The cupola view
From the eight-sided lantern the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian roofs sit almost within reach, one of the best high viewpoints in central Oxford.
Ozeye — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tilman2007 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tilman2007 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Before Christopher Wren built St Paul's, he was an Oxford astronomy professor with only a small college chapel in Cambridge to his name, and this building on Broad Street, put up between 1664 and 1669, was his first large work. It still does the job it was built for: Oxford students are formally enrolled here on arrival and collect their degrees here in black gowns on the way out, with concerts filling the gaps between. That is precisely why you can never assume it is open. Inside is a D-shaped hall almost free of columns, roofed by Robert Streater's seventeenth-century painted ceiling in which Truth descends on the Arts and Sciences to drive Envy, Rapine and Ignorance out of the university, with a large organ facing the seats. The room is smaller than its name and history suggest, and the ground floor on its own is done in fifteen minutes. What earns the ticket is the climb: 114 steps through the Old Printing Loft, where the university press once worked, up to the eight-sided cupola with a close-range view over the round Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian roofs and the college towers. It is one of the best high viewpoints in central Oxford and a quieter alternative to the tower of St Mary's church. The full 'Sheldonian Experience' costs GBP 8.25 for adults and GBP 7 for concessions; children aged eight and under go free, and ages 9 to 16 pay the concession rate. On event days, when the hall is in use, only a 'Cupola Views' ticket is sold, GBP 5.25 and online only. Standard hours are 10:00 to 17:00 from April to September and 10:00 to 16:00 the rest of the year, with last entry to the stairs fifteen minutes before closing, but closures cluster around late June, July, September and October for graduation seasons, so check the opening calendar on the official site the morning you go. Door payment is card only. The stairs are narrow and winding, no use for pushchairs or anyone who struggles with a climb, though older children usually enjoy them as long as an adult stays with them. The building is a fifteen-minute walk from Oxford railway station, wedged against the Bodleian Library, and the row of bearded stone heads outside, known as the Emperors, can be photographed without buying anything at all.
From the eight-sided lantern the Radcliffe Camera and the Bodleian roofs sit almost within reach, one of the best high viewpoints in central Oxford.
A seventeenth-century painted ceiling of Truth descending on the Arts and Sciences to expel Envy and Ignorance, above a graduation hall still in use.
The architect who later built St Paul's designed this between 1664 and 1669 as an astronomy professor with only a small college chapel behind him.
Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AZ
History of Science MuseumIn the entrance gallery, behind glass that gives nothing away from a distance, s1 minute walk4.3
Bodleian LibraryNobody has been allowed to borrow a book from this library since it opened in 161 minute walk4.5
Radcliffe CameraOxford's most famous building is one you cannot walk into. The Radcliffe Camera,2 minutes walk4.6
University Church of St Mary the VirginThe best photograph in Oxford is not taken from any street. It is taken from a n2 minutes walk4.8
Carfax TowerOxford runs on an odd rule: nothing new in the city centre may rise higher than 4 minutes walk4.5The facade and the stone heads are free and enough if you are short on time; the hall itself is small and does not justify the ticket alone. Go in only if you will climb to the cupola, since the view is the whole point, and on an event day the cheaper online Cupola Views ticket is the smarter buy.
Do not rely on the standard hours; the official site publishes a monthly calendar of closures and which visit type is available each day. Late June, July, September and October are the most closure-heavy months because of graduation ceremonies.