Oxford is a beautiful university town graced by spacious lawns, pretty parks, lacy spires, honey-colored Cotswold stones, romantic pathways, and two picturesque rivers—the Cherwell and the Thames (known as the Isis at if flows through Oxford). While we arrived by car it’s also a perfect place to visit if you are traveling by train though do be aware that Burlington House, where we stayed is a bus ride away from the city centre. We have been to Oxford before but if you are a first time visitor you may want to make your first stop the Oxford Information Centre 15-16 Broad Street, to obtain a map. Walking tours of the town start from here and this is in the shopping part of the city…lots of shopping opportunities!
Blackwell's Bookstore, Oxford
Punts, Oxford
Much of the sightseeing in this the oldest university town centers on its colleges whose open times depend on whether the students are “up” (there) or “down” (not there). They are usually open from 2-5pm. Particularly worth visiting are Christ Church College with its superb quad and tower designed by Christopher Wren to hold the bell Great Tom; Magdalen College, the most beautiful college, with its huge gardens making you feel as if you are in the countryside; and Merton College whose chapel contains 13th- to 14th-century glass. Apart from the colleges we enjoyed visiting Magdalen College,climbing the spire and enjoying a spectacular view of Oxford’s skyline and the adjacent All Souls College.
Christ Church College, Oxford
Bodlian Library, Oxford
We love to spend time in Blackwell’s Bookstore with over 20,000 volumes the most famous of Oxford’s bookstores. Visit the nearby  Bodelain Library founded in 1320 and loved the magnificent carved ceiling of the Divinity School added in 1488. The adjacent domed Baroque rotunda, the Radcliffe Camera, was built as a memorial to Dr John Radcliffe in 1784. Rain came on so we retreated to the nearby Ashmolean Museum with its remarkable collection of paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. The next day was spent exploring Britain’s oldest Botanic garden (founded 1621) walking along the river and punting on the River Cherwell beside from punts we hired by Magdalen Bridge.
We loved our stay at Burlington House, just a bus ride away from the heart of the city on Banbury Road.
Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
