7 Must-See Oxford Colleges for Magical Family Tours

Planning an Oxford visit with your American family is exciting, especially if you have budding Harry Potter fans eager to see the real Hogwarts. Yet with so much history and so many famous colleges, it can be hard to know which places actually featured in the films and which locations genuinely capture the spirit of wizardry on screen. Picking the right stops means balancing film accuracy, authentic atmosphere, and memorable moments your children will recognise from their favourite stories.

The good news is Oxford’s colleges and libraries offer unique experiences that go beyond movie backdrops. You’ll discover spaces where filming took place, explore the stunning architecture that inspired iconic sets, and walk through historic grounds that shaped the magical world. From grand staircases to gothic vaults, each site promises true connections between Oxford and Harry Potter.

Get ready for a tour that transforms your family’s appreciation of the films and brings the magic of Hogwarts to life. These key locations offer practical insights, photo opportunities, and genuine atmosphere—so every stop becomes a highlight on your Oxford adventure.

Table of Contents

Quick Summary

Key MessageExplanation
1. Visit Christ Church for a magical experienceWalk through real Hogwarts locations like the Bodley Staircase, connecting film moments with history.
2. Explore the Divinity School for authenticityEncounter the authentic gothic architecture that inspired key Hogwarts hospital scenes, enhancing the storytelling experience.
3. Discover New College’s iconic film momentsWalk the same paths as characters from the films, deepening your appreciation of the story through real settings.
4. Experience genuine traditions at Balliol CollegeWitness 760 years of continuous academic tradition and unique rituals, enriching the visit with historical context.
5. Enjoy tranquility at Trinity College’s gardensTake time to explore the beautiful gardens, offering a peaceful retreat from tourist crowds and a deeper connection to Oxford’s charm.

1. Christ Church College: Harry Potter Filming Location

If you’re an American family visiting Oxford with Harry Potter fans in your group, Christ Church College is the crown jewel of your magical tour. This stunning 16th-century college wasn’t just a filming location for the first two Harry Potter films – it’s where the wizarding world of Hogwarts came alive on screen, and you can walk through the actual corridors that inspired and featured in the movies.

The magic of Christ Church starts the moment you enter the college grounds. The famous Bodley Staircase, with its beautiful vaulted ceilings and intricate glass windows, served as the entrance where first-year students arrive at Hogwarts in the films. Your children will recognise this staircase instantly if they’ve watched the movies – it’s the dramatic spot where Professor McGonagall greets the nervous new students. Standing on these actual steps, looking up at the soaring architecture, creates a spine-tingling moment that no amount of screen time can quite capture. The craftsmanship on display here is genuinely breathtaking, from the ornate lamps to the detailed stonework framing the windows.

Beyond the famous staircase, Christ Church offers layers of Harry Potter history woven throughout its quads and corridors. Tom Quad, the expansive courtyard in the college’s heart, served as a filming location for various scenes that build the atmospheric tension of the wizarding world. Peckwater Quad presents another photogenic location where scenes were shot, and the college’s narrow corridors echo with the same mysterious atmosphere you see in the films. Your family can explore these spaces and understand how Oxford’s authentic architecture provided the perfect backdrop for the magical universe without needing elaborate set construction.

Here’s what’s genuinely fascinating about Christ Church’s connection to Harry Potter: whilst the college’s stunning Tudor dining hall inspired the design of the Hogwarts Great Hall, the filmmakers actually created a replica set elsewhere to protect this historic space. This means what you see in the films isn’t the original hall, but the real dining hall at Christ Church remains absolutely worth viewing because it proved so inspiring that designers modelled the entire Hogwarts hall on its proportions and style. You can still visit the actual Great Hall at Christ Church, and the experience of dining in (or viewing) such a historic space adds authenticity to your visit that reading about it simply cannot convey.

When planning your family visit, understand that Christ Church College operates on an academic schedule and has visitor restrictions during term time. The college’s architecture, grotesques, and historic hallways create an atmosphere that genuinely feels magical without any embellishment – the weight of centuries of history is palpable in every stone. American families often find that visiting in person transforms their appreciation for the films because they realise how much of the wizarding world’s beauty comes from Oxford’s genuine medieval and Renaissance architecture rather than movie magic. Your children will understand that Hogwarts wasn’t invented from scratch – it was discovered in places like this.

The combination of real filming locations, recognisable staircases, and atmospheric quads makes Christ Church an essential stop for any Harry Potter fan visiting Oxford. When you explore why Oxford serves as the ideal filming location for Harry Potter, Christ Church consistently emerges as the primary answer. The college demonstrates how authentic heritage architecture can be far more visually compelling than any fantasy set designer could create.

