Visiting Oxford City
What To Expect On A Visit To The University City Of Oxford
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| Typical Oxford College |
The big draw for most visitors to Oxford is of course the world famous University, though its use in Harry Potter films and the Inspector Morse TV series hasn't exactly harmed its pulling power.
Situated only 55 miles west of Central London its an easy day trip from Central London independently.
The River Thames runs through Oxford in the early stages of its flow down to London through the Thames valley. At Oxford, for a distance of some 10 miles it is known as the Isis.
Oxford Walking Tours
The most popular way to see Oxford is through a walking tour. Everything worth seeing in Oxford City is within a very compact area, using a vehicle isn't really a viable option. Much of the city centre is pedestrianised and the roads where the interesting stuff is located were made for horses not modern motor vehicles.
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| Day Tours Including .... |
| Tour Overview |
| Stonehenge |
| Bath |
| Stratford Upon Avon |
| Cotswolds |
| Oxford |
| Windsor |
| Canterbury & Leeds Castle |
| Paris |
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| Cotswolds & Bath |
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| Bath & Stonehenge |
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| Stonehenge Afternoon |
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| Oxford |
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Nearly all the coach tours that visit Oxford drop off their passengers in the centre of town where the guide then takes them on a walking tour.
For the independent visitor The official walking tours of Oxford starting from the Tourist Centre are recommended, helping to make sense of what you are seeing in front of your eyes and providing an insight into Oxford University everyday life.
They also provide a very good orientation of Oxford so you can make an informed choice how to productively spend the rest of your day in Oxford.
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| Oxford Walking Tours |
The most popular tour is the University and City Tour.
The guide will take you through the heart of the historic city centre, illustrating the story of Oxford and its university. Describing the architecture and traditions of its most famous buildings and institutions.
Official guides are able to take small groups into colleges at times when the general public cannot enter.
More details on Oxford Walking Tours
Oxford City Attractions
Most things to see are directly or indirectly associated with the University.
Everything is well signposted and its easy to pick up a street map to find yourself around.
We have a dedicated page looking at Oxford University and also the largest college Christ Church Oxford.
Another Oxford City page looks at the rest of the Oxford City Centre and has a basic Oxford Visitors map.
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| Blenheim Palace |
Blenheim Palace
Just a few miles north of Oxford is Blenheim Palace, a world heritage site, home of the Duke of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Frequent public buses run out to Blenheim from Oxford City Centre. Be warned you can easily spend most of the day here.
Details of a visit to Blenheim Palace From Oxford.
Tours To Oxford From London
There is a wide choice of tours to Oxford from London on a daily basis.
Oxford is a gateway city to the Cotswolds, a scenic area of countryside with quintessential English villages.
Stratford Upon Avon associated with Shakespeare is only an hour away, as is Warwick Castle.
Most tours are permutations of these locations, spending only a couple of hours at most in Oxford.
Independent Travel To Oxford From London by Public Transport
If you want to really see Oxford you need more time than the coach tours provide, a day trip from London is ideal. Its very easy for any visitor to make their way to Oxford from London by bus or train.
Indeed the frequencies of the bus can be every 10 minutes during the day and runs through the night as well!
More details of traveling independently between Oxford and London
Oxford City Sightseeing Bus
Like in many towns and cities in the UK popular with tourists, a hop on, hop off open top bus operates in Oxford.
There are stops at all the main attractions and also the bus and rail stations.
Commentary is available in 9 languages in addition to English.
Departures are around every 15 minutes daily, a circuit taking around an hour if you don't get off.
City Sightseeing Bus - More details
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