D, April 2017
Was better than I expected. The guide made it absolutely fascinating and a lot of fun. He kept us in suspense about the answer to who was killed at the martyrs cross on Broad Street until the end of the tour and when he took a photo of the group for Facebook which I can't find he got us to jump in the air under the so called Bridge of Sighs which I now understand is really the Realto bridge whilst Cambridge it pains him to have to mention the name of their enemy has the bridge of Sighs. I feel like I really know Oxford after just 2 hour tour.
Review by: Rosemary J, April 2017
We had Lucy, and really enjoyed all of her inside information about the University and the colleges. She gave us an excellent tour and was very enthusiastic.
Review by: Cristina G, February 2017
Excellent experience. Our guide in Oxford was a graduated student from Oxford University. The visit was exactly has we would like it to be. Culture, History, Legends. fOR 2 HOURS We went to the main Collegues in Oxford. All information was accured and detailed. The guide told us in detail about each place we visited. British History was also an important frame to include in our agenda and our guide was very well prepared to answer to all our questions. We were very pleased with our visit.
Review by: Cristina G, February 2017
Excellent experience. Our guide in Oxford was a graduated student from Oxford University. The visit was exactly has we would like it to be. Culture, History, Legends. fOR 2 HOURS We went to the main Collegues in Oxford. All information was accured and detailed. The guide told us in detail about each place we visited. British History was also an important frame to include in our agenda and our guide was very well prepared to answer to all our questions. We were very pleased with our visit.
Review by: Janet A, January 2017
This tour is a good introduction to Oxford university. Our tour guide was a very charming and knowledgeable post grad student who took us through several colleges and into the Bodleian library. The only downside was that two hours was hardly enough time and there seemed so much more to find out and see.
Review by: Liz T, January 2017
Excellent tour by Michael - very knowledgable
Review by: Chris B, January 2017
Guide, Jacob, was excellent. Very knowledgeable and informative. Glad we were in a smaller party of 13. Walking was very comfortable, went into the Bodleian, Wadham College, University church...and the impressive Divinity school. Definitely value for money and essential to get the background to the University.
Review by: Ian K, January 2017
Sadly, the weather was really against us but Lucy our tour guide was full of historical knowledge and made the whole experience an informative one. In the end the cold weather beat us and we had to cut our experience short but would certainly recommend this tour to others..
Review by: Henry S, January 2017
The guide was extremely knowledgeable and smart. He was also humorous at the right level. My husband and I were thrilled with his job. Good luck on your PhD program! Thank you very much!
Review by: Stanislau H, December 2016
Very good tour, worth going.
Review by: Paul M, November 2016
Well worth going
Review by: SM N, November 2016
Touch and go at best.
Review by: Darren B, November 2016
Very inexpensive tour, but highly interesting! Beautiful buildings - true gems hidden just yards from the hustle and bustle of Oxford City Centre. Beth, tour guide was fantastic - a fount of local history knowledge: NI Chap, St Albans
Review by: Gabriella C, October 2016
This was quite a good tour with interesting stories, despite the bad weather we had that day!
Review by: David K, October 2016
Informative up beat tour, learned alot. My only complaint is after paying for the tour he said it was a free tour so tips were appreciated?
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