Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents

Exploring Oxford | Where to Eat in Oxford

62 miles (100 km) northwest of London.

The university that educated former Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Bill Clinton, and writers J. R. R. Tolkien, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Oscar Wilde, W. H. Auden, and C. S. Lewis is the heart and soul of the town. Its fabled “dreaming spires” can be seen for miles around, and it’s not at all unusual to see robed students rushing to class or harried dons clutching mortarboards as they race to exams on bicycles. Dating from the 12th century, Oxford University is older than Cambridge, and the city is bigger and more cosmopolitan than its competitor to the east. It’s satisfyingly filled with hushed quadrangles, chapels, canals, rivers, and vivid gardens. Bikes are inevitably propped against picturesque wrought-iron railings, and students propel flat-bottom boats down the little River Cherwell with long poles. (It’s harder than it looks, but you can rent a punt yourself at the foot of Magdalen Bridge.)

In the end, though, central Oxford is also a bit of an illusion. Outside of the eminently photographable university area, it’s a major industrial center, with sprawling modern suburbs and large car and steel plants around its fringes.

Previous Map | Next Map | London Maps

Visiting the Colleges

The same concerns for people’s work and privacy hold here as in Cambridge. Note that many of the colleges and university buildings are closed around Christmas (sometimes Easter, too) and on certain days from April to June for exams and degree ceremonies.

If you have limited time, get a detailed map from the tourist office and focus on selected sights. The Oxford University website (www.ox.ac.uk) is a great source of information if you’re planning to go it alone.

Tours

Guided city walking tours (both themed and general) leave the Oxford Tourist Information Centre at different times throughout the day. | 15–16 Broad St. | OX1 3AS | 01865/252200 | www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com | Tours from £8 | Mon.–Sat. 9:30–5, Sun. 10–3.

Oxford also features the hop-on, hop-off guided bus tours that have been such a hit in major destinations around the world. Operated by City Sightseeing Oxford, the tours last for about an hour, departing every 10–15 minutes in summer and every 30 minutes in winter. Although there are stops throughout the city, the main terminus location is outside the Oxford railway station. | No.1 Shop, Railway Station, Park End St. | OX1 1HS | 01865/790522 | www.citysightseeingoxford.com | Tours from £13 | Daily Mar. and Oct., 9:30–5; Apr.–Sept., 9:30–7; Nov.–Feb., 9:30–4.

Essentials

Visitor Information Oxford (01865/252200 | www.visitoxfordandoxfordshire.com).

Exploring Oxford

Any Oxford visit should begin at its very center—a pleasant walk of 15 minutes or so east from the train station—with the splendid University Church of St. Mary the Virgin (the oldest part of the building dates from 1280). Climb 127 steps to the top of its 14th-century tower for a panoramic view of the city. | High St. | OX1 4BJ | 01865/279111 | www.university-church.ox.ac.uk | Church free, tower £3 | Church admission Sept.–June, Mon.–Sat. 9–5, Sun. noon–5; July and Aug., Mon.–Sat. 9–6, Sun. noon–6.

Fodor’s Choice | Just north of the St. Mary the Virgin church is one of Oxford’s most famous sights, the gorgeous, round Radcliffe Camera (1737–49), the most beautiful of its buildings housing the extensive contents of the august Bodleian Library. The baroque domed rotunda with an octagonal base sits in a lovely square where your photographic instincts can run riot. Not many of the 6-million-plus volumes are on view to those who aren’t dons, but you can see part of the collection if you call ahead to book a guided tour. Note that children under 11 are not allowed on guided tours, though they are on the self-guided audio tour and Divinity School tour. | Broad St. | OX1 3BG | 01865/277224 | www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk | Bodleian self-guided audio tour £2.50; 30-min guided tour £4.50, 1-hr guided tour £6.50, extended guided tour £13 | Weekdays 9–5, Sat. 9–4:30, Sun. 11–5; Divinity School weekdays 9–5, Sat. 9–4:30, Sun. 11–5 (admission £1 ). Closed for University functions and events (check website).

A minute’s stroll from the Radcliff Camera is the Sheldonian Theatre, built between 1664 and 1668. This was Sir Christopher Wren’s first major work (the chapel at Pembroke College was his first commission). The theater, which he modeled on a Roman amphitheater, made his reputation. It was built as a venue for the university’s public ceremonies, and graduations are still held here—entirely in Latin, as befits the building’s spirit. Outside is one of Oxford’s most striking sights—a boundary wall topped with stone busts of 18 Roman emperors (modern reproductions of the originals, which were eaten away by pollution). | Broad St. | OX1 3AZ | 01865/277299 | www.sheldon.ox.ac.uk | £3 | Mar.–Oct., Mon.–Sat. 10–12:30 and 2–4:30; Nov.–Feb., Mon.–Sat. 10–12:30 and 2–3:30. Last admission 30 mins before closing. Closed for 10 days at Christmas and 4 days at Easter and for degree ceremonies and events.

