OXFORD – Small town with enormous popularity. Let’s see why…

Oxford is located about an hour from London and it is one of the most famous towns in England. Approximately 5 million tourists visit it every year. Do you know why is it well-known all over the world? I expect that you can guess at least one reason. Would you like to discover more?

Beautiful architecture, a mixture of the classic English houses (white walls, dark brown wooden beams) and massive buildings of golden colors. Narrow streets but also an extensive main street with many cafes, restaurants, and souvenir shops. This is Oxford. The atmosphere of the medieval town is in contrast with the busy life lived by thousands of students.

University

The University of Oxford is considered the second oldest university in the world. The first lessons have been lectured since 1096. During the centuries, it has been supported by kings, sages, and popes. It is the oldest university in English speaking world, although the first classes have been probably thought in Latin. It consists of 39 colleges; the oldest ones of them have been founded in 1249. Numerous students who studied here achieved exceptional results in their fields. For example, 12 people have been canonized, 50 people won the Nobel Prize, and many more. Currently, the university holds fifth place in the list of the best universities in the world (the first four places belong to the universities in America).

MUST-SEE PLACES IN OXFORD

Many parts of this huge complex of buildings are open to the public. I recommend visiting Christ Church College, the largest college located next to the cathedral. The other beautiful places to visit are Trinity College, Magdalen College, New College, Queens College, and Exeter College – if you stay in Oxford only for a few hours. If you have more time, visit the remaining ones as well. Colleges seem to look very similar but their parks, gardens, and different architectural elements are worth seeing.

Radcliffe Camera is a very interesting circular building to discover, hidden in the middle of the narrow streets. There is the university’s library and reading room inside. Despite the fact, that it is not accessible to the public, it is one of the most photographed buildings in the town thanks to the unusual architecture.

Only a few steps from the place, there is another library – Bodleian Library. It is the second-largest library in the United Kingdom, founded in 1602. It is home to more than 11 million writings. You can look inside or hire a guide, who will tell you more.

If you are looking for original places to take a picture, do not miss The Bridge of Sighs. No, you do not have to go to Venice. The Italian one is probably the most famous but there are more of them in the world. Every bridge is different, but its idea is the same – mostly fully covered and closed corridor connecting two places. Surprised? 
The bridge in Oxford connects two colleges – Hertford College and New College Lane. This bridge is not placed above the water and it is not as old as you would tell. Its construction started in 1913 and took one year to finish. Its history is not interesting at all when compared to the one in Venice. You can find one in a similar English town with a university – Cambridge. There, it is placed over the water and you can sail under in the small boat.

If you would like to relax or experience the typical English picnic in the park, there are numerous options in Oxford. There is a botanical garden and many parks in every corner of the town.

Museums

You can enjoy the visit to a couple of museums in town. There is a Museum of Natural History, Museum of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, History of Science Museum, The Story Museum, and a couple more.

The most popular is the Ashmolean Museum. The collection is ranging in date from ancient times to the present modern art. Its treasures include Egyptian mummies, the paintings of Raphael, and Chinese paintings. The museum was founded in 1683.

Museum of Natural History is connected with the name Lewis Carroll, author of the story Alice in Wonderland. This writer and mathematician, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, spent most of his life in Oxford where he was teaching mathematics and logic. He was a regular visitor to the Museum of Natural History. The specimens he observed there was the inspiration for creating many of the characters of his story.

Entry fees

You can enter many colleges for free. Some colleges ask for £1 or £2, the kids pay the half price or none. A more expensive entry fee is when visiting the cathedral, and museums.

Movies

The motivation of many tourists to visit this town is not to see a famous university, beautiful architecture, or museums and parks. Many people are coming to see the locations, where the filming of many movies took place.

The most famous movies are the ones about the young wizard. Yes, you guess correctly. Harry Potter and all the cast spent many weeks here. The filming was happening in many locations, which are ideal to visualize the world of magic and its atmosphere. For example:

• the scenes with the staircases were created mainly in the Christ Church College. You can find a souvenir shop here, which offers copies of many props from the movie, wands, and similar things;
• the huge dining hall in Christ Church College is a small version of the dining hall in Hogwarts. This room was the inspiration for creating its bigger version in London in Warner Bros. studios, where many scenes have been created. This part of the studios is open to the public now. I am a big fan of the movies so I could not miss seeing them. I am preparing the post about my visit and will include many photos from the place. Stay tuned;            
• the scene from Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire where professor Moody transforms Malfoy into the ferret has been shot in New College. With a little imagination, you can find exact spots where the cameras and the actors have been placed;
• the scenes with corridors full of students have been filmed also in New College and a few more places;
• the Bodleian Library was transformed into the hospital wing, a magical library, and also the scene where wizards with McGonagall were getting ready for the ball.

