Old Parsonage

The Old Parsonage Hotel and its restaurant are a somewhat swankier affair entirely. It’s where the socialites of Oxford hang out in town before drinking Zombies at Lola Lo. The restaurant is less formal than its sister outfit Quod, though, and focuses on afternoon teas and all-day dining. But it’s more interesting as it has grounds to veer further from the safe bet of confit duck with red cabbage. There’s smoked haddock and cod fishcakes, for instance, as well as roasted bone marrow and a goats’ cheese soufflé.

The Rickety Press 

Oxford’s food aficionados believe this used to be the best restaurant in the city. When the magnificent Charles Michel was still about town, he’d frequent the pub. So too did the Oxford Gastronomica lot, who know a thing or two about eating. When it launched, the Rickety Press was a low-key, food-focused restaurant with fine cooking and ideas you’d struggle to match unless you went out into The Cotswolds, or down to Henley. Now, it’s had a bit of a makeover and it seems to be more geared towards a crowd that wishes it were in London but still has a year at university to contend with. Pizza and burgers – but good ones

Cherwell Boathouse

Probably the most ‘Oxford’ restaurant ever conceived is the Cherwell Boathouse. It’s what it says it is, and you dine next to a particularly tranquil spot on the Thames, all ducks and sunshine. The regular menu is a bit fussy and can sometimes be a little too ‘parents taking you out for a nice meal but forgot to book somewhere properly amazing’ – but go for a tasting menu, where slow cooked pheasant egg is paired with things like a 2007 Meursault, and venison loin alongside a 2002 Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu.

Brasserie Blanc

Led by Raymond Blanc, Brasserie Blanc first opened its doors in 1996. This restaurant is all about the French cuisine (‘honest food, cooked with the heart’ is his motto) – and the best of it. Their menus are seasonal and the set menu currently features the likes of risotto verdi, pan-fried plaice and steak frites.

Grill Royal

This gourmet steakhouse has caused quite a stir since it first opened. Penélope Cruz, Damien Hirst and Marilyn Manson are just some of the glitterati to join local devotees in dining at Grill Royal. The retro chic decor brings James Bond to mind, with Ikora lamps from the sixties, smoked mirror partitions and even a whole speedboat, just for show. The meat and fish hang in massive glass-door fridges, allowing you to pick the piece which takes your fancy, while the open kitchen means there are no cook’s secrets here. The chef is a connoisseur of quality meat and his dishes will impress even the most devout carnivores — the surf ’n’ turf is a particular favorite. In the summer, the river-facing window opens so diners can enjoy a cool breeze drifting in from the Spree.

The Magdalen Arms 

This pub was hyped around half a decade ago. And rightly so – the chef sourced food from patrons’ allotments. If you brought in a handful of carrots, the team would buy them off you, cook them, and serve them back. Or offset the cost when your bill arrived (which was large). Recently, the excitement started to fray, as it does, and at times the menu lacked focus. But it remains a solid place to dine, with an intriguing blend of European influences and solid flavours. Above all, the meat is always great quality, and cooked in crowd-pleasingly rustic fashion. The wine list too is admirable.

The Perch 

Another Oxford pub with a ‘gastro’ concept is The Perch. Tucked away next to the canal, cycling here on a warm day is quite special. The food is very simple – don’t expect anything majestic. But if you’re in need of some fish and chips and a pint of ale, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better.

The Oxford Kitchen 

The Oxford Kitchen, which offers ‘relaxed fine dining’ and, for the most part, delivers. The menu is usually short and considered – traditional French done well. Sometimes that’s all you want.

Kazbar

Kazbar, on the Cowley Road, not far from where David Cameron once lived, fuses Moroccan and Spanish tapas. Think hummus and warm pitta, patatas bravas, rich octopus in tomato sauce, butter beans braised for just enough time to soften, but hold a little bite. The mojitos are better than most, the service friendly, and the decor is a sight to behold as you tuck into your third bowl of spicy meatballs.