Pro tip: Visit Christ Church College during the late afternoon when afternoon light streams through the windows of the Bodley Staircase – the golden hour illuminates the glass and stonework beautifully, creating the same magical atmosphere your family saw on screen, and you’ll encounter fewer visitors than during peak morning hours.

2. The Divinity School: Enter Hogwarts’ Infirmary

The Divinity School at the Bodleian Library represents one of Oxford’s most atmospheric filming locations, and it’s where the filmmakers brought Hogwarts Hospital Wing to life. When you visit this medieval masterpiece with your family, you’re standing in the exact rooms where Harry recovered from broomstick accidents and where Dumbledore delivered crucial plot revelations to his wounded students.

What makes the Divinity School so magically perfect for Hogwarts scenes is its authentic gothic architecture. The soaring vaulted ceilings, ornate stone arches, and stained glass windows create an atmosphere that needed no artificial enhancement for the camera. The filmmakers understood something fundamental about visual storytelling: real medieval architecture possesses a gravitas and authenticity that soundstages simply cannot replicate. Your children will immediately recognise this location if they’ve watched the films because the distinctive gothic vaulting appears unmistakably in those hospital wing scenes where characters lie recovering in their beds.

The experience of walking through the Divinity School as an American visitor provides a unique window into how filmmakers think about location scouting. Rather than building elaborate hospital wing sets from scratch, the production team recognised that Oxford’s 15th-century academic spaces already possessed the exact visual language they needed. The stone arches frame the rooms with a medieval grandeur that says “Hogwarts” without a single decoration needing to be added. This is genuine wizarding world architecture, just 600 years old and hidden within one of Europe’s oldest universities.

When you visit the Divinity School, you’ll notice details that the camera captured beautifully. The gothic vaulted ceilings and arches where key infirmary scenes were filmed showcase craftsmanship from centuries past. Each stone block, each arch, each window represents decisions made by medieval builders who had no idea their work would one day frame scenes of wizarding medicine. Your family can stand exactly where cameras positioned during filming and understand how this 600-year-old space became a backdrop for a modern magical tale.

Practically speaking, visiting the Divinity School offers something beyond typical tourist photo opportunities. Your children get to stand in a real place that connected their favourite films to genuine history. They can understand that Hogwarts wasn’t invented in a computer or a studio – it was discovered in rooms like these. The Bodleian Library provides access to the Divinity School, and many family tours include entry to this remarkable space because it transforms abstract film knowledge into tangible, walkable reality.

What’s particularly valuable for American families is how the Divinity School demonstrates Oxford’s role in making the Harry Potter films believable. Rather than explaining that wizards would live in gothic stone buildings, the filmmakers simply showed you existing gothic stone buildings filled with wizards. This approach throughout Oxford’s filming locations creates a consistency and authenticity that explains why the Harry Potter films have such enduring visual appeal.

Pro tip: Visit the Divinity School during weekday mornings when tourist groups are lighter, allowing your family to appreciate the soaring ceilings and arches without crowds blocking your sightlines and camera angles for photographs.

3. New College: Walk Where Wizards Studied

New College offers something distinctly different from other Oxford locations on your family’s magical tour. Rather than serving as a generic backdrop, New College’s cloisters and courtyards became the setting for pivotal moments in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where crucial plot developments unfold and character relationships shift dramatically.

The college’s picturesque courtyards and cloisters provide an intimate setting that transports visitors directly into the wizarding world. When you walk through the cloisters where students famously wore “Potter Stinks” badges, you’re treading the same stone paths where the filmmakers positioned cameras to capture the tension and social division at Hogwarts. Your children will immediately connect these spaces to scenes they’ve watched on screen, and the experience of walking the actual locations deepens their understanding of how film locations become part of the storytelling itself.

One of the most memorable moments for many visiting families occurs at the famous tree within New College’s grounds. This is where the unforgettable scene takes place in which Draco Malfoy receives his comeuppance, transformed into a ferret by Mad-Eye Moody in a moment of pure comedic revenge. Standing beneath this tree, your family can laugh at the absurdity of the scene whilst appreciating how the filmmakers chose a real, recognisable location to make the moment feel grounded and authentic. The tree itself has become iconic among Harry Potter fans, and your children will likely want photographs to commemorate being in the exact spot where that scene was filmed.