• The beginning of the movie Golden Compass has been filmed in Oxford as well. You can see Radcliffe Camera very clearly there.
• Exeter College was used to shoot scenes of the movie Doctor Strange.
• New College was visited by the cast of the second part of the movie Mamma Mia.

And many, many more. Their numbers will be growing as Oxford has its unique atmosphere.
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What I liked about Oxford is, that the overall offer for tourists is not based on fame, which was gained thanks to these movies. No signs marking the film spots. The only reminder is the photos from the shooting placed in the Bodleian library, however, these do not disrupt the sense of the room. There are also many souvenir shops, where you can find apart from the classic souvenirs also the ones related to Harry Potter. But honestly, these pieces are sold almost everywhere in England, since those movies became part of the modern culture of this country.

My favourite discovery

You can feel the atmosphere of the town fully while you will visit local cafes, restaurants, and pubs which are very popular in student towns and rarely empty.

My favorite pub and completely unexpected discovery is the bar called Turf Tavern. Before I visited Oxford, I looked up information about the places I wanted to visit but I wanted to choose the restaurant or bar on the spot. As usual, I expected that I will find something nice by coincidence.
During the evening walk, I encounter a sign with an arrow pointing to the narrow street. Why not? The walk was so tiny that only one person could walk at the same time in some parts of it. I found myself in the bar surrounded by old tall buildings. I cannot decide if I have been more fascinated by the interior with a massive bar and many kinds of draft beers and ciders, or by an outdoor terrace with the decorations shining at night and candles on the tables.
​There were many blackboards with the daily offers and the pub itself, although, the one has been different. You cannot find a blackboard like this anywhere in the world. There are the names of the famous people who visited this pub written on it. This list and the small description are one-of-a-kinds. For example, Bob Hawke, former prime minister of Australia entered the local book of records after downing a yard of ale in 11 seconds. Or Bill Clinton, whilst during the sixties ‘did not inhale’ while smoking illegal substances. On the list, you can find Ernest Hemmingway, David Cameron, Stephen Hawking, Emma Watson, and many more.

When you will enter the name of this bar into Google Maps, you will see it in the middle of a regular road. Where you will find nothing. I could not probably find the bar anymore as well. The best idea is to ask the first student you will meet because he will know the place for sure.

Oxford English Dictionary

Why did Oxford become well-known in the English-speaking world? There is no official institution that manages the English language; however, Oxford is the closest to something like this. The project started in 1857. There were many English dictionaries in the world at that time but they were not complete and satisfactory. The first New English dictionary, the name of the Oxford English Dictionary in those times, was published in 1884. During the next 100 years, it was delivered to every school in England and shared worldwide. Nowadays, Oxford dictionaries and textbooks can be found in almost every bookstore all over the world.

How to travel to Oxford from London

The trip to Oxford belongs among the favorite daily trips from London. Travelers who are staying in London for a few days can leave early in the morning and come back later at night and still have plenty of time to experience Oxford.

Buses going to Oxford are available 24/7. They leave from the Victoria Coach Station in central London approximately every 10-15 minutes during the day, less often during the night. The trip takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes depending on the traffic in London.

You can take a train from Paddington station in London. The train leaves every 30 minutes (can differ during weekends).

Another option is to pay for the tour, which is organized by a travel agency. It usually includes the transport from London and back, a tour guide and sometimes the entry fees. This option is suitable for people who want to relax and they can be sure that everything is taken care of.

I am sure I want to visit Oxford again one day. The moments I have spent there were an amazing adventure, however, I feel that I did not experience all the atmosphere fully. I was typical tourist, running from one sightseeing to another, visited souvenir shops, stared to the map and took pictures of everything around me. My next visit will be calmer, I will sit to the park and observe the surrounding, probably read a book. I cannot wait.
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And what about you? What would you like to visit in this town? Would you be like me, excited tourist ready to see every possible or would you maybe visit only a few places and then enjoy the coffee?

USEFUL SOURCE

Places to visit – list of the colleges and other university buildings, which are open to the public, information about opening hours and entry fees

​You will need the map of this town because as you will see, some streets are very similar and you can easily get lost. I used mobile apps like Oxford Travel Guide, Oxford City Guide, and Oxford Offline City map, which offers also brief information about the town and sightseeing. The most helpful for me was Oxford Offline City Map.