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As a result it has 1500 listed buildings within its boundaries,
covering every period of British architecture, starting in the
11th century.

Its major attractions, apart from the university’s 38 colleges,
include the Bodleian Library, the Ashmolean Museum,
and Oxford Castle right in the centre within easy walking
distance of each other.

You can take a walking tour organised by the local Visitor Information Centre. They have a range
of tours that cater for all sorts of special interests. Find out more here . . .

Or get your own walking itinerary here . . .

To get an overview of the city try climbing up to the top of Carfax Tower, the 74 foot high tower in
the city centre. You’ll be rewarded with an excellent view over central Oxford. The height of the
tower is important to note, for by law, no building in central Oxford can be built higher.

Other views over the city are available from the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the
High Street, and St. Michael Northgate, in Cornmarket. All of these vantage points have small
admission charges.

Christ Church (pictured) was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII. It has has a number of architecturally
significant buildings including Tom Tower (designed by Sir Christopher Wren), Tom Quad (the
largest quadrangle in Oxford), and the Great Dining Hall which was also the seat of the parliament
assembled by King Charles I during the English Civil War.

If you are a Harry Potter fan this is definitely on your bucket list. You’ll recognise the Great Hall,
the Quad and the fan vaulted staircase.

And while we’re on about great movies, lovers of Tolkien’s books (and the films) might like to visit
his grave in Wolverecote Cemetary. It’s on Five Mile Drive which runs between between the
Banbury Road and Woodstock Road, just north of the A40, the Oxford Ring Road. GPS
51.791376, -1.271931.

Nearby, in Lower Wolvercote is the The Trout pub. Inspector Morse fans might recognise The
Trout, which sits in a picturesque spot by the River Thames, featuring as it did in Colin Dexter’s TV
series. In fact, the historic patronage of this 17th Century pub reads like a Who’s Who of the great
and good: Lewis Carroll and C.S Lewis regularly popped in for a pint during their years at Oxford
University, and even King Henry II used it as a place to meet his mistress back in the day.

The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to
the British Library with over 12 million printed items. First opened to scholars in 1602, it
incorporates an earlier library built by the University in the 15th century to house books donated by
Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester. Known to Oxford scholars simply as ‘the Bod’, these buildings are
used by students and scholars from all over the world, and they attract an ever-increasing number
of visitors.

Radcliffe Camera, (camera, meaning “room” in Latin; colloquially, “Rad Cam” or “The Camera”)
designed by James Gibbs in neo-classical style and built in 1737–49 to house the Radcliffe
Science Library. It is sited to the south of the Old Bodleian. Not open to the public, but is well
worth a view from the outside.