Another crucial scene filmed at New College involves Harry informing Cedric Diggory about the dragons during the Triwizard Tournament. This moment, set in the college courtyard, demonstrates genuine friendship and concern despite rivalry, and standing in that courtyard helps visitors understand how the location reinforced the emotional stakes of the scene. The courtyard’s architecture provides a sense of enclosed drama, a feeling that something important is happening in a significant place.

What makes New College particularly special for American families is that you can actually walk through these spaces freely. Unlike some filming locations that are restricted or heavily modified, New College remains an active college with areas open to visitors. This means your family experiences the cloisters and courtyards much as the filmmakers did when scouting locations. The picturesque stonework, the sheltered pathways, and the sense of academic tradition create an atmosphere that feels genuinely magical without requiring any special effects or imagination.

The college demonstrates how Oxford’s architecture naturally supports the visual language of the Harry Potter films. Medieval and Renaissance stone buildings with their arches, courtyards, and cloisters already embody the aesthetic of the wizarding world. Your children begin to understand that Hogwarts feels magical partly because it exists in real places with real history and grandeur. The educational value extends beyond Harry Potter trivia into genuine appreciation for how location contributes to storytelling.

Pro tip: Visit New College during shoulder seasons such as spring or autumn rather than peak summer months to encounter fewer tourist groups and experience the cloisters with the quieter, more contemplative atmosphere that makes the Harry Potter scenes feel more magical.

4. Magdalen College: Explore Beautiful Cloisters

Magdalen College offers your family something that goes beyond specific film scenes. Rather than focusing on particular moments captured on camera, Magdalen provides an immersive experience of the architectural and natural beauty that inspired the entire visual language of Hogwarts. The college’s cloisters and grounds embody the quintessential Oxford experience that filmmakers sought to capture when bringing the wizarding world to life.

The cloisters at Magdalen represent one of Oxford’s most serene and historically significant spaces. Walking through these covered passages with their soaring stone arches and graceful columns, your family enters an environment that feels genuinely magical without any cinematic enhancement needed. The architecture speaks for itself. Built centuries ago, these cloisters showcase the craftsmanship and vision of medieval builders who created spaces of profound beauty and contemplation. For your children familiar with the films, the cloisters immediately evoke the aesthetic of Hogwarts without representing any specific scene. Instead, they represent the feeling and atmosphere that permeates the entire wizarding school.

What makes Magdalen particularly valuable for your family visit is understanding how filmmakers used real locations to establish visual consistency throughout the Harry Potter series. Rather than building sets that looked vaguely medieval, the production team immersed themselves in genuine medieval and Renaissance architecture. The picturesque cloisters and grounds showcase traditional architecture and lush greenery that contributed directly to establishing Hogwarts as a visually believable place. Your children begin to grasp that authenticity matters in storytelling. When you stand in these cloisters, you understand that Hogwarts feels real because it was inspired by real places that actually exist.

Beyond the architectural elements, Magdalen’s gardens and grounds provide another dimension to the magical atmosphere. Lush greenery, carefully maintained pathways, and open spaces create a sense of wonder and discovery that matches the exploratory nature of the films. Your family can wander through these spaces much as students might wander through Hogwarts grounds, discovering quiet corners and beautiful vistas around each turning. The experience becomes less about ticking off filming locations and more about absorbing the environment that inspired the wizarding world’s visual identity.

For American visitors accustomed to more modern college campuses, Magdalen offers a striking contrast. The college represents centuries of continuous academic tradition, with buildings that have housed scholars, poets, and notable figures throughout history. Walking through these spaces connects your family to something larger than Harry Potter itself. You’re experiencing the real Oxford University, the institution that J.K. Rowling drew upon when imagining her wizarding school. This context enriches your family’s appreciation for how fictional worlds often root themselves in authentic places and genuine history.

The practical benefit of visiting Magdalen lies in how it allows your family to experience the Harry Potter universe as an extension of real Oxford rather than as a separate fantasy realm. The boundaries between the filmed wizarding world and the actual academic institution blur beautifully. Your children see that Hogwarts was never meant to be a fantastical departure from reality but rather a magical reimagining of a place that already possesses inherent beauty and grandeur.

Pro tip: Visit Magdalen College during late afternoon when golden sunlight illuminates the cloisters and gardens, creating the warm, enchanted atmosphere depicted in the films and providing optimal lighting for family photographs without harsh shadows.

