Oxford University
The city of dreaming spires — Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church college and 900 years of academic history
The city of dreaming spires — Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera, Christ Church college and 900 years of academic history
Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, with teaching recorded as early as 1096. Its 39 colleges line narrow medieval streets, honey-coloured towers rising above walled gardens, ancient libraries and quiet quadrangles.
An hour from London by train, a day trip takes in Christ Church — inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall — the Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum's collections spanning Egyptian mummies to a Stradivarius, and a pint in the pub where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis drank weekly.
Oxford's 39 colleges range from the enormous Christ Church, with its cathedral, picture gallery and Tom Quad, to tiny Hertford College, best known for its Bridge of Sighs spanning New College Lane. Each is an independent community with its own dining hall, chapel, library and traditions.
Christ Church is the most popular starting point. The Great Hall, with its vaulted ceiling and long tables, inspired Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. For a quieter experience, Magdalen College offers a deer park and riverside walks, while New College has a fourteenth-century cloister and a garden that once formed part of the old city wall.
The Bodleian Library complex is the heart of the university. Guided tours take you through the fifteenth-century Divinity School, whose fan-vaulted ceiling doubled as the Hogwarts infirmary on screen, and into Duke Humfrey's medieval reading room above. The circular Radcliffe Camera, just across the square, is a reading room rather than a public building, but its exterior is one of Oxford's most iconic sights.
The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street is world-class, covering ancient Egyptian artefacts through to contemporary art — allow at least an hour. The Pitt Rivers Museum, reached through the Natural History Museum on Parks Road, is a gloriously eccentric collection of ethnographic objects in crowded Victorian cases.
The covered market, trading since 1774, is Oxford's best lunch spot. Browse the butchers, fishmongers and bakers, then grab a sandwich from the Alternative Tuck Shop or a legendary cookie from Ben's Cookies, which started right here before expanding worldwide.
The Turf Tavern is a low-beamed pub hidden down an alley off Holywell Street — it has served beer since the thirteenth century and claims Bill Clinton among its former patrons. The Eagle and Child on St Giles' is where Tolkien and Lewis held their weekly Inklings meetings. The Jericho neighbourhood, a short walk north, is Oxford's independent quarter with bookshops, wine bars and brunch spots.
Several colleges are free to enter, and the Ashmolean Museum and Pitt Rivers Museum are both free — a full day in Oxford need not cost much
The Oxford Tube runs every 10–15 minutes from Victoria, Marble Arch and Shepherd's Bush. It is cheaper than the train, has free Wi-Fi, and drops you in the city centre — no station walk needed.
Christ Church gets very busy by midday. Arrive when it opens at 10am to enjoy the Great Hall and cathedral before the crowds build up.
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin has the best panoramic view in Oxford. The 127 steps are steep but the 360-degree view over the colleges and spires is worth it.
Skip the chain restaurants and eat in the covered market instead. Ben's Cookies, the Pieminster stall and the Alpha Bar are all favourites with students and locals.
If the weather is good, walk south from Folly Bridge along the Thames towpath to see the college boathouses where Oxford's rowing crews train. It is a peaceful contrast to the busy city centre.
London Travel Writer · 12+ years covering UK attractions and tourism
Last reviewed: February 28, 2026
