Bars: The Living Room, 1 Oxford Castle (website: www.thelivingroom.co.uk) is a spacious bar with live blues, boogie and soul music most nights. More funky and with a strong party vibe, Thirst Bar, 7-8 Park End Street, is very popular and tends to get crowded in the evenings. It has a great cocktail menu and reasonable prices. Raoul's, 32 Walton Street (website: www.raoulsbar.co.uk) in the Jericho area is a great place for cocktails, with bars on two floors and knowledgeable bartenders mixing the drinks.

Pubs: The Kings Arms, 40 Holywell Street, was established in 1607 and is one of the liveliest pubs in oxford, serving good food and an extensive range of real ales. The White Horse, 52 Broad Street, is a situated next to Blackwell's famous bookshop, has a welcoming atmosphere and tends to attract an eccentric university clientele. Eagle and Child, 49 St Giles, is one of Oxford's oldest pubs and famous for being the meeting place of the Inklings literary group, which consisted of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and C Williams.

Clubs: With its stylish leather sofas and Moroccan décor, Escape, 9A High Street (website: www.escape-oxford.co.uk) targets a slightly upmarket, discerning clubbing clientele. The Bridge Nightclub, 6-9 Hythe Bridge Street (website: www.bridgeoxford.co.uk) is a classy nightclub over two floors that offers a relaxed atmosphere, a wide range of music and a programme of popular club nights that attract both students and locals. The club bar Anuba Bar is also very good, with quite a sophisticated feel. Downtown Manhattan Nightclub, 3 George Street and the Old Fire Station, 40 George Street are two spacious clubs where you can dance the night away.

Live Music: The Zodiac, 190 Cowley Road (website: www.the-zodiac.co.uk) is a renowned live music and club venue hosting a wide range of music and club nights, with an emphasis on rock gigs. The Jericho Tavern, 56 Walton Street, was the place where Radiohead and Supergrass were discovered, and it has in recent years been given a new lease of life as a place for live indie rock music after it fell into obscurity in the late 1990s. Exeter Hall Pub, Oxford Road 1 (website: www.thex.co.uk) is a lively and friendly pub that attracts lots of local bands who perform original work. Jazz and blues jamming sessions take place at The Cricketers Arms, 43 Iffley Road every Wednesday.