5. Exeter College: Classic Oxford Architecture

Exeter College represents something fascinating for your family’s Oxford tour because it demonstrates how universities balance preserving centuries of tradition whilst embracing contemporary needs. Walking through Exeter, you encounter both ancient quadrangles that inspired the visual language of Hogwarts and strikingly modern buildings that showcase how Oxford continues evolving as a living, working institution rather than a frozen historical museum.

The college’s architectural journey tells a compelling story about how institutions adapt without abandoning their heritage. When you arrive at Exeter, you’re stepping into a space that has existed for over 700 years, yet remains actively engaged with 21st-century academic challenges. This dynamic tension between the historic and the modern creates an authenticity that your family will appreciate far more than visiting a purely preserved historical site. The college genuinely works as a place where students live, study, and learn today, not a monument to a distant past.

One of Exeter’s most significant recent additions is the Cohen Quad, a remarkable achievement in contemporary collegiate architecture. Designed by Alison Brooks Architects and completed in recent years, this 6,000 square metre expansion demonstrates how modern architecture can respectfully interact with historic surroundings. The Cohen Quad includes student accommodations, seminar rooms, and social learning spaces that reimagine what a 21st-century Oxford college quadrangle should be. Rather than attempting to mimic medieval stonework, the architects created something distinctly contemporary whilst honouring the principles that made historic quadrangles so effective. The result is a central learning commons surrounded by two courtyards that echoes the traditional collegiate layout whilst serving modern academic purposes.

What makes this particularly valuable for your family visit is understanding how Oxford continues the traditions that inspired the Harry Potter films. The historic quadrangles at Exeter embody the same architectural principles that filmmakers drew upon when envisioning Hogwarts. The combination of covered cloisters, open courtyards, and intimate enclosed spaces creates environments perfect for both serious study and casual interaction. Your children can see firsthand how the layout of real Oxford colleges influenced the fictional wizarding school. The newer Cohen Quad, meanwhile, demonstrates that Hogwarts itself would evolve if it were a genuine institution. New buildings would be added, spaces would be redesigned, and the college would continue growing whilst maintaining its essential character.

The sustainable materials and thoughtful environmental design incorporated into the Cohen Quad add another educational layer. Your family learns that modern architecture needn’t be cold or industrial. Buildings can be beautiful, environmentally responsible, and sensitive to their historic context simultaneously. This holistic approach to design reflects values that extend beyond aesthetics into genuine consideration for how buildings affect their inhabitants and their surroundings. The historic Ruskin College facade that forms part of Exeter’s streetscape is retained and integrated, showing respect for architectural heritage whilst making space for necessary expansion.

For American families accustomed to twentieth-century college campuses built in suburban locations, Exeter offers a jarring contrast. The college is tightly integrated into Oxford’s medieval street pattern, with buildings touching the city’s public pathways. This urban integration creates a seamless flow between the college and the city itself. Students do not retreat to a separate campus removed from urban life but rather live within the fabric of the city. Your family experiences this urban collegiate model during your visit, understanding how Oxford colleges function as integral parts of their city rather than isolated institutions.

Pro tip: Visit Exeter College during weekday mornings when student life is most active and the quadrangles feel genuinely lived in rather than like tourist attractions, providing authentic glimpses of contemporary Oxford student life alongside the historic architecture.

6. Balliol College: Oldest College Traditions

Balliol College represents something extraordinary for your family’s Oxford experience. Founded in 1263, Balliol claims the distinction of being Oxford’s oldest college and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Walking through Balliol’s gates connects your family to over 760 years of continuous academic tradition, making it a living window into how institutions develop, adapt, and preserve their identity across centuries.

What makes Balliol genuinely special is not merely its age but how actively it maintains traditions that stretch back to the medieval period. The college operates under governance by a Master and fellows, a structure virtually unchanged since its founding. This institutional continuity means your family is witnessing not a reconstructed historical theme but an authentically functioning academic community that happens to have been functioning since before the Renaissance. Many American universities boast histories measured in hundreds of years, but few can claim to have maintained essentially the same governance structure and collegiate ethos for more than seven centuries.

One of Balliol’s most touching traditions involves formal dining on the feast day of St Catherine of Alexandria, the college’s patron saint. This annual dinner for final-year students traces back to 1550, making it one of Europe’s longest-running collegiate customs. Your family can learn about this tradition during your visit, understanding how seemingly small rituals embody continuity across generations. Students at Balliol in the 21st century participate in the same ceremony that students conducted in the 16th century. This type of living tradition cannot be staged or recreated. It represents genuine cultural transmission across time.

