Tour FAQs

Tour FAQs

Visiting the libraries

The Bodleian Library is made up of several buildings, and three libraries:

  • the Old Library (includes Duke Humfrey's Library)
  • the Radcliffe Camera
  • the Weston Library

Our library guided tours can take you inside the Old Library and the Radcliffe Camera, as well as the Divinity School, Convocation House and Chancellor's Court.

Find out more about the history of the Bodleian Library, or discover our spaces. 

Yes – the only way to go inside the Radcliffe Camera is by joining a Bodleian Libraries tour.

Throughout the year, our 90-minute guided library tour includes a tour inside the Radcliffe Camera:

  • For 90-minute tours on Saturdays at 10.15 and Sundays at 11.15, tickets go on sale exactly 1 month in advance, with more tickets available to buy in person on the day.
  • For 90-minute tours on Saturdays at 14.15 and Sundays at 13.15, tickets are only available to buy on the day from the Weston Library ticket desk. 

Please note: upcoming closures may affect our tour schedule. Our 90-minute library tour is extremely popular, and tickets sell out very quickly.

We also offer special Radcliffe Camera tours (available seasonally), including our After Hours Tour and Radcliffe Camera & City of Oxford Walking Tour. 

The Old Library and Radcliffe Camera are working libraries. You must join a library guided tour to go inside these spaces. 

The ground floor of the Weston Library is free to enter and you don’t need a ticket.

All tours are delivered in English.

We do have written translations available in different languages – please speak with a member of the Tours team before starting your tour to request a translation.

The content of our tours is not suitable for children aged 10 and under. In addition, the Bodleian Library is a working library used by Oxford University staff and students, and noise must be kept to a minimum.

All tour attendees must buy a tour ticket, including University and Bodleian Reader card holders. 

Press and media visits must be arranged in advance with the Press Office. 

Please note: due to capacity limits, we are only able to offer a very limited number of complimentary press/media tours. We regret that we must decline the majority of requests.

Tickets & booking

In person

Most tour tickets are only available to buy in person on the day at the ticket desk in the Weston Library. During peak periods (such as weekends and during July and August), tickets sell out within an hour of opening, so we advise arriving early. 

If the tour you'd like to join is sold out online, tickets may be available to buy in person on the day. 

Online

About 20 percent of our tour tickets go on sale online exactly one month in advance. For example, if a tour takes place on 5 June at 10am, tickets go on sale on 5 May at 10am.

From September — June, additional tickets for tours Monday — Friday are also released online on the day of the tour. 

Some special tours are only available to book online in advance. This will be indicated on the tour page. 

When planning your visit, check for any upcoming closures that may affect tours.

We’re unable to take payment over the phone. You must book tickets through our website or in person. 

We're unable to reserve tickets due to the large number of on-site visitors we receive each day. 

Due to extremely high demand, tours tickets often sell out online. However, you can always purchase tickets on the day by visiting the information desk at the Weston Library. We recommend arriving within an hour of opening to avoid disappointment.

Many of our tours are run by volunteers and we're unable to reliably predict how many tours will run each day in advance, so you may find tours on sale at the information desk which weren't advertised online. 

As one of the oldest parts of the University of Oxford, many of our spaces are used for important ceremonies such as graduation or Encaenia. We also host smaller internal events, private external events (such as weddings) and filming. During these times, we are unable to offer tours. 

The Bodleian Library is first and foremost a world-class working library. In order to avoid disturbing our readers, and to provide the best possible visitor experience, our tour groups are intimately sized.

Furthermore, many of our buildings are hundreds of years old and designed for much more restricted usage, and therefore access has to be limited for conservation reasons.

Tour tickets are non-refundable.

If you’re unable to join your tour for any reason, please contact us by telephone on 01865 287400 so that the tour guide does not wait for you.

We reserve the right to cancel any tour at short notice. In this case, any pre-purchased tickets will be refunded.

Your confirmation email may take up to 30 minutes to reach your inbox. Please check your spam/junk folders. If you still cannot find it, please email us before your visit so that we can help: tours@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. 

Your tour visit

Your tickets will be sent with your confirmation email as a PDF attachment. We encourage you to show these tickets on your mobile device, but you can also print them out. One ticket must be presented per visitor. 

We allow photography in our spaces, except inside the Radcliffe Camera. Please don’t use flash, or photograph readers or staff. Images are for personal, non-commercial use only. 

For commercial uses of visitor images, contact Imaging Services.

Filming is not allowed anywhere on our site without prior permission. To enquire about arranging commercial filming or photography on our site, contact events@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. 

Accessibility

Blackwell Hall (Weston Library), the Divinity School, Convocation House and Chancellor’s Court are wheelchair-accessible. However, the Old Bodleian is a historic listed building, and all library guided tours involve stairs. Find out more about accessibility at our site.

If you or someone in your tour party has accessibility requirements, please contact us ahead of your visit on tours@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. 

Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome on our tours. No other dogs or animals are allowed on our site or our tours.

Need more help?

If your question about our tours isn't answered on this page, please email tours@bodleian.ox.ac.uk or telephone 01865 287400.

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