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From historic colleges to modern art galleries, read our guide to the best things to see and do in the beautiful city of Oxford.

England

Oxford

Must-Visit Attractions in Oxford

Read our guide to the most beautiful places to visit in Oxford, from the prettiest spot to go punting to the grandest buildings in the city.

The Most Picturesque Places in Oxford

Discover Britain's beautiful university city with this guide!

The Top 10 Things to See and Do in Oxford

Only got one day to spare to explore Oxford? Follow our guide to discovering the best the city has to offer, in just 24 hours.

How to Spend 24 Hours in Oxford

Read our guide on were to go for the best culture hit in Oxford, with a round-up of the best museums in the city.

The Best Museums in Oxford You Have to Visit

Insider Travel Guides

Bicycles and quiet college quadrangles are one side to Oxford, but to understand this city of radicals and heretics, you also have to explore its canals, pubs and dungeons.


The Insider Guide to Oxford

Oxford University dominates the architecture of this city and no visit would be complete without exploring Magdalen College (look out for purple fritillary flowers in spring); Christ Church College and the imposing Balliol College, founded in 1263. From Balliol, it’s a short walk to the domed Radcliffe Camera and neighbouring University Church of St Mary the Virgin, which has the perfect tower for viewing the historic quarter. Pass under Hertford Bridge – known as the Bridge of Sighs as it evokes the walkway in Venice of the same name – on your way to a concert at the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street. Or, if you're more of a cinema buff, go east to the independent Ultimate Picture Palace off Cowley Road, with its neoclassical facade. Oxford is a city of waterways as much as “dreaming spires” and DIY punting down the River Cherwell is a must – but prepare to go in circles for the first 20 minutes. For a more relaxing trip along the water, stroll north from Hythe Bridge Street beside the Oxford Canal to the trendy Jericho district and stop for food on Little Clarendon Street (George &amp; Davis serves home-made ice cream) or around the corner at the Eagle and Child pub – the former hangout of writers CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. For a less academic slice of history, head to Oxford Castle and Prison, with its motte-and-bailey mound and squalid jail cells that were used until the 1990s. There's more grim history at the Martyrs’ Memorial, built to remember three protestant clergymen burned at the stake in the 1500s. Nearby is the Ashmolean museum, which has a bamboozling collection of art and archaeology (plus afternoon tea), if you can take any more culture. If not, head to the airy, modern Westgate centre to shop and then drop with a coffee. Read on to get under the skin of this many-sided city.


The Main Attractions

Oran

Setif

Algeria

Luanda

Angola

Cotonou

Porto-novo

Benin

Botswana

Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Tonga

Yaounde

Bamenda

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Kinshasa

Lubumbashi

Congo

Abidjan

Cote Divoire

Florentin

Dijibouti

Djibouti

Cairo

Alexandria

Sharm El-sheikh

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Asmara

Eritrea

Addis Ababa

Lalibela

Ethiopia

Gambia

Accra

Kumasi

Cape Coast

Ghana

Guinea-bissau

Nairobi

Mombasa

Malindi

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Antananarivo

Antsirabe

Madagascar

Blantyre

Malawi

Bamako

Timbuktu

Mali

Mauritania

Port Louis

Mauritius

Casablanca

Marrakech

Sale

Morocco

Maputo

Mozambique

Swakopmund

Windhoek

Namibia

Lagos

Abuja

Ibadan

Nigeria

Pointe-noire

Republic Of The Congo

Kigali

Musanze

Butare

Rwanda

Dakar

Touba

Senegal

Seychelles

Freetown

Sierra Leone

Cape Town

Durban

Johannesburg

South Africa

South Sudan

Khartoum

Sudan

Mbabane

Manzini

Swaziland

Zanzibar

Arusha

Dar Es Salaam

Tanzania

Tunis

Hammamet

Tozeur

Tunisia

Kampala

Gombe

Uganda

Western Sahara

Lusaka

Zambia

Harare

Bulawayo

Zimbabwe

Africa

Antarctica

Kabul

Afghanistan

Dhaka

Bangladesh

Thimphu

Bhutan

Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei Darussalam

Siem Reap

Phnom Penh

Sihanoukville

Cambodia

Shanghai

Beijing

Guangzhou

China

East Timor

Wan Chai

Hong Kong

Mumbai

Delhi

India

Bali

Penang

Jakarta

Indonesia

Israel

Tokyo

Kyoto

Osaka

Japan

Almaty

Astana

Kazakhstan

Pyongyang

Korea

Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan

Luang Prabang

Vientiane

Pakse

Laos

Macau

Kuala Lumpur

Ipoh

Malaysia

Maldives

Mongolia

Yangon

Mandalay

Nay Pyi Taw

Myanmar

Kathmandu

Darchula

Nepal

Hyderabad

Islamabad

Lahore

Pakistan

Manila

Boracay

Baguio

Philippines

Asia

The Best of See & Do in Oxford, England