Most of Oxford’s attractions cluster around the compact city centre. The university is made up of 39 colleges, each of which has its own character. Christ Church and Magdalen (pronounced “mawd-lin”) are the grandest, but smaller colleges, such as Corpus Christi or Merton, have a more intimate charm. Once you’ve seen the colleges, seek out the city’s world-class museums, modern art gallery, and 18th-century Covered Market.
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- Best for history
- Best for sightseeing
- Best for art
- Best for culture
- Best for families
- Best for nature
- Best day trips
Best for history
Christ Church
£ | chch.ox.ac.uk
Aristocratic Christ Church is the largest and most impressive of all the Oxford colleges. It was founded in 1525 and counts 13 British prime ministers among its alumni. Charles Dodgson (also known as Lewis Carroll), the author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, taught mathematics here and was inspired by many of the college’s quirks. Look out for the stained-glass window celebrating Dodgson’s work along with Alice, the daughter of dean, who was his inspiration. You can also see two long-necked brass firedogs in the Great Hall, supposedly the inspiration for Alice’s long neck. If you can, come for Evensong in the college cathedral.
Pitt Rivers Museum
Free | prm.ox.ac.uk
A treasure trove of blowpipes, magical charms, feather cloaks, story robes, mermaid dishes and libation sticks, the Pitt Rivers Museum is a dimly lit wonderland for the curious. Its Victorian glass cases hold more than 18,000 objects collected from around the world, all arranged by theme rather than geographical area. If you’re visiting with children, ask for a wind-up torch and treasure trail to seek out the toy mice hidden among the displays and check out the events programme for family-friendly weekend activities.
Museum of Oxford
Dedicated to telling the story of Oxford and its people, the newly refurbished Museum of Oxford delves into the city’s Roman past, the history of the university and its students, the Morris Motor Works and how they all influenced the city’s social history. Learn about Elizabethan wall paintings, the invention of penicillin and Cooper’s finest marmalade or join one of the museum’s wide range of special events including themed city walks, guided tours, family crafting sessions and community heritage projects.
Best for sightseeing
Radcliffe Square
£ (Divinity School and St Mary’s tower) | bodleian.ox.ac.uk
The cobbled Radcliffe Square is the heart of the university with the imposing, Palladian-style Radcliffe Camera framed by the medieval University Church of St Mary the Virgin, the 15th-century Bodleian Library and Brasenose and All Souls colleges. Most of the library is closed to the public but book an extended tour and you can get access to Duke Humphrey’s medieval library, the Radcliffe Camera and its original, as well as its modern, reading rooms. You can also visit the Bodleian’s Divinity School, the oldest teaching room in the university, and climb to the top of St Mary’s tower for magnificent views.
The Oxford Union Old Library
£ | oxford-union.org/pages/old-library
Arguably one of the world’s most prestigious debating societies, the Oxford Union has hosted everyone from Albert Einstein to Sir Winston Churchill and the Dalai Lama over the years. Its hallowed debates are open only to members (predominantly the University’s students and alumni), but the original debating chamber built in 1857, now the Old Library, is open to non members and is adorned with sumptuous Pre-Raphaelite murals by William Morris and Dante Gabriel Rosetti. You may also be able to visit the debate chamber to see where those lofty discussions take place if no other event is scheduled.
For the low-down on the history of the Union, you can book a private talk with one of the library team. The Union is closed for the first two weeks of July and at the end of August; check opening times to avoid disappointment.
Guided walking tour
££ | experienceoxfordshire.org
The best way to see Oxford is on foot and a guided walking tour will reveal the history behind the city’s quiet cobbled backstreets and secret corners. Several organisations offer tours from professional outfits to student guides who’ll also give you an insight into university life. Themed tours of the university, literary locations, Alice in Wonderland, or Inspector Morse, Lewis and Endeavor locations are all available.
