Whether you’ve visited Oxford before or not, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of it. Oxford is an iconic city.
This is partly due to its famous university and rich history. But also because of its vibrant city filled with independent shops, lively restaurant scene and the great green spaces it has to offer.
We recently spent a truly wonderful weekend enjoying the many amazing things to do in Oxford. In fact, we both agree that our Oxford trip was one of our favourite city breaks in a while.
Our article below goes over all of the best things to do in Oxford. In our guide, we’ll cover the things we explored first, then we’ll cover where to stay and how to get there to make your trip planning a breeze.
We’re sure that whatever you decide to do from our guide below, you’ll have a great and unforgettable time in Oxford!
Table of Contents
ToggleThe Very Best Things to do in Oxford
One of the main things we loved about the things to do in Oxford was that it seems to be on a really manageable scale. Whilst the outer edges of the city itself are quite large: stretching into neighbouring villages, the city centre itself is relatively small.
This meant that we felt we could fit in quite a lot and see a lot of the fun things to do in Oxford without feeling rushed or tired. We think it’s really easy to have a laid back trip you won’t forget.
Oxford has so much going on – from the things to do in Oxford city centre, like enjoying the indie shops and artisanal coffee roasters. Through to everything history that this wonderful city boasts.
We’ve divided up this section to go through all of the places we explored on our three day trip. As many of the locations are close together, we found it helpful to club together certain places to make better use of our time.
Wonder Around Oxford Covered Market
Before visiting Oxford, we’d heard about Oxford Covered Market, and we’re keen to check it out. The historic market building looked so alluring with its collection of independent shops, cafes and market sellers.
In fact, like so much of Oxford, this historic building is important. It’s been open since 1774 and is one of the oldest markets to have operated for this timespan in England.
We loved looking around the Oxford Covered Market’s shops and exploring everything that was on offer. It’s a great place to spend an hour or so looking round.
There are many shops selling small gifts, but there are also plenty of places selling artisanal produce, flower shops and also crafted clothing, books and so much more. We found it one of the top things to do in Oxford and found ourselves back there a few times.
There are also plenty of places to eat and drink. We particularly loved the tap rooms in the market, which certainly makes it one of the fun things to do in Oxford for adults. Be sure to check out the Market Tap.
You will also love Gulp Fiction too. We loved the concept of this great bookshop, coffeehouse and bar. Likewise, we particularly enjoyed the Donburi Inn for food. So good!
The Oxford Covered Market opening times do vary through the week. Monday – Wednesday it’s open from 8am – 5:30pm. Thursday – Saturday it’s 8am – 10pm and Sunday’s it’s 10am – 5pm. Though do check this in advance.
How to Find Oxford Covered Market
Use our map below to find the exact map location for how to get to Oxford Covered Market:
Enjoy the Great Independent Shops Oxford Has to Offer
One of the cool things about Oxford is that it’s full of great independent shops. Of course, it has all of the usual places to go shopping, but it also has plenty of little places to do so too.
We loved going in search of indie shops. From art shops to homeware shops and atelier jewellers on historic backstreets; Oxford is really varied.
Spending some time hunting them out is by far one of the best things to do in Oxford city centre. We’d recommend heading to Objects of Use. A cool homeware good shop close to Oxford Covered Market.
We also loved looking around Babylon Trading, and Sanders of Oxford which had some incredible antique prints and, maps and stunning other works.
Blackwell’s Bookshop was also a great place to spend some time. They have a very extensive arts and creative reading section upstairs too. Well worth a look.
You could easily spend most of a day taking in the shops, covered markets and enjoying some food. It’s easily one of the best things to do in Oxford, UK.
Likewise, there are some great tours that take in the city centre and some of the beautiful places like this to explore. We wish we’d had time for the stepping through Oxford walking tour on GetYourGuide, which we had heavily bookmarked!
Visit the Ashmolean Museum
We were very excited to look around the Ashmolean Museum, not just because it’s pretty iconic, but it was one of the main free things to do in Oxford. It’s a great resource and the fact that it’s free to look round makes it even better.