Another delightfully quirky tradition at Balliol involves the college’s resident tortoises, cared for by a yearly appointed student guardian. This charming custom reflects Balliol’s understanding that institutional life encompasses the whimsical and the unexpected alongside serious academic work. Your children often find this detail endearing because it humanises the college. Balliol is not a stern, austere monument but a place where living creatures are tended with genuine care, where playfulness coexists with rigorous scholarship. If you visit at the right time, you might even encounter Balliol’s tortoises, though they are typically less active during winter months.

The Nepotists carol-singing event during Michaelmas term represents another window into Balliol’s vibrant traditions. This gathering where students sing carols together demonstrates how colleges create moments of collective joy and shared experience. These traditions matter because they bind academic communities together through shared activities and shared history. Your family learns that universities are not merely places where individual students pursue solitary intellectual work but communities that deliberately create spaces for fellowship and celebration.

Balliol’s role in pioneering the PPE degree (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) adds another layer of significance to your visit. This academic innovation, which originated at Balliol, demonstrates that the college balances reverence for tradition with genuine intellectual innovation. Balliol has produced countless distinguished alumni across numerous fields, suggesting that the combination of historical rootedness and progressive thinking creates an environment where scholarship flourishes. Your family can understand that the oldest institutions are not necessarily the most conservative but can be places where new ideas flourish precisely because they are grounded in strong intellectual traditions.

Pro tip: Visit Balliol College during term time if possible, as you’ll observe the college functioning as a genuine academic community rather than a tourist attraction, with students moving between buildings and the quads genuinely alive with scholarly activity.

7. Trinity College: Lush Gardens and Hidden Quads

Trinity College concludes your magical Oxford tour with something that separates it from other colleges you have visited. Rather than focusing primarily on architecture or film locations, Trinity offers your family a genuine retreat into natural beauty and horticultural excellence. The college’s extensive gardens and hidden quadrangles create spaces where you can step away from tourist crowds and experience Oxford as the students who live and study here experience it daily.

The gardens at Trinity are not merely decorative additions to the college but represent centuries of deliberate cultivation and environmental stewardship. Dating back to the 13th century, these gardens have been tended continuously for over 700 years, with each generation of gardeners adding their own vision whilst respecting what came before. Your family walks through spaces that have provided sanctuary and inspiration to countless scholars, writers, and thinkers. The experience of walking through Trinity’s gardens connects you to something genuinely profound that transcends Harry Potter fandom or typical tourist activities. You are experiencing places where intellectual work happens alongside the gentle rhythm of seasons and growth.

What makes Trinity’s gardens particularly special is how they balance traditional charm with modern ecological awareness. The college prioritises sustainable gardening practices that enhance the environmental health of the grounds rather than simply creating aesthetically pleasing spaces. This means that when you walk through Trinity, you are seeing gardens designed not just for human enjoyment but for biodiversity and ecological resilience. Mature specimen trees provide habitat and visual beauty simultaneously. Woodland areas offer shade and create distinct microclimates. Meadow plantings support pollinators and other wildlife. Your children learn that beautiful spaces can also be environmentally responsible.

The college features Grade II listed gardens with particular highlights including the historic terraces, meadows, and specimen trees such as Atlantic Blue Cedars. Recent landscaping improvements have enhanced these spaces without compromising their essential character. A 120-metre border designed by Chris Beardshaw showcases contemporary garden design that harmonises with historic principles. The Woodland, Fellows, and Library Quads each offer distinct atmospheres and planting schemes, giving your family multiple reasons to explore and discover different corners of the college. Rather than a single garden, Trinity offers a series of interconnected spaces that reveal themselves gradually as you walk.

The hidden quadrangles at Trinity deserve special attention because they demonstrate how Oxford colleges create intimate spaces within larger institutional structures. These quads are not grand public spaces but rather quieter zones where students study, socialise, and live. Walking through them, your family begins to understand Oxford not as a collection of buildings and gardens but as a functioning community with spaces designed for different purposes. Some quads feel contemplative and quiet. Others feel more social and open. This variety in atmosphere reflects how colleges deliberately shape their physical spaces to support different types of human interaction and activity.

Practically speaking, Trinity offers your family something rare during a busy Oxford tour: genuine time to slow down and observe. Rather than rushing from one filming location to another, you can sit on grass, listen to birdsong, observe how light filters through trees, and simply be present in a genuinely beautiful place. Your children often find this pace refreshing after walking through busier college areas. The gardens provide respite and perspective, reminding visitors that Oxford is fundamentally a place where people come to think, study, and grow intellectually.

