Things to do in Oxford

Oxford has been a university town since the eleventh century, and the 39 colleges still run the place on their own calendar. Term time fills the streets with gowns and bicycles; vacations empty them out. Stone quads sit behind the college gates.

Colleges and libraries

• Christ Church. Founded in 1546, and its chapel doubles as Oxford's cathedral, the only college chapel in England with that job.
• The Bodleian and Radcliffe Camera. The library dates to 1602, older than the domed Camera beside it, built in the 1740s on a doctor's bequest.
• The Ashmolean. Opened in 1683, and still called Britain's oldest public museum, with free entry to its Egyptian and Pre-Raphaelite rooms.
• The Covered Market. Opened in 1774 to clear meat stalls off the High Street, and still trading food under one roof.

The river and the evening

Punting runs on the Cherwell each summer. No experience is assumed, and a pole in hand gets plenty of first-timers wet before they find the knack. Colleges keep their own hours and often charge separately for entry, so one shut gate rarely means the whole city is closed.

Out of town

London is under an hour away by train. That makes it a realistic day trip either way. Blenheim Palace and the Cotswold villages fill the other side of a day out, closer than London and considerably quieter.

Practical

• Weather. July afternoons reach about 23C; January stays close to 5C, with a raw edge that a coat handles better than an umbrella.
• Getting there. Heathrow is roughly ninety minutes away by direct coach; the train from London Paddington takes about an hour.
• College hours. Term-time visiting hours are shorter than vacation ones, and some colleges close entirely during exams.
• Tipping. Ten to fifteen percent in restaurants unless service is already added to the bill.
• Crowds. May and June bring exam-season closures at some colleges alongside the best punting weather, so check before counting on a particular quad.