Utter the word Oxford and it's impossible not to think of the city's remarkable University. As the oldest University in the English-speaking world, let alone England, it is very much a part of the country's furniture and has produced an endless roll of noteworthy alumni including seven of the last eleven British Prime Ministers, Poets Laureate, Nobel Prize-winners and even Hollywood film stars. With that in mind, no trip to Oxford would be complete without taking a look around Oxford's colleges, whether it be the cloisters and deer park at Magdalen College, the Venice-influenced Bridge of Sighs at Hertford College or The Bodleain Library, the second largest in the country.
Tour Oxford
Asides from relaxing on one of the college quadrangles and pretending you're among the educationally elite, there are plenty of other sights to see and things to do in Oxford. Stand atop Boar's Hill and behold Oxford's breathtaking dreaming spires, head to the Ashmolean Museum, Britain's oldest public museum, and marvel at the University's collection of paintings, glass, silver and ceramics. The Botanic Garden, again Britain's oldest, provides a peaceful place for a stroll or make like a true Oxonian and take a punt down the River Thames. Pull up a chair in a coffee house and in the evening check out Oxford's fabulous range of eateries.
- If you're on a whistle-stop tour of Oxford, visit the Oxford Story Exhibition and discover 900 years of Oxford history on the 25-minute ride. Experience sounds and smells, travel through 14th century riots and meet the famous faces of the University.
- Christ Church Meadow painted by JMW Turner still exists and offers rustic walkways through the centre of the city.