LivingTravelTop 12 things to do in Oxford

Top 12 things to do in Oxford

Oxford, the county town of Oxfordshire, is home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The city was founded in the 11th century and the first mention of the university is about 100 years later, although the exact year is unknown. Touring the university, meeting its famous alumni, and admiring the historic architecture of its 38 universities is one reason why visitors often include this popular city in their travel plans. But there is much more to enjoy in this city, about 60 miles northwest of London.

Here are a dozen ideas to get you started.

01
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Go for a walk

Oxford is a relatively small city and one of the best ways to see it is on foot, in and out of streets and alleys, exploring the grounds of the universities that are open to the public, and making your own discoveries. Pick up a brochure at the train station or download an app – Oxford City Guides has some good downloadable audio guides. Or just follow our two guided walks through Oxford in the morning and afternoon to see the terrain and decide what you want to visit later. There really is so much to discover and so many lovely surprises. And being a college town, there are plenty of cafes and pubs along the way to rest your weary feet.

02
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Explore the oldest public museum in the UK

Direction
Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford OX1 2PH , Reino Unido

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When the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology opened in 1683, the word “museum” was not even used in English.

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology is the oldest public museum in the UK. When it was first opened in 1683, the word “Museum” was not even used in English. A six-story extension, opened in 2009, turned the museum from a dark and dark series of stuffed Victorian galleries into a modern, light-filled exhibition space; doubled in size and finally made his fabulous collections accessible to all.

Those collections cover ten millennia of art and artifacts from Eastern and Western civilizations and include some incredible treasures, including:

  • The Jericho Skull – A 10,000-year-old representation of the human image, one of the earliest ever found.
  • Alfred’s Jewel : An ancient Anglo-Saxon object of gold, enamel and rock crystal, which may have belonged to King Alfred the Great, the first king of all England.
  • Powhatan Mantle : Pocahontas’s father’s deerskin and wampum cloak.
  • Drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael.
  • Pottery made more than 2000 years ago.
  • A Stradivarius violin circa 1715.

And the best part is that everything is free.

03
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Follow Einstein’s lecture at the Museum of the History of Science

Direction
Broad St , Oxford OX1 3AZ , Reino Unido

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+44 1865 277293

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By the time Albert Einstein gave his second Oxford lecture in 1931, he was already so internationally famous that the blackboard that used to illustrate his speech was never erased. Instead, it was immediately taken to this museum where it has been preserved ever since.

If analyzing Einstein’s calculations, in his own hand, doesn’t intrigue you, there is still a lot to do in this museum. It contains one of the best collections of medieval and ancient Islamic scientific instruments in the world: beautiful sundials and astrolabs. The 11th-century Arabic astrolabe, pictured here, is an astronomical navigation tool, a precursor to the sextant.

The collection also includes Charles Dodgson’s camera. The Oxford mathematician, better known as the Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, used the camera to take his famous series of photos of Alice Liddell, who inspired his Alice books.

The museum is free although a donation is suggested.

If you are a museum enthusiast, you will not be short of attractions in Oxford. Here are a few more to add to your list:

  • The Natural History Museum – Enjoy dinosaur skeletons, butterflies, and colorful beetles in display cases. Collections of animals and minerals and the most famous treasure, the skull and skin of a real Dodo bird, collected in the 17th century.
  • The Pitt Rivers Museum – This is either an archaeological museum or a large collection of things, depending on your point of view.

04
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Tour the Bodleian Library

Direction
Broad St, Oxford OX1 3BG, United Kingdom

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+44 1865 277162

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The librarian John Rouse (1574-1652) must have been shivering in his boots when he had to reject King Charles I’s demand that a book be removed from the Bodleian Library and delivered to him at his palace. The reason this historic library collection has grown and grown is that it is forbidden by law to remove any book. Instead, he brought a copy of the founding bylaws of the library. Charles the I was so impressed that he agreed that “the statutes of the pious founder be religiously respected.”

