Skyline from Radcliffe Camera (Circular Library)

Oxford

With its honey-coloured colleges arrayed in splendour beside the river, the university town of Oxford is a seductive vision of medieval learning and modern charm.

Best Things to Do

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Christ Church
Oxford
With its compelling combination of majestic architecture, literary heritage and double identity as (parts of) Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, Christ Church…
Bodleian Library
Oxford
At least five kings, dozens of prime ministers and Nobel laureates, and luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien have studied in Oxford's…
Magdalen College
Oxford
Guarding access to a breathtaking expanse of private lawns, woodlands, river walks and even its own deer park, Magdalen ('mawd-lin'), founded in 1458, is…
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford
Britain’s oldest public museum, Oxford’s wonderful Ashmolean Museum is surpassed only by the British Museum in London. It was established in 1683, when…
Pitt Rivers Museum
Oxford
If exploring an enormous room full of eccentric and unexpected artefacts sounds like your idea of the perfect afternoon, welcome to the amulets-to-zithers…
Merton College
Oxford
Founded in 1264, peaceful and elegant Merton is one of Oxford’s three original colleges. Like the other two, Balliol and University, it considers itself…
New College
Oxford
New College isn’t really that new. Established in 1379 as Oxford’s first undergraduate college, it’s a glorious Perpendicular Gothic ensemble. Treasures…
Oxford Castle and Prison
Oxford
Little now remains of Oxford Castle, which was built for William the Conqueror in 1071, and largely destroyed after the English Civil War because the…