Oxford travel guide

It’s easy to see why people still swoon over Oxford, a city that comfortably bears the weight of eight centuries’ worth of academic history. Oxford’s honey-gold university buildings retain the power to overawe, its much-eulogised “dreaming spires” still stretch skywards, and its roll call of associated characters – ranging from Lewis Carroll and Samuel Johnson to JRR Tolkien and Evelyn Waugh – is as celebrated now as it ever was.

Most visitors come to Oxford for the beautifully preserved college buildings scattered around the city. Oxford’s city centre is easily among the most attractive in the UK, and today’s sizeable student population enjoys a city that manages to balance its sparkling heritage with a modern face. Oxford’s location at the confluence of two rivers – the Cherwell and the Thames – means waterside walks are never far away either.