If you’re interested in art, you can download a map for a self-guided tour of Oxford’s finest public artworks from the City Council, which features 22 works scattered across the city.
Best for art
Ashmolean Museum
Free | ashmolean.org
The oldest public museum in England, the Ashmolean, was founded in 1683 to house Elias Ashmole’s collection of antiquities. A major refit in 2009 doubled display space and transformed the building’s interior into a light, free-flowing exhibition space linked by walkways with galleries. The collection covers everything from Guy Fawkes’ lantern to Michelangelo’s studies for the Sistine Chapel. Although it is primarily a museum of antiquities, you can also head for the third floor to see the Ashmolean’s growing collection of modern art featuring work by Pablo Picasso, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud.
Modern Art Oxford
Free (special exhibitions may be ticketed) | modernartoxford.org.uk
Modern Art Oxford, which opened in 1965 and is hidden behind one of Oxford’s prime shopping streets, has developed an international reputation for its displays of contemporary visual arts. Painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installations, design, crafts and performance are all represented in a changing programme of exhibitions that features local as well as international artists. There is also a wonderfully quiet café away from the city hustle and bustle.
Irving Gallery
Free | irvinggallery.com
Set in the front rooms of an unassuming Victorian terraced house, this tiny gallery has earned a fast-growing reputation for showcasing excellent work. It punches well above its weight in terms of quality and exhibits paintings, prints, sculpture and ceramics by emerging and established artists. The exhibitions are carefully curated by owner Vanessa Lacey and many offer the opportunity to meet the artist and discuss their work. The intimate domestic setting offers a welcome contrast to the usual contemporary gallery experience, while the annual open call brings a wide variety of new art to the public.
Best for culture
Schwarzman Centre for Humanities
££ | schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
Oxford’s newest cultural hub houses seven of the university’s humanities faculties as well as a concert hall with world-class acoustics, a theatre, cinema, dance studio, museum and a black box experimental space. With an ambitious public cultural programme linked to the work of the resident faculties, it hosts an impressive line-up of classical concerts, theatre and dance performances, as well as talks, workshops and art exhibitions. Set in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, its rather modest exterior gives way to a four-storey central atrium that is worth a visit in its own right.
For keen visitors, the Schwarzman offers a variety of membership tiers that offer priority booking and ticket offers, but if you’d just like to visit you can drop in for a coffee in the café and wander around the latest of the changing exhibitions.
Holywell Music Room
The Holywell Music Room has been hosting recitals for more than 250 years – it is said to be the oldest custom-built concert hall in Europe. The acoustics are excellent for chamber music, with events throughout the year performed by individuals and ensembles from around the world. Particularly delightful are the Oxford Coffee Concerts, held at 11.15am every Sunday.
The Ultimate Picture Palace
£ | uppcinema.com
Queue at the window outside for a ticket before stepping back in time into Oxford’s only independent cinema, the community-owned Ultimate Picture Palace (UPP) just off Cowley Road. A diminutive, art deco building with a single screen, it’s a much-loved local institution where you can slide into a red velvet seat with a glass of wine, a guest beer (or even a cup of tea and slice of cake) to watch an eclectic mix of independent, mainstream, foreign language and classic films. Best of all, there’s no adverts.
Best for families
Oxford Castle and Prison
££ | oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
Oxford’s 1,000-year-old castle and former prison have both been redeveloped, with part of the old prison transformed into the Malmaison Hotel. The remainder, plus the original castle, reopened as a museum that tells the story of the castle from 1071 until 1996, when the prison closed – with tours run by “characters” from the museum’s past. On Friday evenings at 6.30pm you can join a ghost tour in the castle yard for an evening walk. It’s a spooky but fun performance with props and illusions to bring tales of the city’s ghosts to life.