Bodleian is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and second only to the British Library in terms of the size and scope of its collection. It originated with a collection donated to the university in the 15th century by Duke Humfrey, the Duke of Gloucester and brother of King Henry V. Over the years, it grew to encompass around 13 million books and related items in various buildings, including the famous Radcliffe. Camera. The original medieval rooms, including the Duke Humfrey Library, are still used by scholars and are open to the public for guided tours and some self-guided audio tours.

05
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Get outside and smell the flowers at Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum

Direction
Rose Ln, Oxford OX1 4AZ, UK

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+44 1865 286690

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The Oxford Botanic Garden, with 6,000 different types of plants, is a year-round delight, both outdoors and inside seven glass houses. There is always something to see and the garden’s website points out what’s in season and looks best when you visit.

Inside the glass houses, you can discover alpine plants, lilies, cloud forest plants, and carnivorous plants.

The oldest section of the garden, the walled garden, dates back to 1621 and houses collections of medicinal plants, geographically arranged borders, and even a walk through the woods. And as you explore the Lower Garden’s many collections, including Gin Border, featuring plants used in the production of gin, look for the corner bench featured in Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy, it’s where Will and Lyra might meet. between their respective worlds

And if 130 acres of tree specimens, conifers from North America, livestock, and landscaped properties, including some of the first redwood trees brought to Europe, intrigue you, hop on a bus (the X38 bus travels between the garden and the Arboretum every 20 minutes) and head to the Harcourt Arboretum about 5 miles away.

06
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Don’t miss Christ Church College

Direction
Oxford, United Kingdom

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+44 1865 276150

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Almost all Oxford University colleges are open to the public at certain times of the day or on special tours. Of those who only have time to visit one, go to Christ Church, the largest and possibly the most interesting for visitors. The founding of the university is generally attributed to Henry VIII. In reality, however, Henry stole the thunder from his late Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsely.

Enter the university through the gates of the Tom Tower, the Christopher Wren-designed bell tower, which leads to the Tom Quad. Old Tom, the tower bell, rings 101 times at 9:15 pm every night. It’s a tradition that dates back to the founding of the school when it had 101 academics. The doors were locked at 9:15 pm and the bell rang to indicate that each of the students was safe inside.

Christ Church College’s roster of alumni and faculty is very impressive, including 14 British Prime Ministers, dozens of artists, writers and musicians, and a couple of Nobel laureates. The Christ Church Picture Gallery contains paintings by the Old Master by Tintoretto and Fra Lippo Lippi and drawings by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Albrecht Durer. Lewis Carroll, (real name Charles Dodgson) was a gifted mathematician in college and his muse, Alice Liddell, 11, who inspired Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” she was the daughter of the dean of the university

But as impressive as all of this is, it’s probably not why long lines of visitors line up every day to buy tickets to enter and join tours. Harry Potter is more likely the reason why visitors to Oxford flock to this university.

Corridors, stairways, and cloisters represented Hogwarts and the Hogwarts infirmary in the movies. And the magical Great Hall, where so many scenes unfold, is inspired by the Great Hall of Christ Church itself. Many people believe the scenes were filmed in this room, but a replica was actually created at Warner Brothers’ Leavesden Studios outside London. You can visit it as part of the Warner Brothers London Studios Tour; The making of Harry Potter. Or take a look at the real one, on a tour around here.

07
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Take a shopping break in a historic market

Direction
Market St , Oxford OX1 3DZ , Reino Unido

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Oxford Covered Market, in the city center, between the universities and the main shopping street, is the perfect place to take a break, eat something and enjoy some artisanal shopping. The market was officially opened in 1774 after both local officials and university donors decided that the traffic, smells, and debris from the market streets were becoming a public nuisance. It has been operating ever since. Today, most of the stalls have been converted into shops (more than 40 of them) selling clothes, leather goods, dried flowers and flowers, herbs and scents, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, elegant and glorious cakes. cheeses. Almost all traders are independent. And the building itself is interesting to walk around with its narrow shopping streets under a beamed ceiling. It was designed by John Gwynn, who also designed Oxford’s famous Magdalen Bridge. There are several snack shops and a pub or two, but if you ‘Cafe de Brown.