You don’t need tickets. You also don’t need a reservation. It’s open every day between 10am and 5pm, so just go along.
In fact, if you get rain on your trip, and you’re with family, we’d say it’s one of the best things to do in Oxford with kids too. There is plenty to keep things interactive for hours.
The Ashmolean Museum is well known for its permanent collections of important artifacts from around the world. One of the most significant being its collection of Egyptian mummies.
The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford looks to tell stories of humans over time. We loved looking around and spent about three hours there (admittedly, quite a bit of that was geeking out over the mummies).
If you only have a little bit of time to explore, we’d recommend trying to get round a few rooms of interest. There are guides to their collections on their website here.
The museum also has a great café, which is well worth checking out if you do have the time. They also have new exhibitions on from time to time. When we visited, there was a collection of stunning kimonos on display.
How to Find the Ashmolean Museum
Here’s how to find the exact location for getting to the Ashmolean Museum:
See Oxford University and the Many Incredible Historic Buildings
Seeing the university buildings and the incredible history it holds certainly isn’t one of the unusual things to do in Oxford. In fact, when we visited, we found this the busiest part of our trip.
That said, the crowds make it worth it to be able to see some of the stunning architecture these buildings, colleges and religious settings hold for the history of Oxford.
Below, we’ve covered all of the places we looked around. We actually found it quite romantic and would definitely say it’s one of the best things to do in Oxford for couples.
In retrospect, we wish we’d done a tour like this city and university tour on GetYourGuide. It includes entry to some of the colleges as part of the tour, something that after a while looking round can get very pricey. So, it’s really worth doing!
Likewise, this tour on Tiqets is an absolute bargain! It’s a 2-hour tour and well worth the fee considering it includes college entry.
Radcliffe Square
Radcliffe Square is the main, centralised square of Oxford University and historic college buildings. Looking around here is great and it’s one of the things to do in Oxford for free.
We spent quite a while just wandering around and taking in all the architecture before deciding where to visit below. It’s well worth spending some time here – we loved looking at all the building details and the general feel of the place.
It connects many of the areas below, so you’ll likely find yourself spending a fair bit of time at Radcliffe Square. It’s well regarded as one of the most stunning in Oxford and you certainly won’t have it to yourself!
How to Find Radcliffe Square, Oxford
Bridge of Sighs
Bridge of Sighs is an iconic piece of architecture. It also known as Hertford Bridge, but it is essentially a walkway that joins Hertford College to New College Lane.
We found it absolutely stunning to look at this renaissance style building. But it may surprise you to find out that the Bridge of Sighs, Oxford is actually a lot younger than that and was built in 1914.
You can’t go into Oxford Bridge of Sighs, but simply look at it from across the road. There are some steps in front of it, which make for a great angle to take the perfect photo from.
How to Find Bridge of Sighs, Oxford
Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library is incredibly important in the college infrastructure and history of Oxford. It is the main research library and has been open since 1602 (founded by Sir Thomas Bodley).
They’re a group of 26 stunning libraries and buildings that are open to students and other readers. It’s also possible to look around them. They also have various exhibitions on at any given time, well worth checking out.
We were amazed by the stunning architecture and feel to the place. Bodleian Library tours are the best way to see around this incredible institution.
The tours are between 30 and 90 minutes long. We’d recommend booking your Bodleian Library tickets in advance here and seeing what’s on offer.
The Bodleian Library opening hours are 9am – 5pm every day, making it pretty easy to fit this essential must see into your trip. We loved it!
How to Find Bodleian Library, Oxford
Christ Church
Christ Church Oxford is likely somewhere you will be well aware of before you even visit. It’s been featured in many TV shows, films and has a lot of history to it!
Christ Church is such a big, amassed place to visit, that you should give yourself a few hours to look round if you can. We wish we’d actually had a bit longer.
There is so much to check out that it can actually feel a little bit overwhelming. The Cathedral was particularly stunning, formed of a 12th century building.
