The small, pretty town of Oxford is known for its historic university, but there are many interesting tourist attractions here. Just a short train or bus ride from London, Oxford is a great destination for a daytrip or a weekend break.
Oxford’s Tourist Attractions
Oxford is most famous for its university. Most of the university buildings and colleges are in the city centre and you can easily walk around the university area.
There are several interesting historic buildings in the university area. The Bodleian Library is a famous old library that also has its own bookstore. The oldest public museum in Britain, the Ashmolean Museum, belongs to the university and has a collection of paintings, sculptures and other items from ancient Egypt to modern day.
There are around 7000 different species of plants in the university’s Botanic Gardens, and the garden area is a beautiful place to walk around. You can also climb to the top of the Carfax Tower in the town centre and get a good view of Oxford.
Shopping in Oxford
Oxford’s biggest shopping streets are Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, Magdalen Street and High Street. The covered market area near High Street is full of small shops that sell gifts, handicrafts, antiques, books, different types of food and much more. There are also nice cafes, bars and restaurants around the market area.
Oxford is known for its good bookstores, and there are several large modern bookstores as well as small second-hand bookshops in the city.
Oxford Sightseeing Tours
The Tourist Information Centre in Broad Street offers a wide variety of guided sightseeing tours and walking tours around Oxford, including a Harry Potter tour and a University tour. Boat trips on the River Thames are another popular way to spend an afternoon in Oxford.
Interesting and useful websites
Visit Oxford: the official tourist website of Oxford City Council
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Keywords
Historic
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- If something is historic it is old and part of the story of a place.
Tourist attractions
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Places and events that are interesting to tourists.
London has many famous tourist attractions such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and The Tower of London.
Destination
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A destination is a place you are travelling to or want to travel to.
Daytrip
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If you make a daytrip you go to a place for a day and then return to the place you started from.
Colleges
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Colleges are the different schools at a British university.
Public museum
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A museum that is not privately owned.
Painting
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A picture made using colors.
The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting on the world.
Sculpture
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A piece of art that is made of a solid material such as stone, clay or wood.
Michelangelo’s David is the most famous sculpture in the world.
Species
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We define the class of animal or plant into different groups called species. For instance tigers and lions of two different species of cat.
A good view
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The view is the things you can see from a position, such as a window. A good view means that you can see the interesting or attractive things.
Handicrafts
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Objects that are produced using someone hands in a skillful way. Examples of handicrafts: pottery vases, handmade carpets and rugs.
Antiques
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If something is very old it is called an antique. Usually is needs to be over 100 years old.
Guided sightseeing tours
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Sightseeing is travelling around a place looking at the interesting places normally visited by tourist. If you go on a guided sightseeing tour, a tour leader will show you the places and tell you something about them.
Popular
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If something is popular many people like it.
