If you like old, venerable buildings, Oxford is the perfect city to visit. The university in the city with its roots as far back as the 1000s is spread across 39 colleges in the center of the small town. Normally a university is a unit, but Oxford and Cambridge universities are divided into colleges which are separate, small universities under a common umbrella. Each college has its own buildings, professors and accommodation. As a student, you live and eat at the college.
Read about the trip on to Scotland: scotland-a-road-trip and the Hebrides: the-hebrides-a-road-trip
Colleges
Many of the colleges are open to visitors in the afternoon. The most famous and with the most beautiful buildings are Christ Church, Magdalen and Keble College. It is recommended to join a guided walking tour through the city. Our well-informed guide took us on a two-hour tour where we visited the famous Bodleian Libraries, established in the Middle Ages, and Corpus Christi College, the smallest of the 39.
Bodleian Libraries
The library actually consists of 26 libraries, many of which are impressive on the outside and just as impressive on the inside. The oldest buildings from the 16th century. The Radcliffe Camera is the most famous. A distinctive round building from 1740. The library was founded in 1602 and is one of Europe’s oldest. If you want to see the inside of the Bodleian, you must sign up for a separate tour. In order not to disturb the students there are small groups. The tours are popular and must be booked well in advance. Registration online or by visiting the Weston Library. See plan-your-visit
Turf Tavern
A visit to the pub should be included. Try the old Turf Tavern, founded in 1381. It is tucked away in an alley just off the Bridge of Sighs, a small bridge that connects two college buildings. The pub boasts many celebrity visits, such as the later Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke who set a world record here by drinking a yard (1.4 liters) of ale in 11 seconds in 1954. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Tony Blair have also been refreshed here.
Camping
If you come by car and camper, there is a handy campsite just south of the city. Take the 300 bus from the Park & Ride directly below the camp. It runs frequently and takes a short time to get into the city. See: oxford-camping
Museums
Oxford can also offer interesting museums. The History of Science Museum is the world’s oldest museum still in operation. There you can study the development of science and, among other things, see Einstein’s tablet that Albert Einstein used in 1931 when he visited the University of Oxford and gave lectures. The board still has his equations to describe the universe using relativity.
Pitt Rivers
Museum of Natural History has a couple of dinosaur skeletons. But the really interesting stuff is to be found by sneaking past a menacing T. Rex and through an arched door that hides another museum, Pitt Rivers. This is a museum of a museum that has not been changed since the 19th century. It is completely overflowing with overcrowded cambinets displaying all sorts of artefacts that have been collected from British colonies. In contrast to modern museums where objects are often cataloged by country and era, this is arranged thematically. So the same stand contains, for example, flutes from a number of countries. Upstairs you will find masks and weapons.
Ashmolean
Museum of Natural History has a couple of dinosaur skeletons. But the really interesting stuff is to be found by sneaking past a menacing T. Rex and through an arched door that hides another museum, Pitt Rivers. This is a museum of a museum that has not been changed since the 19th century. It is completely overflowing with overcrowded cambinets displaying all sorts of artefacts that have been collected from British colonies. In contrast to modern museums where objects are often cataloged by country and era, this is arranged thematically. So the same stand contains, for example, flutes from a number of countries. Upstairs you will find masks and weapons.
More reading:
Bodleian: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/home
Pitt Rrivers: https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/
History of Science Museum : https://www.hsm.ox.ac.uk/
Ashmolean: https://www.glam.ox.ac.uk/ashmolean