Great Tom and Tom Tower were also favourites of ours, as was the Hall staircase, the Great Hall and Cloister. You can either enjoy a visit to Christ Church via a self guided visit of a guided tour. More information on their website here.
How to Find Christ Church
Take a Walk Through Oxford Botanic Garden
We didn’t realise before we visited that Oxford Botanic Garden is actually the UK’s oldest! What’s more, it’s a great space to learn about plants and is heavily involved in teaching within the university too.
The Oxford Botanic Garden and foundations date back as far as 1621. It has world class status in terms of its contribution to horticulture knowledge.
We loved looking around Oxford Botanic Garden. On the sunny morning we visited, it was the perfect start to the day. If you look at University of Oxford Botanic Garden reviews, you may see some people saying that it’s expensive.
However, we found it well worth the entry fee (£8 per person at the time of writing) and gladly got lost in amongst the wonderful flora and fauna on display. You can easily spend a few hours looking around and we think it’s one of the best things to do in Oxford, England.
You can get your Oxford Botanic Garden tickets in advance here, which we’d recommend doing. It just makes things easier to look round this pretty place on the day.
How to Find Oxford Botanic Garden
Eat at the Incredible Restaurants and Cafes Oxford has to Offer
We were very happy to find out that Oxford has a lot to offer in terms of food. Of course, it has your usual chain places, but it also has a vast selection of indie restaurants, food from around the world and more formal dining.
We really enjoyed the Oxford food and drink tasting tour on our trip (this is the one we did) – and it was easily one of our favourite things to do in Oxford. The guide was fantastic, and it was great to get an overview of some of what was on offer.
Likewise, we really enjoyed checking out some of the smaller Chinese restaurants that Oxford has in plentiful amounts. We really enjoyed the Three Thousand Restaurant in particular.
They specialise in Lan Zhou Ramen and Biang Biang noodles. These spicy, flavoursome dishes are incredibly comforting and addictive.
Dirty Bones was also great for burgers. They also do a number of options like cheeseburger gyozas and popcorn frickles which are really interesting!
Enjoy the Artisanal Coffee Shops
If there’s one thing we’re going to go on a search for wherever we go, it’s good coffee. Turns out one of the things to do in Oxford that will keep you busy for quite a while is trying the many different options.
By far our favourite was the ultra slick New Ground Coffee on Ship Street. The coffee on offer was some of the best we’ve tasted in a long while. Their flat whites and cortados we’re next level.
We also enjoyed the Independent Café, this felt more traditional than New Ground, but it was still good. They also offer exceptional cakes!
We also loved the charming Paper Boat Café, set near the river and Christ Church. A lovely little place that had a very homely, indie feel that we both loved. Their coffee was pretty exceptional too.
Watch College Punting
You can’t visit Oxford and not enjoy watching some punting. This traditional sport sees flat bottomed boats taken along the river shallows.
You can actually rent boats to go punting yourself (which we didn’t do as we weren’t quite feeling it on the crisp December weekend we visited). But it’s also very popular to try and spot colleges punting at the weekend (which we did).
To be in with a chance of seeing people punting, head to the river bridges and spend some time looking over. One of the best places to enjoy it are from the bridge just past the Oxford Botanic Garden.
If you feel like enjoying punting first hand, we were recommended this punting tour through GetYourGuide. It’s a great thing to do on a sunny day to take in Oxford from the waters level!
Visit Oxford Castle and Oxford Castle Mound
We absolutely loved exploring Oxford Castle and Prison! The location has over 1000 years of history within its walls. The Oxford Castle Mound is well worth exploring too for some great views.
You can buy your Oxford Castle tickets in advance here. This includes a guided tour, which is really exceptional. You’ll learn so much. We’d really recommend doing this as it just saves time on the day.
Our favourite parts were visiting St. George’s Tower and visiting the crypt. Both of these were our highlights, but every part of it was fascinating.
We’d highly recommend visiting Oxford Castle. The guided tour only takes about an hour and it’s worth allotting some time to it. It’s open 10am – 5pm every day, so plenty of time to add it in.
