UK & Ireland

And the whole city has a buzz, a vibrancy - with so much going on from talks to plays, to recitals, to concerts, to gigs - it's an exciting place to be - even just to sit and watch the world go by.

Wandering around the city centre, with over 100 Listed buildings side by side in a square mile, is a wondrous experience. Most are open to the public all year - the colleges in the afternoons and the churches such as St Mary the Virgin, St Michael at the Northgate (+ font where William Shakespeare's godson (hem-hem) was christened) and Carfax Tower are open most of the day and offer wonderful views of the 'dreaming spires'. The Bodleian Library runs tours - of the stunning Divinity School (featured in 'Harry Potter' films and said to be the 'most beautiful room in Europe') and occasionally to see the underground book stacks- stored by size not by subject to save space. The Bodleian Exhibition room (free entry) displays just a few of the library's treasures. You could compare Oxford to Manhattan (sort of); Manhattan heads skywards while Oxford's treasures and libraries lie underground.

Easy Ways to Get Around

Probably the best way to see Oxford is on foot with an Official Blue /Green badge guide. Walking tours of the University and city are offered daily, morning and afternoon, at the Oxford Tourist Information Centre in Broad Street, rain or shine. If that's a bit too energetic, a ride on the hop-on-hop-off City Sightseeing bus is a good alternative.

If the weather's rather inclement, Oxford has five free museums to catch your eye, including the world's first public museum, the Ashmolean, recently re-opened by HM Queen following a £61 million extension. If you've brought the teenage grandchildren along, Modern Art Oxford (also free) is a good place to start - it also comes with a basement café and excellent home-made cakes. Younger grandchildren might hanker for the Hogwarts and 'Golden Compass' connections - the What to See and Do leaflet (downloadable free from the www.visitoxford.org website) - shows what was filmed where. 'Inspector Morse' and 'Lewis' walking tours run from the Oxford Tourist Information Centre on Saturdays - booking advisable.

Green spaces are everywhere -

how many cities have a herd of deer (Magdalen College) and rare breed long-horn cows (Christ Church meadow) at their heart? Gardens are hidden behind high walls - which protect from wind and rain and recall the colleges' monastic foundations when monks and nuns used gardens for prayer, meditation and inspiration. The Botanic Garden and St John's College are not to be missed; the latter even has a Keeper of the Groves.

Of course the 'town' pre-dated the 'gown' in Oxford - you can visit its oldest building at Oxford Castle Unlocked, with a tour of the Saxon St George's Tower (and treadmill) and prison where men were crammed together during the Civil War, dispatched to build the Oxford Canal in the 18th century, or forced to grind the screw in Victorian times.

Perfect for Christmas shopping

Oxford is a shopaholic's dream - especially at Christmas when so much has to be done so quickly. It's a very compact centre - with all the shops in easy walking distance. (The locals tend to whiz in and do their Christmas shopping in a 2-hour slot!) There are quaint, quirky shops like Duckers, creators of hand-made shoes - the First War Flying Ace, the 'Red Baron' was a customer - Pens Plus and Scriptum with everything for those who write by hand - plus a wondrous collection of masks, the Covered Market which also boasts a hat shop, saddle-makers, specialist cheese shop, sausage shop, prize-winning fish shop and organic butcher's - and lots of irresistible take away goody outlets. Almost everyone in the Covered Market is eating. And don't miss The Cake Shop - guaranteed to make you smile. The Market is easily accessible to wheelchairs / scooters which can be borrowed free of charge from Shopmobility. Booking is recommended.

There's an enormous choice of eateries in Oxford. There are ancient pubs, like the Turf, formerly reached by students 'imprisoned' by their 9.00pm curfew by lowering baskets for supplies to be hauled over the wall. Opportunities for fine dining abound - at Quod, Gees, the Malmaison and Randolph Hotel - and a truly international range of eateries and restaurants - from Najar's at the former cabbies' shelter in St Giles to Shanghai 30 in St Aldate's. And for the brave who dare to venture over Magdalen Bridge, another world of multicultural feasting awaits you on the Cowley Road………it's where the locals go for that special Indian, Italian .………..or Jamaican…

You'll just have to come back

There's far too much to see and do in a day; a long weekend - or even a week is a minimum. You can stay in a prison (the Malmaison) but they do give you the keys, a five star hotel (The Randolph), a cosy Guest House - or the YHA - by no means the preserve of 'youth'; its en suite family rooms are great if you bring the grandchildren at half term. Or if the rural idyll appeals, you could stay in a cottage, farm or coaching inn in the Cotswolds or Chilterns and visit attractions such as Blenheim Palace, Broughton Castle, Didcot Railway Centre and Cotswold Wildlife Park.

So maybe a week isn't long enough either…But you'll come back. Everyone comes back to Oxford.

More info

 
Oxford Tourist Information Centre
15/16 Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AS

Email: tic@oxford.gov.uk

www.visitoxford.org