Dreaming spires, the oldest university in the English-speaking world and free museums full of wonders: Oxford rewards a slow day of wandering.
Oxford has been a place of learning since at least the end of the eleventh century, making its university the oldest in the English speaking world. It is made up of more than thirty colleges, each with its own buildings, gardens and traditions. Among its students have been prime ministers, saints, scientists and writers, from Oscar Wilde to Stephen Hawking.
The poet Matthew Arnold called it the city of dreaming spires, and walking its streets of golden stone, past colleges, libraries and chapels, it is easy to see why. It is also a lively, busy city with excellent museums, many of them free. This guide covers ten things to see and do, followed by tips for visiting the colleges and how to get there.
1. The Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera
The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and one of the most famous in the world. It was opened in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, on the site of an older library. It is a legal deposit library, which means it is entitled to a copy of every book published in Britain.
The oldest part, Duke Humfrey’s Library, is a beautiful medieval reading room with painted ceilings and rows of old books. It appeared as the Hogwarts library in the Harry Potter films. Below it, the Divinity School, with its extraordinary carved stone ceiling, was used as the Hogwarts infirmary.
Next to the Bodleian stands the Radcliffe Camera, a round domed building completed in 1749 and designed by James Gibbs. It is one of the most famous buildings in Oxford, and it is now a reading room. It can only be seen inside on some guided tours.
Guided tours of the Bodleian run through the day, and they are the only way to see some rooms, so book ahead. The Divinity School can be visited on its own for a small fee. The Weston Library, across the road, has free exhibitions of treasures from the collections, and a café.
2. Christ Church
Christ Church is one of the largest and grandest of Oxford’s colleges. It was founded by Cardinal Wolsey and refounded by King Henry VIII in 1546. It is unique in being both a college and a cathedral, as its chapel is also the cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford.
Its dining hall inspired the Great Hall at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films, and the grand staircase leading up to it appeared in the films. Portraits of famous members of the college hang on the walls. The college has produced thirteen British prime ministers.
Christ Church has a special connection with Alice in Wonderland. Lewis Carroll, the author, was a mathematics tutor at the college, and Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired the story, was the daughter of the dean. Look for Alice in the stained glass of the hall.
Tom Tower, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, holds a great bell called Great Tom, which is rung a hundred and one times every evening. Christ Church Meadow, beside the college, is a lovely place for a walk down to the river. There is an entry charge for the college and cathedral.
3. The Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum is Britain’s oldest public museum, first opened in 1683. It is the university’s museum of art and archaeology, and its collections span the world and thousands of years of history. Entry is free.
Its treasures include Egyptian mummies, Greek and Roman sculpture, and paintings by great artists including Uccello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Turner and Picasso. It has the Alfred Jewel, a golden Anglo-Saxon treasure, and a Stradivarius violin known as the Messiah, one of the finest in the world. There is something to fascinate everyone.
The museum was transformed in the early twenty first century, with bright new galleries arranged around a central atrium. The displays make connections between cultures and periods. It hosts major special exhibitions through the year.
The rooftop restaurant has views over the city’s spires. Allow at least half a day. The Ashmolean is on Beaumont Street, close to the city centre.
4. The Natural History Museum and the Pitt Rivers
The Oxford University Museum of Natural History is housed in a spectacular Victorian Gothic building, with a glass roof held up by iron columns decorated like trees. It is free to enter. It is one of the most beautiful museum buildings in the world.
Its collections include dinosaur skeletons, fossils and specimens of animals from around the world. Its most famous exhibit is the remains of a dodo, the extinct bird that inspired a character in Alice in Wonderland. In 1860, a famous debate about Darwin’s theory of evolution was held in the building.
Through a door at the back of the museum lies the Pitt Rivers Museum, one of the most extraordinary museums anywhere. It is crammed with more than half a million objects from around the world, displayed in old wooden cases in a dimly lit hall. There are masks, boats, weapons, musical instruments, toys and much more.
The Pitt Rivers is a place to explore slowly, discovering something new in every case. It has been rethinking how it displays objects from other cultures, working with the communities they came from. Both museums are free and very popular with families.
5. The Covered Market and punting
The Covered Market, in the heart of the city, has been trading since 1774. It is home to butchers, bakers, cafés, cake shops and independent stores, many of them long established. It is a lovely place to wander and have lunch.
Look out for the cake shop that makes elaborate celebration cakes, and the old fashioned butchers and cobblers. The market is full of character. It is busiest at lunchtime.
Punting is one of the classic Oxford experiences. You can hire a punt at Magdalen Bridge and glide along the River Cherwell past the college meadows. Chauffeured punts are also available if you would rather sit back and relax.
The Cherwell is quieter and more rural than the river in Cambridge, with willows and meadows along its banks. Punts are also available at the Cherwell Boathouse, further north. It is lovely on a summer’s afternoon.
6. Radcliffe Square, the Sheldonian and the views
Radcliffe Square, around the Radcliffe Camera, is one of the most beautiful squares in the world, surrounded by colleges, the Bodleian and the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. You can climb the church tower for one of the best views in Oxford, looking straight down on the Radcliffe Camera. It is an unforgettable sight.
The Sheldonian Theatre, nearby, was one of the first buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren, completed in 1669. It is used for university ceremonies and concerts. You can climb to its cupola for views over the city.
