Bodleian Library & Radcliffe Square
About
The heart of the university in one square: the Radcliffe Camera's round dome of 1749, the Old Bodleian's fifteenth-to-seventeenth-century quadrangle, and the University Church closing the south side. The square itself costs nothing and is the single best free sight in Oxford. To get inside, the Divinity School, the university's oldest teaching room with its fan-vaulted ceiling, is a short self-guided visit for a few pounds, and guided library tours from around £12.50 go deeper into the working library. The Radcliffe Camera is a working reading room, so its interior is only seen on selected tours. Tours sell out by midday in peak season. About half of the 30-minute tour tickets are sold online in advance and half on the day at the Weston Library desk on Broad Street; Radcliffe Camera tours are released at 9am on the 1st of each month for the month after.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford's most photographed building
- ✓The Divinity School's fan-vaulted ceiling, a short self-guided visit
- ✓Guided tours into the working Bodleian Library
- ✓Free exhibitions and a cafe at the Weston Library across Broad Street
Tips
- →On summer weekends and in July and August, tour tickets often sell out by noon; Radcliffe Camera tours go on sale at 9am on the 1st of the month before.
- →The Radcliffe Camera is a working reading room; you only get inside on selected tours, so do not queue at its door.
- →Come back after dark: the square is lit, quiet and free.
Best Season
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