The first thing you need to know is to go on a weekday because A. You won’t have a bunch of Chinese tourists to avoid and, B. the Covered Market and a lot of the shops will still be open.
1. The Original Ben’s Cookies: Possibly my favorite food place in all of Oxford. It’s in the Covered Market, which is open 9-5 M-F. If you ask someone where it is, they probably could direct you. They sell cookies by weight there. By weight! It usually costs around a pound twenty for a good sized cookie there, and they have a bunch of different original kinds. I usually got the double and nut – double chocolate chip with walnuts. Delicious.
2. The Radcliffe Camera/Bodleian Library: I still have a picture of this building on my desktop. It’s the most recognizable building in all of Oxford. You can take a tour of the Bod building, but unless you’re a student, you can’t get into the Camera. But if you take the tour, you can stand up on this balcony area and get a sweet view of the square. It’s a gorgeous, historic area.
3. Christchurch College: The attraction of this college is that the dining hall scenes in all the Harry Potter movies are filmed here (the library scenes are filmed in the Bod, but in a place tourists can’t go). It’s also a great representation of an Oxford college and it’s pretty awesome. It costs around 5 pounds I think for a non-student to tour it.
4. Magdalen College: This is where C.S. Lewis was a tutor. The chapel’s windows are black and white stained glass, which is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
5. University Parks: Gorgeous, gorgeous area. Take some bread and go feed the ducks here. It’s amazing. Also, you might randomly run into Thom Yorke here.
6. The Oxford Zodiac on Cowley Road (speaking of Thom Yorke…): Sadly enough, the club is closed for refurbishment until September, but if you can, go walk past it and relish in the fact that you are feet from where Radiohead filmed their video for “Creep.”
7. The Eagle and Child: Wonderful pub food, as well as being the place where the Inklings (Lewis, Tolkien, Williams and Sayer) would meet and discuss their stories. It’s a sweet little pub.
8. Kebab stands: At dusk, these vans come out of the woodwork, and sketchy Middle Eastern men sell meat and chips from the back of them. They’re licensed, so it’s safe, but it’s also sketchy as all get out. I think you would delight in the sketchiness of it all, so be sure to get some. But also beware, if you don’t specify, you’ll get mayonnaise all over your chips (fries) instead of the more traditional (for Americans) ketchup. My favorite one parks outside the Taylor Institute on St. Giles, just north of City Centre.
9. The Kilns: North Oxford – C.S. Lewis’ home. It doesn’t contain the actual wardrobe (that’s in Chicago), but it does contain his original desk and all sorts of cool stuff.
10. G&D’s Ice Cream: On St. Aldates (south of City Centre) there’s an awesome ice cream shoppe. It’s pretty fantastic.
11. Broad Street – There were a few martyrs in Oxford during the reformation, and there’s a small design in the street at the head of it, marking the spot where they were burned. It’s interesting to see how it’s a spot where a really important event happened and cars drive over it everyday.
12. Sheldonian Theatre: Gorgeous theatre near the Bod. I saw the archbishop of Canterbury speak here.
13. Blackwell’s Bookstore: Just down the street from the Sheldonian, Blackwell’s is an awesome bookstore that contains two levels of just regular book sales and the top floor has used books. It’s the place where Blackwell’s Publishing company started, and it is actually divided in the middle by a pub – the White Horse. It’s where part of the movie, “The Oxford Murders,” was filmed, while I was there. ☺ Also, it has a coffee shop in it.
14. Spend some time just wandering around in city centre and watching people. It’s really fun to sit on a bench with a sandwich and just watch students and tourists going to and fro and how they react to different things. Cornmarket street is the best place to people watch because there are buskers, and random crazy people. It’s awesome.
