I love visiting great universities and of course Oxford was in the top 5 of my wish list! So, on one of my trips to England, I made sure to include the city in my itinerary.
If you'd like to go there too and want to know what to do in Oxford (apart from the university, of course!), this post will help you.
Well, Oxford is one of the oldest universities in the world, although the exact date of its foundation is unknown. It is said that school activities have been taking place there since 1096.
Its walls are steeped in history and its classrooms have been home to five kings, 25 British prime ministers, dozens of Nobel Prize winners (more than 60!) and world leaders, as well as great writers such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde and C. S. Lewis. S. Lewis.
The buildings that house the colleges are definitely the city's main attraction, although there are other places to visit.
A good starting point is to find the "centre of Oxford", which is exactly at the intersection of four streets: Cornmarket Street, Queen Street, High Street and St Aldate's Street. From there you can reach practically everything on foot.
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What to do in Oxford
On the corner of Cornmarket Street and Queen Street you can see - and even climb, if you like - the Carfax Tower. On St Aldate's Street you'll find the Museum of Oxford.
Although it's interesting, you'll need more time to visit it (if you're staying in the city for two days, for example). If you continue a little further, you'll reach the city's main attraction, the University.
Check out what to see in Oxford
Colleges in Oxford
There are 38 colleges in all, but not all of them are open to visitors. Even those that are open can have their opening hours altered due to school events or exams. That's why it's always a good idea to check before planning your visit. The highlights are:
1. Christ Church
Founded in 1524, this is Oxford's largest college. Its great dining hall and staircase were the inspiration and setting for Harry Potter's Hogwart's Great Hall. It was also there that Lewis Carroll created "Alice in Wonderland".
Another highlight is its cathedral, which is the most famous in the city. For this visit, expect to spend around 1.30 hours and, when you've finished, your exit will probably be via the High Street, one of the city's main streets, which will naturally take you to the Church of St Mary The Virgin.
Opening times: Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm
Address: Aldate's St
Price: £8.00
2. Church of St Mary The Virgin
This church belongs to the university and is where sermons and graduation ceremonies are usually held. If you're up for climbing the 127 steps of its tower, built in 1280, you'll have one of the best views of Oxford. There is a passage on the left, called St Mary's Passage, which leads to the courtyard where the Radcliffe Camera is located.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm
Address: High St
Price: £8.00
3. Radcliffe Camera
Built in 1749, the Radcliffe Camera is the reading room of the Bodleian Library, which is just next door. The building has a circular shape and is one of the city's postcards, but unfortunately it's only frequented by students and we can only take a peek when we're on the Bodleian Library tour.
Address: Radcliffe Square
There are still several other colleges to visit which, if you have time, are worthwhile, such as: Magdalen College (on High St.), New College (on Holywell St.), Merton College (on Merton St.), All Souls College (on High St.), Trinity College (on Broad St.), St Edmund Hall (on Queen's Lane)
4 - Bodleian Library
This was the university's first library and holds no less than 11 million books! Around 4,000 new copies arrive every week and legend has it that there is at least one copy of every title published in Great Britain. Can you imagine that?
It's huge and not everything can be visited, but the two highlights are:
5. Duke Humphrey's Library
Its highlight is the medieval book wing, which can only be visited on a guided tour. A curiosity here is that one of its reading rooms was used as the setting for the Hogwarts library in the Harry Potter films.
Openingtimes: Monday to Saturday at 10:30, 11:30, 13:00 and 14:00, and on Sundays at 11:30, 14:00 and 15:00.
Address: Broad Street
Price: £7.00
6. Divinity School
Built in the Gothic style in 1488 to house theology classes, it was also used as a set for the Harry Potter films: it housed the school infirmary. This visit is usually combined with the previous one, as the two spaces are next to each other, separated by a staircase.
Openinghours: Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, Saturdays from 9am to 4.30pm and Sundays from 11am to 5pm.
Price: £1.00
7 - Bridge of Sighs
Taking Catte Street you'll still see many old buildings belonging to the University, but a special highlight is the Bridge of Sighs, which is an enclosed passageway linking two buildings, Hertford College and New College, named after the bridge in Venice.
Following the road to Broad Street, you can visit the Natural History Museum.
8 - Museum of the History of Science
This museum's collection is made up of the university's scientific collection. Among the highlights are some medieval scientific instruments, astronomical and navigational objects and the main attraction: the blackboard used by Albert Einstein during a lecture in 1932, which still holds his writings and equations relating to the diameter, expansion and age of the universe.
Openinghours: Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 5pm; Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sunday, 2pm to 5pm
Address: Broad Street
Price: free entry
Up to this point you've got an itinerary for a day in Oxford pretty well tied up, but if you can stay longer or are interested in visiting places other than these, there's no shortage of tourist attractions. Even just getting lost in the streets of Oxford is worthwhile.
How to get to Oxford
If you're in London and want to take a day trip to Oxford, here are your transport options:
Train | at Paddington station you can catch a National Express or Virgin. The journey takes between 50 minutes and 1 hour and the return fare is between 25 and 30 pounds. A good website to search for prices and timetables is The Trainline.
Buses | you can catch the bus at Victoria Coach Station and the companies that make the journey are Megabus, a Euroliness, Stagecoach and the Oxford Bus Company. The journey takes almost 2 hours and the price can vary from 1 to 10 pounds per way.
And when it comes to planning your trip, don't forget to read all our England tips already published here on the blog and don't forget to check out the tickets and tours which you can buy right here, with discounts and other advantages.
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