Broad Street leads into Giles Street and prestigious Balliol College (1263). Past the “new” (they’re actually Victorian) college gates you can find a cobblestone cross in the sidewalk that marks the spot where Archbishop Cranmer and bishops Latimer and Ridley were burned in 1555 for their Protestant beliefs. The original college gates (rumored to have existed at the time of the scorching) hang in the library passage, between the inner and outer quadrangles. | Broad St. | OX1 3BJ | 01865/277777 | www.balliol.ox.ac.uk | £2 | Daily 10–5, or dusk if earlier.

The chapel of Trinity College (1555) is an architectural gem—a tiny place with a delicately painted ceiling, gorgeously tiled floor, and elaborate wood carvings on the pews, pulpit, and walls. Some of the superb carvings were done by Grinling Gibbons, a 17th-century master carver whose work can also be seen in Hampton Court Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and who inspired the 18th-century cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale. | Broad St. | OX1 3BH | 01865/279900 | www.trinity.ox.ac.uk | £2 | Daily 1:30–4, or dusk if earlier.

Fodor’s Choice | Westward from Giles Street, Beaumont Street is the site of the Ashmolean Museum, founded in 1683, making it Britain’s oldest public museum. Some of the world’s most precious art objects are stashed here—drawings by Michelangelo and Raphael, European silverware and ceramics, a world-class numismatic collection, and Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts. A renovation by noted architect Rick Mather, creating 39 additional galleries and a rooftop restaurant, opened in November 2009. | Beaumont St. | OX1 2PH | 01865/278000 | www.ashmolean.org | Free | Tues.–Sun. 10–6.

North and across St. Giles Road from the Ashmolean Museum is St. John’s College (1555), former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s alma mater, which is worth a stop for its historic courtyards, world-renowned symmetrical gardens. The library contains some of Jane Austen’s letters and an illustrated 1483 edition of The Canterbury Tales by the English printer William Caxton, but is not open to the public. | St. Giles | OX1 3JP | 01865/277300 | www.sjc.ox.ac.uk | Free | Daily 1–5, 1–dusk in winter. May be closed for functions (call for info).

College members, but not visitors, can enter the university’s largest college via Tom Gate. This massive gatehouse is surmounted by Christopher Wren’s Tom Tower, which contains Great Tom, a giant clock that strikes each hour with high and low notes.

The leading college of the southern half of Oxford is Christ Church College.
Traditionally called “the House” by its students, Christ Church has the largest quadrangle in town. This is where Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, was a math don; a shop across from the parkland (known as “the meadows”) on St. Aldate’s was the inspiration for the shop in Through the Looking Glass. More recently, various college locations appeared in the Harry Potter films. Don’t miss the 800-year-old chapel, or the famous Tudor dining hall, with its portraits of former students—John Wesley, William Penn, and 6 of the 13 prime ministers who attended the college. | St. Aldate’s | OX1 1DP | 01865/276492 | www.chch.ox.ac.uk | Apr.–June, £8; July and Aug., £8.50; Sept.–Mar., £7 | Weekdays 10–11:45 and 2–4:30, weekends 2:30–4:30 during term, 10–4:30 outside of term. Dining hall weekdays 2:30–4:30 during school year.

Where to Eat in Oxford

Brasserie Blanc.
$$ | CONTINENTAL | Raymond Blanc’s Conran-designed brasserie is sophisticated even by London standards. The top British chef populates his menu with modern European and regional French dishes: you might see boeuf bourguignon, or a rack of lamb. At £11.50 for two courses or £13.95 for three, the “Dine With Wine” deal, available until 7, is an incredible value (after 7 it’s £14 for two courses and £16.45 for three), and well worth the 15-minute walk north of the town center. | 71–72 Walton St. | OX2 6AG | 01865/510999 | www.brasserieblanc.com | Reservations essential.

Grand Café.
$ | CAFÉ | In a lovely 1920s building, this inexpensive café looks as if it should cost the world. Golden tiles, carved columns, and antique marble floor fill the place with charm, and the menu of tasty sandwiches, salads, and tarts, as well as afternoon tea, perfect coffee drinks and desserts, make it a great place for lunch or an afternoon break. At night it puts away its menus and transforms itself into a popular cocktail bar. | 84 High St. | OX1 4BG | 01865/204463 | www.thegrandcafe.co.uk.

Pizza Express.
$ | ITALIAN | Many people are surprised to discover that this uniquely situated restaurant in the former sitting room of the 15th-century Golden Cross—Shakespeare’s stopover lodging on his frequent trips from Stratford to London—is part of a nationwide chain. Creativity is encouraged here, so vegetarians, vegans, and meat eaters alike can enjoy inventing their own dream pizzas. A terrace is open in summer, but be sure to check out the medieval paintings and friezes inside the restaurant before heading out. | 8 The Golden Cross, Cornmarket St. | OX1 3EX | 01865/790442 | www.pizzaexpress.com.

Previous Chapter | Beginning of Chapter | Next Chapter | Table of Contents