Oxford Highlights
Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian, the Bridge of Sighs, Christ Church Meadow — plus Carfax Tower, the Covered Market, the Sheldonian, the Ashmolean and Magdalen College.
Self-guided walking tours of Oxford
Oxford, explained as you walk
Three self-guided routes and 200+ places across the city, with audio that plays as you reach each stop. Download it before you set off — the whole guide works with no signal.
Free to download today · No account · No tracking · English, Français, 日本語
200+
places mapped and written up
3
walking routes, 28 stops in total
3
languages, audio included
0
accounts, ads, or tracking
Why this exists
Oxford doesn’t explain itself.
Thirty-nine colleges behind thirty-nine identical stone walls. Half of them shut to visitors, none of them labelled. A guided walking tour costs around £20 and leaves at eleven whether you’re ready or not.
Oxford City Guide gives you the same stories on your own clock. Start when you like, break for coffee, pick it up an hour later.
You stop being someone walking past old buildings, and start being someone who knows what they are.
Three walks, ready to go
Every stop is mapped, written and narrated. Join a route anywhere along it — the app follows you and moves on when you do.
Oxford Colleges
Christ Church, Magdalen, Balliol, All Souls — and seven more, including Jesus, Exeter, Trinity, Brasenose, Oriel, University and New College.
Historic Pubs
The Eagle and Child, the Turf Tavern, the Bear Inn — where Tolkien and Lewis argued, a medieval tavern down an alley, and a pub pouring since 1242.
Three steps, then put your phone away
Step 01
Download before you go
Maps, stories and audio all cache onto your phone. Once that’s done you don’t need a signal again.
Step 02
Pick a route, or just wander
Follow a walk stop by stop, or open the map and tap whatever you happen to be standing in front of.
Step 03
Listen, don’t read
Audio starts at each stop and keeps playing with the screen locked. Pocket the phone and look up at the building.
What you get
Everything below is in the app today, and works the same whether you paid attention in history class or not.
Audio at every stop
Recorded narration with a follow-along transcript, adjustable speed, and playback that survives a locked screen. If a track is ever missing, your phone reads the text instead.
Works with no signal
Map tiles, place details and tour content sit on your device. Airplane mode, a foreign SIM, or a dead spot behind a college wall — it carries on working.
English, Français, 日本語
Not just the buttons. Place descriptions, tour content and the audio narration itself are all translated.
GPS that keeps your place
The tour advances as you move between stops, so you never lose track of where you are in the route.
Written for who you are
Visitor, student or researcher — choose how much depth you want in each description.
A map with a compass
200+ pins across the city, so you can navigate off-route and still find something worth stopping for.
“Can’t I just use Google Maps?”
Maps will tell you where the Bodleian is. It won’t tell you why there are books chained to the shelves inside it.
A guided walking tour is around £20 a head and runs to someone else’s timetable. This is free and runs to yours.
Signal in Oxford’s stone quads is patchy at best. This doesn’t ask for any once it’s downloaded.
Inside the app
Four screens you’ll spend most of your walk in
The map
200+ pins, a built-in compass, tap anything
A place
The story, the audio, and the transcript
On a walk
Stop by stop, tracking as you move
Your settings
Language, voice, and how much detail you want
Before you download
Is it actually free?
Yes — free to download today, with no purchase, no subscription and no advertising.
Do I need a signal in Oxford?
No — but you do need one to download it. Do that on hotel or café wifi before you head out.
Do you track where I go?
No. Your location is used on your phone to move the tour along as you walk, and is never stored or sent anywhere.
Do I need an account?
No. Install it and start walking.
How long does a walk take?
About an hour of actual walking, or two to three hours if you stop and listen properly at each stop. You can pause and pick it up later.
Does it get me into the colleges?
No. We don’t sell or arrange entry, and many colleges charge admission or limit visitor access. Every stop on our walks is written to work from the public street.
Does it help with Oxford admissions?
No. This is a guide to the city’s places and history. It doesn’t offer admissions advice, application coaching, or official University of Oxford guidance.
Which languages are supported?
English, French and Japanese — descriptions, tour content and audio, not just the interface.
Download it before you get here
The guide takes a couple of minutes to cache over wifi. Much better done at the hotel than standing on Broad Street with one bar of signal.
Free to download today · iOS and Android · No account