Even though the british just have shown again that they’re a bit strange, they have beautiful places to discover. Oxford is one of these places and i can only recommend anybody visiting London for some days, to make a daytrip to Oxford.
Oxford is residence of one of the oldest and most famous universities of the world – the university of Oxford. The University of Oxford has 38 colleges that you can also visit.
How to get there?
From London you can get there easily by train from the trainstation Euston. The trainride takes around an hour and the price will be around 25 pounds for a return ticket. Have a look at my other blogpost where i’m explaining the tricks to get cheap train tickets.
Discovering Oxford
If you want to do some college-sightseeing in Oxford i would recommend walking, because the city itself is not that huge. There are guided tours, for which you can ask at the tourist information, or you’re just walking on your own. The colleges are in the same area and you will be amazed. I cannot imagine that there are people studying in those beautiful buildings. You can visit some of the colleges from the inside, but always consider the opening times!
I can highly recommend visiting the Christ Church College, even though they’re doing some restauration at the moment. I’ve also been to the New College twice. Both colleges have been used as Harry Potter filmsets. Read more about british Harry Potter filmsets here. During my last visit i was going to see the Magdalen College which is lovely as well (even though i was enjoying the other two more).
There’s not only colleges to see in Oxford, but also the famous Bodleian library, which i’ve only seen from the outside. If you want to go into the library, you will have to take a guided tour.
The Hertford Bridge, also known as the Bridge of sighs, which is next to the Bodleian library, is also famous for Oxford. The bridge connects the Hertford College with the New College Lane and is famous for its design.
In Oxford you can also go for a boattour or punting. I’ve been on a boattour in the other university city cambridge and i’ve enjoyed it a lot.
The city of Oxford is also very nice to see and there are always a lot of people around this area. When you’re coming from the trainstation, you have to walk ~ a kilometre through the streets of Oxford until you’re getting to the colleges. You will find a lot of shopping opportunities, restaurants and so on.
Here’s a scan of the map that you can get at the tourist information:
