Vaults & Garden Cafe
What to order: the hot dish of the day at midday or a cream tea with scones in the afternoon.
Open every day from 8:00 · dogs welcome
geocalia
Day itinerary · 51.75° N · 1.26° W
Harry Potter in Oxford, Hogwarts in stone, an hour by train from London.
The Christ Church staircase, Hogwarts' hospital wing in the Divinity School, lunch at the Covered Market and the cloister oak at New College, by train from Paddington.
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Part of OxfordHarry Potter filming locationsHistoric bookshops and libraries of Europe
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Total time9 h
By car1 h 45 each way
Train1 h from London Paddington
Filming locationsChrist Church · Bodleian · New College
TicketsChrist Church and New College online
Divinity School£3, 15 min
DifficultyEasy, all on foot
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave London 1 h by train
GWR train from Paddington · from the station to the centre, 15 min on foot
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1
Christ Church: the college, the dining hall and the cathedral
timed ticket bought online · the staircase leads up to the Great Hall
- 10 min on foot
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2
One-hour guided tour of the Bodleian Library
Divinity School £3 with a time slot · Duke Humfrey's, only with the guided tour
- 5 min on foot
- 3
- 10 min on foot
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4
New College: the Cloister and the Oak Tree of The Goblet of Fire
online ticket · visitors via New College Lane
- 5 min on foot
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5
Tower of the University Church (St Mary the Virgin)
Radcliffe Square from above · £7
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Back home 1 h by train
train from Oxford · you reach Paddington around 18:00
Approximate cost
About €10–20 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Christ Church: the college, the dining hall and the cathedral
There are no film sets in Oxford: what was filmed for Hogwarts is a staircase, a few rooms of the library and a cloister that are still in use, with students. This plan goes to all three, in the order in which they are within walking distance, and leaves time to eat in the covered market and climb a tower before the train. If you are looking for classic Oxford, with punting and museums, there is the other one-day plan.
The day, hour by hour
8:45 · Train from Paddington. Great Western Railway takes about an hour. From the station, it is a 15-minute walk to Christ Church.
10:00 · Christ Church. The audio guide takes you through Tom Quad to the staircase that leads up to the Great Hall: this is where McGonagall greets Harry, Ron and Hermione when they arrive at Hogwarts. The quidditch trophy scene also passes through the college's corridors. The dining hall, on the other hand, was not filmed: it served as the model for the one built in the studio.
11:45 · The Bodleian. Ten minutes' walk across Radcliffe Square. The Divinity School, the Gothic hall with its carved vaulted ceiling, was Hogwarts' hospital wing in three films; you can see it in 15 minutes for £3 with a timed slot. If you managed to get a place on the guided tour (they run on the 1st and 15th of each month), you also go up to Duke Humfrey's, the Hogwarts library, for over-11s only.
12:45 · Covered Market. Five minutes towards High Street. Food stalls and cafés under cover; eat quickly and move on.
14:15 · New College. Ten minutes along New College Lane. In the cloister, the oak tree in the middle is the one that appears in The Goblet of Fire. The visit continues to the chapel, the dining hall and the garden.
15:45 · St Mary's Tower. Go back to Radcliffe Square and climb 127 steps to look down on the Radcliffe Camera and the rooftops of the colleges.
16:45 · Return. On foot or by bus to the station; you reach Paddington at around 18:00.
With children or short of time
The Bodleian guided tour is for ages 11 and over; with younger children, stay in the Divinity School, which has no age limit, and swap the tower for the Natural History Museum, which is free. If you only have half a day, Christ Church and the Divinity School are the essentials and are ten minutes apart.
Time1 h 30
Change the route
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Quod Restaurant & Bar
What to order: the weekday set lunch or the Sunday roast; oysters and dishes from the blackboard.
Open every day from 7:00 to 23:00 · book online
Takeaway and markets
Oxford Covered Market, Oxford
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Oxford
All year round. The colleges close on odd days for events, exams and graduations: check their notices before buying the train.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Buy all three tickets beforehand
Christ Church tickets go on sale each Friday for the following week; New College and the Divinity School, online.
- 2Check the colleges' closures
Both publish on their websites the days they close for events.
- 3Ask for the Spanish leaflet at New College
They have it for the self-guided visit, along with a free audio guide.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Where was Harry Potter filmed in Oxford?
At Christ Church (the staircase and corridors), at the Bodleian Library (the Divinity School and Duke Humfrey's) and in the cloister of New College.
Was the Great Hall filmed at Christ Church?
No. The Christ Church dining hall inspired the one at Hogwarts, which was built in the Leavesden studio.
How much does the day cost?
Christ Church from about £23, the Divinity School £3, the tower £7 and the New College entrance fee, plus the train and food.
Can it be done on a Sunday?
Yes, but the tower opens at 12:00: swap it round with lunch.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/england/oxford/itineraries/harry-potter-oxford-day-trip
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.