08
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Scare some ghosts in a castle prison

Direction
Oxford OX1 1AZ, United Kingdom

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Oxford Castle started out as an Anglo-Saxon fortress, before William the Conqueror, and some parts are at least 1,000 years old. Parapsychologists claim that it is one of the most haunted buildings in Britain. They would, if they didn’t, excavations to make the building safe for visitors have revealed the details of the eerie 18th-century Debtors Tower and a 900-year-old underground crypt. There is also a castle curse, dating back to the Black Assize of 1577, when hundreds of people died in a matter of weeks and attended Rowland Jenkes’ trial, including the Sheriff, jury, witnesses and judge, all died of mysterious causes. .

Between 1071 and 1995 the castle was in continuous use as a prison. Take a guided tour to learn about some of its most interesting and gruesome stories.

09
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Find the most hidden pub in Oxford

Direction
4-5 Baths Pl, Oxford OX1 3SU, UK

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+44 1865 243235

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The Turf Tavern, familiar to fans of television inspector Morse reruns, is one of Oxford’s many famous pubs. It is in such a narrow alley that, in some parts, you cannot even stretch both arms when passing through it. It is in a grade II listed building from the 18th century, although the earliest reports are in King Richard II’s tax records and date back to 1381. Inside, there is a maze of levels and staircases. Although it attracts tourists, it is so hard to find that only the most determined non-locals actually make it there. It’s also popular with students and occasional celebrities – the drunken arguments between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the mid-1960s became legends.

10
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Take a point

Punting is a classic way to mess about in boats at both Oxford and Cambridge. In Oxford they do it on the River Cherwell, from the Cherwell Boathouse or from Magdalen Bridge Boathouse, just beside Magdalen Bridge, by Oxford High Street.

Punts are flat bottomed boats that can carry up to six people — the punter and five passengers. The punter stands on a flat platform at one end and propels and steers the boat with a long pole. Even if you’ve never heard the term, you may have seen punting in an old English film.

On film it always seems effortless, romantic and peaceful. But of course it’s harder than that.

Don’t worry, if you don’t think you can manage the pole, you can arrange for a chauffeured punt from Magdalen Boathouse, with an experienced punter, boathouse, often a student, doing the hard work.

11
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Enjoy a Concert at the Sheldonian

Address
Broad St, Oxford OX1 3AZ, UK

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+44 1865 277299

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The Sheldonian Theatre is Oxford’s ceremonial gathering place. It is where students are welcomed to the University and where they receive their diplomas upon graduation.

It is also a music venue where you can listen to a concert in a building constructed between 1664 and 1669 as the first major design of architect Sir Christopher Wren. Time your visit well and you can listen to music performed by the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and visiting ensembles and soloists. There’s at least one concert a month throughout the year and more frequent public events in the summer months.

12
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Commune with the Spirits of TOAD on a TOAD Tour

Address
Old Depot, South Park, Cheney Ln, Oxford OX3 7QJ, UK

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+44 1865 767918

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The spirits in question are gin, vodka, absinthe and rye made at The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD, you see). It’s a fascinating place with riveted copper stills in the best Steampunk tradition. In fact the two stills are called Nemo and Nautilus, with a nod toward the great Steampunk inspiration, Jules Verne.

We’ve heard they use ancient heritage grain grown from seed reclaimed from Oxfordshire’s 16th and 17th century thatched roofs. Not sure we believe that but it certainly makes a great story and you never know.

You can ask about it on one of their tours, 45 minutes for 90 minutes, which end with a tasting of a selection of their gins. If you take the 90 minute tour, costing £ 50 in 2019, make sure you have a designated driver because you end up with a chance to sample their entire range and finish it (ourselves) with a great gin and tonic. Cheers.

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