FIRST-TIMER’S OXFORD
Independent, local and curiousToday in Oxford Plan something good
The independent guide to Oxford
The city,
properly discovered.
What to see, where to eat and the things worth leaving the house for—chosen by people who live here.
Radcliffe Square
51.7534° N, 1.2540° W
51.7534° N, 1.2540° W
23useful guides
no filler
no filler
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Independent picksPlaces earn their place; listings do not buy editorial praise.
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Practical firstPrices, access, routes and the detail that rescues a day out.
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Checked properlyVisitor information links back to the organisation responsible.
Go beyond the postcard
Our Oxford city guides
Straight-talking recommendations for visitors, students and lifelong locals.
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EAT & DRINK
Meet you at the Covered Market
Breakfast rolls, indie coffee and 250 years of shopkeeping.
THE OXFORD CLASSIC
Punting without the wobble
Where to hire, which river to choose and how to keep your shoes dry.
INDEPENDENT OXFORD
The best coffee in Oxford
Five carefully chosen cups, from Turl Street to the Covered Market.
SUNDAY IN OXFORD
The best Sunday pub lunches
Proper roasts, riverside walks and five pubs worth booking ahead for.
OXFORD IN FRAME
Oxford’s best picture trail
Eight unmistakable photo stops on one beautiful, walkable route.Don’t stay in
What’s on in Oxford
16SEPT
FEATURED · Dance
MAN WOMAN — A Butoh Fairy Tale
Schwarzman Centre — Theatre13SEPT
Family
Open Doors: free entry to the Divinity School
Divinity School13SEPT
Music
Open Doors: birdsong workshop
Weston Library15SEPT
Theatre
Lilith
Burton Taylor Studio16SEPT
Theatre
Saria Callas
Burton Taylor Studio19SEPT
Theatre
Jah Makin it Happen
Oxford PlayhousePutting something on?
List your event — it’s free Reach people looking for their next Oxford plan.
Oxford essentials
Four ways to find your Oxford.
Beyond the dreaming spires is a city made for wandering. Here’s where we’d begin.
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See the colleges
Which doors are open, what they cost and the ones worth crossing town for.
Walk the waterways
Port Meadow, the Thames Path and a gentle loop around Christ Church Meadow.
Get on the river
Punts, cruises and the dry-shoe way to see Oxford from the Thames.
Plan for rain
Museums, stories and covered corners for the most Oxford of forecasts.
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From a poetry night above a pub to a sell-out festival, Oxford wants to know. Submit your event free and our local editors will review it.
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