Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

The heart of the University of Oxford: the Bodleian, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and the domed Radcliffe Camera beside it, Oxford's most famous building. Guided tours take you into the Divinity School, with its spectacular 15th-century vaulted ceiling (used as Hogwarts' hospital wing in the Harry Potter films), and the ancient reading room of Duke Humfrey's Library.

Book tours online. Free exhibitions are held in the Weston Library opposite. Nearby are the Bridge of Sighs and the Sheldonian Theatre, whose cupola you can climb for a view over the 'dreaming spires'. Oxford is easiest by public transport: parking is hard to find and expensive, so use the park-and-ride buses or take the train from London.