Pompette

Located in the pretty suburb of Summertown, Pompette – the French word for tipsy – serves up a European-inspired menu, with nods to head chef Pascal Wiedemann’s French roots. Enjoy cured meats sand cheese paired with a selection of European wines at the charcuterie wine bar, or opt for a more formal dinner in the dining room. Pascal’s maximum favour, minimum waste ethos is reflected throughout the menu, with current dishes on the menu including Montbéliard sausage with puy lentils and Dijon mustard; salmon with creamed coco beans and brown shrimps; and St Austell mussels with nduja, white wine, cream and parsley.

Oxford City Centre

From prison to palace, treasure vault to the private zoo, the magnificent Tower of London has fulfilled many different roles down the centuries. One of Britain’s most iconic structures, this spectacular World Heritage Site offers hours of fascination for visitors curious about the country’s rich history – after all, so much of it happened here. Inside the massive White Tower, built in 1078 by William the Conqueror, is the 17th-century Line of Kings with its remarkable displays of royal armaments and armor. Other highlights include the famous Crown Jewels exhibition, the Beefeaters, the Royal Mint, and gruesome exhibits about the executions that took place on the grounds. The adjacent Tower Bridge, its two huge towers rising 200 feet above the River Thames, is one of London’s best-known landmarks.

Christ Church Cathedral

Although the present building dates from the 12th century, Christ Church in Aldate’s Street, acquired cathedral status in 1546. The most striking feature in the interior is the double arcading of the nave, creating an impression of much greater height. In the south transept is the Thomas Becket window (1320) and five glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made by William Morris in 1871.  The grave of philosopher George Berkeley (1681-1735), who gave his name to the town of Berkeley in California, is also located at the cathedral.

Sheldonian Theatre

Also in Broad Street, Built in 1664, the Sheldonian Theatre was Sir Christopher Wren’s second major building and is used for the university’s annual Commemoration. The Museum of the History of Science – housed in the Old Ashmolean Building, theworld’s first purpose-built museum building – is a fascinating facility that specializes in the study of the history of science and the development of western culture and collecting. The museum includes the blackboard that Albert Einstein used during his Oxford lectures of 1931.

Radcliffe Camera

Radcliffe Square in Broad Street is home to the Old Schools Quadrangle (1613) and the Radcliffe Camera (1737), a rotunda that originally housed the Radcliffe Library in Oxford University. The 16-sided room on the ground floor is now a reading room for the Bodleian Library, the university library, and the country’s first public library, founded in 1598. A copy of every book published in Britain is deposited here, including some two million volumes and 40,000 manuscripts. From the library, you can also explore the magnificent Divinity School.

Oxford University

With the evidence of teaching in 1096, University of Oxford is indeed the main attraction and reason for this city’s fame. It is the second oldest university in the world and has the first academic rank according to The World University Ranking.

This campus consists of 38 Colleges. Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Stephan Hawking, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) are the notable Alumni of this University.

Corn market Street

Pedestrian-friendly Cornmarket Street, commonly known as the “Corn,” is Oxford’s busiest shopping street. Along with its many big-brand shops and department stores, the street is also home to the historic Golden Cross arcade, popular for its craft and jewelry shops, and the Covered Market, dating from 1774 and housing an eclectic mix of food retailers. Also of interest is the former Crew Inn, where Shakespeare is said to have stayed on his journey between Stratford and London, and St. Michael’s Church, notable for its early Norman tower.

Eagle and Child Pub

Nicknamed The Bird and Baby, is a historic pub in St. Giles Street, Oxford a small, narrow building, the pub reputedly served as the lodgings of the Chancellor of the Exchequer during the English Civil War (1642–49) when Oxford was the Royalist capital. The landmark served as a playhouse for the Royalist army, and pony auctions were held in the rear courtyard. These claims are inconsistent with the earliest date usually given for construction of the pub. When in Oxford, why not visit ‘The Eagle and Child’ pub and discover its unique history with some of the greatest writers in English history. In this pub, at around the year 1939 to 1962, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis regularly met.

