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15 Best things to see & do in Oxford

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

  • Bucket List Experience

A world-class collection of art and architecture in the heart of Oxford that ranges across 3,000 years of history, with Egyptian rooms to rival those of the British Museum.

Good for age: 13+

Museum of the History of Science

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

The outside of the Museum of the History of Science building. A cylindrical pale yellow sandstone building with arched windows and a wooden door.

Experience

An extraordinary collection of scientific instruments and artefacts, dating from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, with highlights including Einstein’s blackboard and a Roman disc sundial. 

Good for age: 13+

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Coffee Concerts at Holywell Music Room

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

A small room with pale wooden floors, white walls, and two golden chandeliers. Rows of red cushioned tiered seating rise up from a central space. There is a dark wooden organ with golden pipes against the back wall.

Experience

Held every Sunday, these classical concerts are the chance to see world-class performers in the Holywell Music Room, the oldest, purpose-built music room in Europe.

Adult price: 15

Good for age: 18+

Duration: 1+ hours

When: Sunday

Freq: weekly

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Bridge of Sighs

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

The bridge runs between two buildings above a cobblestone street underneath which people are walking. The bridge is arched sandstone with rectangular glass windows.

Experience

One of the city’s iconic Insta shots, this raised bridge, linking two sections of Hertford College is notable for its similarity to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

Good for age: 18+

Pitt Rivers Museum

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

Inside the Pitt Rivers Museum. The room is full of glass display cabinets full of objects. A large totem pole rises from the centre of the room and there are several floors visible.

Experience

An overwhelming array of archaeological and ethnographic finds from all over the world, with over half a million objects alongside early photographic and sound archives.

Good for age: 8+

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Bodleian Library

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

Inside the Bodleian Library Divinity School. The room has dark wooden seating and a vaulted, intricately carved stone ceiling.

Experience

Dating back to the 14th century, the Bodleian buildings – including the Divinity School, Oxford’s oldest teaching room – are some of Oxford’s most beautiful. Visits by pre-bookable tours only.

Good for age: 18+

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  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

  • Bucket List Experience

Oxford’s extraordinarily beautiful colleges have housed everyone from prime ministers to presidents, and pair centuries of British history with spectacular architecture.

Adult price: 3

Good for age: 18+

Oxford Covered Market

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

Arcade of shops with a lady looking at a flwoer stall

Experience

First opened as a food market in 1774, the Covered Market is now home to fifty different stallholders, selling everything from vintage clothes, jewellery and flowers to specialist foodie treats.

Good for age: 13+

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Church of St. Mary [and climb the spire]

  • Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom (UK)

The exterior of University Church of St Mary. A sandstone church with shrubbery outside, illuminated by golden hour sunshine.

Experience

A 13th-century church which was the first university building. Climb the spire for wonderful views over the Oxford Colleges and the surrounding Oxfordshire countryside.

Adult price: 5

Good for age: 6+

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