On a wet day in Oxford, the best plan is to string together the free university museums, which sit close together in the city centre: the Ashmolean, the Museum of Natural History with the Pitt Rivers Museum behind it, and the History of Science Museum on Broad Street. Add a guided tour of the Bodleian Library (from £12.50, checked October 2026), lunch under the roof of the Covered Market and a film or show in the evening, and you will barely need an umbrella. Below are the indoor options that are open now, with hours and prices taken from each venue's own pages.
Rainy day options at a glance
| Venue | Cost (checked October 2026) | Opening hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ashmolean Museum | Free (major exhibitions ticketed) | Daily 10am to 5pm |
| Museum of Natural History | Free, not ticketed | Daily 10am to 5pm |
| Pitt Rivers Museum | Free | Tue to Sun 10am to 5pm, Mon 12pm to 5pm |
| History of Science Museum | Free, no booking | Tue to Sun 10am to 5pm |
| Museum of Oxford | £4 adults, £2 children | Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm |
| Bate Collection | Free | Mon and Thu 2pm to 5pm |
| Bodleian Library tours | From £12.50 | Tours daily |
| Oxford Castle and Prison | Ticketed | Open daily, all year |
The free university museums
Start at the Ashmolean, which opens at 10am and closes at 5pm (last entry 4.45pm). General admission is free and needs no booking, though free timed tickets guarantee entry when it is busy. The one paid exception this winter is Aphrodite: The Making of a Goddess, a major exhibition of more than 150 objects running until 11 April 2027, with full-price tickets at £16.80. If you want help choosing what to see, our separate Ashmolean highlights guide covers the Alfred Jewel, Uccello's Hunt in the Forest and the rest.
From Beaumont Street it is a short walk to Parks Road and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, open every day from 10am to 5pm. Entry is free and not ticketed. Its collections run to more than seven million specimens, including around 400,000 fossils, five million insects and more than 30,000 mineral specimens, and the remains of the Tradescants' dodo, a head and one foot, are among its best-known survivors.
The Pitt Rivers Museum is reached through the Natural History museum, and visitor entry is via Parks Road (OX1 3PW). It is free and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and on Mondays from 12pm (from 10am on bank holiday and half-term Mondays). Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries; the Horsebox Coffee Company on the lawn serves drinks and cakes from 8.30am to 5pm daily, though on a properly wet day you may prefer somewhere with a roof.
On Broad Street, the History of Science Museum occupies the original 1683 Ashmolean building. It is free, needs no booking and opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, with last admission at 4.50pm. Its most famous object, out of roughly 18,000, is a blackboard Albert Einstein chalked during his Oxford lectures in May 1931, on which he calculated the density, size and age of the expanding universe. The museum's story of Einstein's blackboard explains how Oxford dons rescued it after his lecture.
Libraries and historic interiors
The Bodleian is the obvious wet-weather choice, but you need a tour to see much of it. The 30-minute library tour costs from £12.50 per person, runs daily and takes in Duke Humfrey's Library, the University's oldest reading room, plus the Divinity School, the University's oldest teaching room, with a gothic ceiling carrying more than 400 crests and images. Tickets can be bought in advance online or on the day, but if the Divinity School is closed they are sold in person only. The 60-minute tour (from £17.50) adds Convocation House, which housed Charles I's parliament during the Civil War, and Chancellor's Court, where students were once tried by the University. The Bodleian's visitor site lists current exhibitions and the Radcliffe Camera walking tour.
Across town on St Aldates, Christ Church recommends booking online to guarantee entry, and offers guided tours of 40 or 60 minutes. Its cathedral and the Christ Church Picture Gallery are both indoors, so a visit works in any weather.
Smaller museums and specialist collections
The Museum of Oxford in Oxford Town Hall tells the city's own story. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and tickets cost £4 for adults and £2 for children aged 5 to 17, students and Blue Light card holders; under-5s and carers go free (checked October 2026). The museum also runs free entry days, including Wednesday 28 October 2026 during half term.
For something genuinely unusual, the Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments is free but keeps short hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 2pm to 5pm. Its collection includes a Javanese gamelan and the Chanot family's violin-making tools.
Modern Art Oxford on Pembroke Street offers free contemporary art exhibitions, a Studio and a café, and during October half term 2026 it is running free collage and printmaking workshops for families.
Castles, towers and immersive spaces
Oxford Castle and Prison runs indoor guided tours led by costumed guides through 1,000 years of history, open daily all year round. You climb the 101 steps of the Saxon St George's Tower for views over the city, visit the Norman crypt and step inside historic prison cells. The site is open from 10am to 5.30pm, under-5s go free with a paying adult, and online booking saves 10% on tours. Check the tickets and prices page for current family rates.
With children, the Story Museum at 42 Pembroke Street is built for a rainy afternoon. An all-day Galleries ticket covers immersive spaces including a Whispering Wood, an Enchanted Library and a Story Arcade, recommended for ages 5 and over, while 60-minute Small Worlds sessions are designed for under-5s. Opening times vary by day, so check before you go.
Shopping, eating and staying dry
The Covered Market in the city centre is the most atmospheric place to eat out of the rain. Its published hours are 8am to 5.30pm Monday to Wednesday and 8am to 10pm Thursday to Saturday, though the market advises checking individual traders, who set their own hours. A few minutes away, the Westgate Oxford shopping centre has shops, restaurants and a roof terrace.
For a sit-down meal inside a museum, the Ashmolean's Rooftop Restaurant serves lunch from 11.30am to 3.30pm and afternoon tea until 4pm, and its café on the lower ground floor serves soups, sandwiches and cakes.
Films and live performance
For an evening plan, the Phoenix Picturehouse is a century-old cinema with two screens and an upstairs bar. The Old Fire Station on George Street is an arts centre showing local and international performance and artwork; its autumn programme includes Ronin Theatre's production of A Very Expensive Poison by Lucy Prebble. For larger touring shows, check the New Theatre Oxford listings on George Street, and the Oxford Playhouse on Beaumont Street for drama and dance.
Planning a wet day in Oxford
A few habits make a rainy day easier:
- Mondays are the awkward day. The History of Science Museum is closed and the Pitt Rivers opens only at noon, while the Ashmolean and Natural History museum open as usual. The Bate Collection is a Monday option in the afternoon.
- Group by area. Beaumont Street, St Giles, Parks Road and Broad Street form a tight loop covering four museums and the Bodleian. St Aldates, with Christ Church, the Museum of Oxford and the castle nearby, makes a second cluster.
- Book the paid things. Bodleian tours, the Aphrodite exhibition and castle tours can fill up during school holidays, and advance booking is recommended by each venue.
- Leave the car. Oxford's traffic filters started on 28 September 2026, and city centre parking is limited, so Park and Ride and the train are simpler.
If you are new to the city rather than visiting, the Oxford Society homepage collects our other local guides, from moving to Oxford to days out.