Carfax Tower, at the crossroads in the centre of the city, is another good viewpoint. From these towers, you can see why Oxford is called the city of dreaming spires. The views are best on a clear morning.
Nearby, the Bridge of Sighs, a covered bridge linking two parts of Hertford College, is one of the most photographed spots in Oxford. Broad Street and Turl Street are lined with colleges and bookshops. Blackwell’s bookshop has a huge underground room full of books.
7. Magdalen College and the Botanic Garden
Magdalen College, beside the River Cherwell, is one of the most beautiful colleges in Oxford. Its tall bell tower is a landmark. It has a deer park, where deer graze among the trees.
Addison’s Walk, a path around a meadow by the river, is one of the most peaceful walks in the city. In spring, the meadow is covered in rare wild flowers called snake’s head fritillaries. The college’s cloisters and chapel are beautiful.
Every year at dawn on the first of May, the college choir sings from the top of Magdalen Tower, a tradition going back centuries. Crowds gather on the bridge and in the streets below to listen. It is known as May Morning, and it is followed by celebrations across the city.
Across the road, the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, founded in 1621, is the oldest botanic garden in Britain. It has glasshouses of tropical plants and gardens by the river. It inspired scenes in books by Lewis Carroll and Philip Pullman.
8. Oxford Castle and the old city
Oxford Castle was built by the Normans after the conquest, and part of it still stands, including St George’s Tower and the castle mound. For centuries the castle was used as a prison, and it remained one until the 1990s. Today it has been turned into a hotel, restaurants and a visitor attraction.
Guided tours of Oxford Castle and Prison take you up the Saxon tower, into the crypt and through the old prison cells. The guides, often in costume, tell stories of prisoners and escapes. You can climb the mound for views.
Legend says the Empress Matilda escaped from the castle in 1142 during a winter siege, crossing the frozen river dressed in white to hide against the snow. It is one of the great stories of English history. The tours bring it to life.
The area around the castle has restaurants and bars. It is a short walk from the station and the city centre. The Westgate shopping centre, nearby, has a rooftop terrace with views.
9. Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace, about eight miles north of Oxford at Woodstock, is one of the greatest houses in England, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built in the early eighteenth century for John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, as a gift from the nation after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. It is the only non royal, non religious house in England to be called a palace.
Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim in 1874, and an exhibition tells his story. The palace’s state rooms are filled with tapestries, paintings and fine furniture. The scale of the building is astonishing.
The park, landscaped by Capability Brown, has a lake, a grand bridge, woodland and formal gardens. There are walks, a maze and a butterfly house. The park is beautiful in every season.
Blenheim hosts events through the year, including concerts, festivals and a Christmas light trail. Allow a full day. It is easiest to reach by car, and a driver by the hour can combine it with the Cotswolds.
10. The Cotswolds
The Cotswolds, one of the most beautiful areas of England, begin just west of Oxford. They are a landscape of rolling hills, honey coloured stone villages, market towns and country churches. Millions of visitors come every year.
Burford, about twenty miles west, is known as the gateway to the Cotswolds, with a steep high street of old houses and shops running down to the River Windrush. Bibury, with its row of weavers’ cottages, is said to be one of the prettiest villages in England. Bourton-on-the-Water, with its low bridges over the river, is very popular.
The villages of Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden and Broadway are lovely too. Each has its own character, with old inns, tea rooms and antique shops. Walking between them on the Cotswold Way and other footpaths is a wonderful way to see the countryside.
The villages are spread out and public transport is limited, so a driver for the day is the easiest way to see several of them. Parking in the most popular villages can be difficult on summer weekends.
Where to eat and drink
Oxford has a wide choice of places to eat. The Covered Market is great for lunch, and Jericho, a neighbourhood just north west of the centre, has independent restaurants and cafés. Cowley Road, east of the centre, has restaurants from all over the world.
Old pubs are part of the Oxford experience. The Turf Tavern, hidden down a narrow alley, is one of the oldest pubs in the city, and the Bear Inn is one of the smallest. Many pubs have connections with famous writers and students, and riverside pubs such as the Perch and the Trout are lovely in summer.
Tips for visiting the colleges
Each college sets its own opening times and prices, and many are closed to visitors at certain times, especially during exams in late spring and early summer. Check the college websites before you go. Some colleges are free, while the most famous charge an entry fee.
Colleges are working places where students live and study, so be respectful and keep off the grass unless it is allowed. The best way to see several colleges is on a guided walking tour, which also explains their history.
Getting there and getting around
Oxford station is a short walk from the city centre, with fast trains to London Paddington in around an hour, and to London Marylebone, Birmingham and the North. Oxford Parkway, north of the city, also has trains to London Marylebone.
Heathrow is about an hour away by road, and Birmingham Airport a little further. Parts of the city centre have traffic restrictions and a zero emission zone, and parking is limited, so park and ride sites on the edge of the city are the easiest option for drivers.
A car booked ahead is the easiest way to travel between Oxford and the airports with luggage, and to reach Blenheim Palace and the Cotswolds.
Ride with ZeroLanes. From your door, the station or the airport to anywhere in Oxford, at a price fixed before you confirm. Travelling between cities? Get a fixed price for the journey, or keep a car and driver for the day with hourly hire.