The combination of multiple quadrangles and extensive gardens means your family can spend genuine time at Trinity without feeling rushed. You can explore different areas, discover hidden corners, and return to favourite spots. This is the opposite of the check-box approach to tourism where you briefly visit each location and move quickly to the next. Trinity rewards slower, more contemplative exploration.

Pro tip: Visit Trinity College during spring or early summer when the gardens are in full bloom and the college grounds are at their most vibrant, and plan to spend at least 90 minutes exploring multiple quads and garden areas rather than rushing through.

Below is a comprehensive table summarising the key points regarding Harry Potter filming locations in Oxford as discussed in the article.

College/LocationKey Features and ConnectionVisitor Tips
Christ Church CollegeFilming locations for Hogwarts’ interiors, including the Bodley Staircase; inspiration for the Great HallVisit late afternoon for reduced crowds and optimal lighting
Divinity SchoolSetting for Hogwarts Hospital Wing, showcasing authentic gothic architectureWeekday mornings provide quieter conditions
New CollegeFeatured in significant scenes like Draco’s encounter under the tree; atmospheric cloisters and courtyardsShoulder seasons offer quieter visits and enhanced atmosphere
Magdalen CollegeOffers an immersive architectural experience echoing Hogwarts’ atmosphereExplore during golden hour for stunning visuals
Exeter CollegeShowcases a blend of historic and modern architecture influencing Hogwarts’ visual designVisit weekday mornings to experience active student life
Balliol CollegeRich traditions dating back centuries and endearing customs like college tortoisesExplore during term time for authentic experiences
Trinity CollegeRenowned for its extensive gardens and serene quadranglesIdeal for slow exploration during spring for vibrant blossoms

Discover Oxford’s Magical Heritage with an Enchanting Family Walking Tour

The article highlights the challenge American families face when exploring Oxford’s rich Harry Potter filming locations and historic colleges. Visiting places like Christ Church College, the Divinity School, and New College brings Hogwarts to life but navigating these sites and fully appreciating their magical atmosphere can be overwhelming. Your family wants more than just a sightseeing checklist — you seek an immersive experience where the history, architecture, and stories of these iconic locations truly enchant every member.

At Oxford Magic Tours, we specialise in exactly that. Our walking tours of Oxford University and Harry Potter filming locations are uniquely brought to life with live entertainment from a magician who has performed for the British Royal family and A list celebrities. This exceptional feature turns a simple visit into a captivating journey that deepens your children’s connection with places like the Bodley Staircase at Christ Church or the gothic vaulting of the Divinity School. Let our expert guides and magical performances unlock the secrets behind Oxford’s enchanting spaces so your family experiences wizardry both on and off screen.

Ready to transform your family’s Oxford visit into a spellbinding adventure that combines history, magic, and joy. Book a tour today at Oxford Magic Tours and start creating unforgettable memories in the very places Hogwarts was discovered.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the top Oxford colleges for a magical family tour?

The top colleges to visit for a magical family tour include Christ Church College, The Divinity School, New College, Magdalen College, Exeter College, Balliol College, and Trinity College. Each of these locations offers unique architectural beauty and connections to the Harry Potter films, perfect for fans and families alike.

How can we make the most of our visit to Christ Church College?

To make the most of your visit to Christ Church College, arrive early to explore the Bodley Staircase and Tom Quad without the peak crowds. Plan your visit during the late afternoon to enjoy the stunning golden hour lighting, enhancing the magical experience of the college’s architecture.

What should we know before visiting The Divinity School?

Before visiting The Divinity School, check the opening times to ensure you can access this fascinating location. Aim for weekday mornings when the tourist groups are smaller, allowing your family to fully appreciate the intricate architectural details in a quieter setting.

Are there specific features to look for at New College?

At New College, look for the iconic tree under which key scenes were filmed, including the moment Draco Malfoy is transformed into a ferret. Take a leisurely stroll through the cloisters and courtyards to immerse yourselves in the atmosphere of Hogwarts and draw connections to familiar film scenes.

What is unique about visiting Magdalen College for a family tour?

Magdalen College offers an immersive experience into the serene environment and architectural beauty that inspired the visual language of Hogwarts. Wander through its cloisters and gardens to enjoy a quieter and more contemplative exploration, filled with genuine historical atmosphere.

How does Exeter College combine history with modernity?

Exeter College showcases an impressive blend of ancient quadrangles and modern facilities, such as the Cohen Quad. This unique juxtaposition allows visitors to appreciate how the college evolves while retaining its historical charm; explore both sections to see how they work together in harmony.