Visit Magdalen College

More About Magdalen College

Magdalen College’s founder wanted to build something more fitting for a humanist prince than his alma mater New College. He gave Magdalen a deer park, river walks, later the oak paneling of the dining hall was taken from a grand monastery dissolved in the English Reformation.

The site was taken from the Medieval St John’s Hospital and Magdalen still excels in the art and science of medicine. Magdalen’s alumni include 9 Nobel Prize winners.

Tours

  • When you walk through Oxford you walk through centuries and step in the footsteps of the great.

    Oscar Wilde delighted at the beauty of the City but Jane Austen shuddered at its “grimy halls”.

    We will explore the university’s iconic buildings including the Bodleian Library.

    Seewhere the first antibiotic and covid vaccines were developed.

    Glimpse the walk that Alice took when she fell down the rabbit hole and where Tolkein and C S Lewis wrote their seminal books.

    Chaucer’s student roamed inside the great wall which encircled the city built by King Alfred in the ninth century.

    Here Queen Elizabeth I was greeted with great pomp and ceremony and Sir Christpher Wren

    designed his first public building.

    We enter a medieval college, learn how they developed and see how they are lived in today.

    Each college is full of mystery with strange stories and traditions and each one is a world in itself and behind the ancient windows great work is taking place.

  • Magdalen College’s founder wanted to build something more fitting for a humanist prince than his alma mater New College. He gave Magdalen a deer park, river walks, later the oak paneling of the dining hall was taken from a grand monastery dissolved in the English Reformation.

    The site was taken from the Medieval St John’s Hospital and Magdalen still excels in the art and science of medicine. Magdalen’s alumni include 9 Nobel Prize winners.

    Magdalen College allows visitors into all of its Quadrangles, the antechapel, hall, cloister, gardens & Addison’s Walk.

  • "The tour was well thought out and Sophie was an engaging guide with a mine of interesting information, much of it new to me even as someone who's lived in Oxford for the past 30 years. Definitely recommended."

    J Willams, Oxford

  • "Sophie offered us a tailor-made tour that perfectly met our expectations."

    Steve, Munich, Germany

  • "Wonderful tour about Oxford, very knowledgeable guide. We enjoyed every minute of it."

    Maria, USA

  • "Sophie is a congenial host with vast knowledge of the colleges and general Oxford area. Good communication and instruction for meet up. Would highly recommend her tour!"

    Andrew, New York, USA

  • "Fascinating tour by a wonderful guide!"

    Michael, USA

  • "Sophie is so knowledgeable! Oxford is a city of history, and she knows it so well. Her recommendation for our dinner after the tour was perfect! She also took care of me beforehand in suggesting other things to do before her tour. She’s the best. A pro’s pro!"

    Kori, USA

  • "My history tour with Sophie was informative and entertaining. The horror was made funny and the ridiculous serious. I was surprised by how much I didn't know and went away with new insights into, not only the university's history and traditions, but the history of England generally. I also got some good ideas for the rest of my stay in Oxford. Thank you!"

    James, UK

  • "This tour was a lovely introduction to Oxford University. As a recent transplant from the US, it was a great way to get my bearings of the area, visit a college, and learn about some fascinating local history. Whether we were gazing at gargoyles or admiring beautiful stained glass, Sophie was a true delight – very knowledgeable, thoughtful, and well-articulated. I highly recommend this experience!"

    Megan, USA

  • "Fascinating, thoughtfully constructed tour of Oxford University encompassing a thousand years of history. I've lived in Oxford for thirty years, yet in this tour learned new and intriguing nuggets about the city, discovered hidden gems in ancient stone buildings that I've been strolling past all these years."

    Maria, Oxford, UK

  • "Sophie is a superb, experienced and enriching guide. We are a retired US professional couple. We've hired individual local guides throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and Sophie tops our list! She spent hours with us in advance, curating our day in Oxford, then filled our tour with history, architecture, art, education, culture…and fun. The day was perfectly paced and suited to our needs. It was a graduation day, so like the happy students, we too tossed our hats in celebration. Brava Sophie!"

    K & A Krupsky, Chicago, USA