Blenheim Palace

In Woodstock, just eight miles northwest of Oxford, is Blenheim Palace, the seat of the dukes of Marlborough and the Spencer-Churchill familyand birthplace of Winston Churchill. This magnificent 200-roomed palace was built between 1701 and 1724 for John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, with the financial support of Queen Anne, who wished to express her thanks to the Duke for his victory in 1704 over the French at the Battle of Blenheim, an event commemorated on the ceiling of the Great Hall. Another highlight is the chance to explore the magnificent gardens, with their French Rococo borders, and the Capability Brown designed parklands. Other outdoor attractions include Italian gardens and herb gardens, a butterfly house, and a maze.

Tour of Duke Humfrey’s Library

Duke Humfrey’s Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. Until 2015, it functioned primarily as a reading room for maps, music, and pre-1641 rare books.

This Library was used as the Hogwarts Library in the Harry Potter films.

The Story Museum

Alice’s Wonderland, Narnia, and Middle Earth were all worlds which emerged from the streets of Oxford, where fantasy authors Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien spent time writing. Yet Oxford’s significance in children’s literature was often overlooked until 2014, when the Story Museum opened its doors. Almost every room in the fantastical museum has something in it to touch, listen to, smell, or dress up in. Lining the walls of the Throne Room are hundreds of costumes for princesses, knights, and dragons to pose in on the Story Throne for photos.

The Headington Shark

About four months after the incident at Chernobyl, on August 9, 1986, Oxford-resident Bill Heine had a twenty-six-foot shark sculpture erected on his roof. Using cranes, Heine and sculptor John Buckley mounted the shark, head first, onto the roof in the middle of the night. That morning (which was also the 41st anniversary of the dropping of nuclear bomb “Fat Man” on Nagasaki), the headless shark began delighting curious onlookers; with the exception of town officials, that is.

Bill Heine, who still lives in the house today, says that the shark was assembled and properly placed to speak out against incidents such as Chernobyl and Nagasaki, as well as general government incompetence.

Oxford Electric Bell

This battery powered bell has been ringing since 1840 and is one of the worlds longest running science experiments. For over 170 years, the Oxford Electric Bell (also known as the Clarendon Dry Pile) has been chiming almost continuously, the composition of its power source uncertain. Currently located in the Clarendon Laboratory at the University of Oxford, the Bell is an experiment consisting of two brass bells each stationed beneath a dry pile battery, with a metal sphere (or ‘clapper’) swinging between them to produce a ring that has occurred on the order of 10 billion times.

Martyr’s Mark

The spot where three Protestant clergymen were burned at the stake during the reign of “Bloody Mary.” In the middle of the 16th century, during the reign of Queen Mary I of England (also known as “Bloody Mary” due to her brutal religious persecution), three Protestant clergymen were executed at this very spot in Oxford, now marked with a brick cross in the middle of the road. The Protestant martyrs, were brought before a commission at the Church of St Mary the Virgin and found guilty for not believing in transubstantiation, the change by which bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ. The first two men were put to death on October 16, 1555, while the later watched from the tower of the nearby Bocardo gaol (jail) at the Northgate. Hugh Latimer finally lost his appeal and was killed on the same spot on March 21, 1556.

The Alfred Jewel

One of Oxford’s greatest treasures likely belonged to the legendary King Alfred the Great. In the darkened galleries of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, you’ll find an archeological treasure that, despite its diminutive size, is of priceless value to England and its history. The mysterious crystal likeness of a man can be seen in a teardrop shape enclosed within a golden dragon-headed frame. The pale figure stares at the viewer from under his mop of golden hair and clutches what appear to be two long-stemmed plants in his hands.