Covered Market
£ | oxford-coveredmarket.co.uk
Along with traditional butchers, fruit and veg stalls and a brilliant host of independent cafés, Oxford’s Victorian Covered Market has everything you need for a gourmet picnic from local cheese and organic wines to pizzas, pies and pastries. The 50 or so traders here also include a bookshop, jewellers, florist, picture framers, and sustainable fashion brands.
Don’t miss Gulp Fiction, the covered market’s independent bookstore, which hosts lots of live events from Sunday jazz and folk sessions to visits from comedians, authors, editors and poets - and serves excellent coffee and craft beers.
The Story Museum
Who could resist a museum that takes you on a magical journey between the Whispering Wood, the Enchanted Library and the Story Arcade? A spellbinding place dedicated to all things fictional, the Story Museum lets you wander between shelves and find yourself inside a story, fly through 1,000 years of Oxford’s literary history, and find a surprise around every corner. Along with the museum exhibits, check out the events calendar for regular talks, performances and author visits, a comic club, illustration workshops, and visits by puppeteers and musicians. A joy for story lovers young or old.
Best for nature
Oxford Botanic Garden
The Oxford Botanic Garden – a haven of stone-walled peace in the heart of the busy city centre – is Britain’s oldest. The Walled Garden houses scientific and heritage collections, while the Lower Garden is more ornamental. On a chilly day head for the heated greenhouses, which house 1,200 different species. Plants are well labelled with additional species information on the website.
Look out for a bench under a tall black pine by the River Cherwell. This is where Lyra and Will from Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials meet at midday on midsummer’s day every year – in the books, that is.
Punting
££ | oxfordpunting.co.uk; cherwellboathouseco.uk
Hire a punt from one of the punt stations on the Rivers Thames (or Isis, as it’s locally known) and Cherwell, and float serenely past the college gardens and through the university meadows to the countryside beyond. If you don’t know how to punt, you could hire a pro so you don’t waste much of your time going round in circles and bumping into other river traffic. Alternatively, if you fancy a more leisurely trip up the river, Oxford River Cruises offer sightseeing tours, picnic and dinner cruises in small private boats.
Port Meadow
Free | oxford.gov.uk
Oxford’s Freemen were given protected grazing rights on Port Meadow in the 10th century, a privilege recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 and exercised ever since. Today, it is Oxford’s biggest outdoor common area, beloved by students and city residents alike for its big-sky views, meadow walks, wild swimming, and grazing cattle and horses. Look closely and you can also see historic remains dating back to the Bronze Age.
Pick up some picnic supplies in Jericho and spend an afternoon on the meadow, or meander over the red Bailey bridge to The Medley, a seasonal outdoor bar and beer garden serving wood-fired pizzas, or stroll slightly further downstream to The Perch and the quaint village of Binsey.
Best day trips
Blenheim Palace
££ | blenheimpalace.com
Blenheim Palace is an extravagant Baroque mansion and World Heritage Site that is surrounded by undulating Capability Brown parkland. It was originally created for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, after the battle of Blenheim in 1704, and it later became the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. You can visit the room he was born in and see early photographs and extracts from his speeches, or experience how the other half lived in the Life Below Stairs exhibition. The estate sits 10 miles north-west of Oxford in the handsome village of Woodstock and hosts events across the year, everything from food and flower festivals to a triathlon, horse trials, jousting tournaments, music concerts and car shows.
Burford
Twenty miles west of Oxford is the archetypal Cotswold market town of Burford, with one of the best medieval “wool churches” in the country; in the late Middle Ages, England’s wealth came from wool, and was used to build and adorn magnificent churches. St John the Baptist is a gem, while the high street is worth exploring for its antique shops and tea rooms. Afterwards, wander into the village’s winding back lanes to discover lop-sided old cottages, handsome stone townhouses and Elizabethan treasures. For food and old-world charm, head for the Lamb Inn on Sheep Street.
How we choose
Every attraction and activity in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets and styles, from world-class museums to family-friendly theme parks – to best suit every type of traveller. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up to date recommendations.