How to Find Oxford Castle and Prison
Other Useful Information About Oxford
Aside from all the brilliant things to do in Oxford that we enjoyed, you’ll want to think about how you’re going to get to Oxford, and how long you might need. You’ll also want to think about the best places to stay.
There’s lots to consider here, especially if you want to do a trip to Oxford on a bit more of a budget. Hotels and parking can get quite pricy in the city, so we picked up a few tips in our time there.
How to Get to Oxford
By Train
The great thing about Oxford is that it has a pretty decent sized train station. There are really frequent trains to London, which on a fast route takes just over an hour.
Likewise, Oxford has connections to places like Manchester, which takes roughly 3 hours. Places like Newcastle, Bournemouth and York are all possible amongst others too.
If you book in advance through somewhere like Trainline (which we always use for advance bookings), you can usually get really good deals and make this pretty cheap.
By Car
Oxford is well served on the motorway, and we actually took our car when we visited. It took us a few hours to get down from Cumbria, but the journey was really easy.
One thing to keep in mind is that parking in Oxford can be quite expensive. However, there are a good few park and ride options on the outer edges.
You can then take the shuttle bus into the centre. We also found parking further out and walking in (never more than a 15-20 minute walk) was a great option.
Our advice would be to look for car parks that are a little further out around parks and then track how long it would take to walk in. Of course, if you do want to pay full price, there are plenty of centralised car parks.
How Long do you Need to Visit Oxford?
We think that ideally two to three days is a good amount of time to enjoy what Oxford has to offer. This will give you a chance to take things at a bit of a relaxed pace. So perfect for a weekend trip.
If you’re visiting from nearby London, you could do Oxford in a day. If this is the case, we’d suggest focusing on Oxford Covered Market and also the colleges. This will give you a good overview.
Of course, you could spend much longer in Oxford, and you could easily tie this into a wider visit to the Cotswolds. It would also work well if you were heading toward Bath or Bristol too.
When is the Best Time to Visit Oxford?
Oxford is a great city to visit at any time. When we visited around Christmas it was incredibly festive and made us feel really cosy.
On our trip, it rained one day, was cloudy another and sunny the other. So, you really can get it at any time. The great thing is that whilst it may not be as nice in the rain, there’s still plenty to enjoy that isn’t weather dependent.
So there really is no ideal time to visit Oxford. It really depends on what you’re hoping to do. If you have a wider trip planned, summer may be better, but it will also be busiest.
We’d say spring or autumn are probably best. Likewise, December is great, like we experienced, for that Christmas charm.
Where to Stay When Visiting Oxford
As you can imagine, there are plenty of great places to stay in Oxford. It isn’t the cheapest to stay in the city centre, but we’d always recommend looking on places like Trip.com or Agoda for the best deals.
We actually stayed a little bit out of Oxford when we visited. We had found a motel called Mollie’s that we were really keen to visit. This place is a Soho House design and had a mid century vibe we loved.
It was actually perfect, as it had free parking, so only had to pay when we drove into Oxford. You can also take a bus that takes about 20-30 minutes from the centre to right outside the motel.
The hotel was gorgeous, and we loved the American style diner for breakfast too. What’s more, it was really reasonably priced when we visited – it was well under £80 a night.
We’d really recommend Mollie’s Motel, which you can book here. It was actually one of our favourite stays of late. It has such an iconic feel even though its new and put us in perfect placement for Oxford in the day.
Enjoy the Things to do in Oxford
As you can see, there are so many great things to do in Oxford. Whether you’re visiting for a day, a weekend or a little longer, you’ll find incredible charm in this wonderful city.
We had one of the most fantastic weekend breaks we’ve had in a long time in Oxford. We loved checking out some of the more indie places, alongside the history and enjoying the beautiful architecture that it holds in plentiful amounts.
We hope our guide has given you some great inspiration for all the fun things to do in Oxford to have an unforgettable trip. We know you’ll love it as much as we did!
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