Thinking about a day trip to Oxford? This guide has everything you need!
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If you’re looking for an easy day trip from London, Oxford is perfect! It’s an easy, low-stress trip to a charming place, exactly what you want when you’re trying to get out of the city.
Oxford is a charming small town that dates back to the 5th century as a Saxon village. The city existed before the university, but the town’s status has been tied to it since it was built in the 12th century. It’s remarkably well preserved for a town close to London; Hitler didn’t bomb it during WWII because he planned to make it the new capital!
How to Get There
Getting to Oxford from London is so easy! You have a few options.
Train are faster, taking about one hour 15 minutes from central London. Just use Citymapper for this, there are plenty of options depending on where you start your journey. Traveling by train is usually more expensive, often 30£-45£ each way, but if you plan ahead you may find fares for as cheap as 6£ one way.
The other option is by bus, which was my favorite. The Oxford Tube is so great, because buses run every 20 minutes pretty much all day. It takes about 2 hours each way, and you can prebook tickets for as low as 20£ round trip. They also didn’t seem to care if you weren’t on the correct time you prebooked, so long as you had a ticket!
I recommend this – it’s easy, cheap, and you can ride a double-decker bus all the way there! Just note that if you pick it up at Victoria Station, it means Victoria bus station, not the Underground station. You can check the full schedule and buy tickets on their website.
Finally, you can do an organized day trip to Oxford. There are plenty of options from London, especially if you want to get a taste of the Cotswolds in the same day!
Oxford University
Oxford University is the must-see on a day trip to Oxford!
Universities are structured differently in England than in the US: you apply to a college, a specific subset of the university that functions largely independently from the other colleges. It’s a little like applying to journalism school or business school within your university in the US.
That matters to visitors because you pay to visit, and you pay separately at each college. So choosing the college you visit matters!
Christ Church College
If you’re only here for a day trip to Oxford, you probably want to visit Christ Church College. It’s stunning, one of the best-known colleges at Oxford. Famous graduates include John Locke, Lewis Carrol, WH Auden, and more than a dozen British prime ministers.
Your ticket gets you into the college on a self-guided walking tour with an audio guide. Tickets are slightly cheaper if you prebook online, so consider saving a few pounds and do that.
The campus itself is beautiful. It’s hard to wrap an American brain around living, working, and studying among this much history every day! It’s worth following the audio guide, it’ll point out so many beautiful corners.
The whole campus is beautiful, but one of my favorite parts is the dining hall. Both it and the stairs leading up will look familiar to Harry Potter fans (stairs were actually used, dining hall was the inspiration)! They’re both striking and a small moment of picturing a university experience so different from my own.
Christ Church Cathedral is on the grounds. If you’re here in the late afternoon, you can stay for an Evensong service! You can attend the service without paying entry, but that typically means you can’t have a good wander around the grounds. I’d say pay to visit, and then stay for Evensong.
There’s also an art museum on campus. The Christ Church Picture Gallery has several famous works by old masters including da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rubens, and more. Entry is an additional cost, which you can pay in advance or at the door. If you’re already doing a bunch of London museums**, I don’t know that the Picture Gallery is a must-do.
Even if you don’t enter Christ Church College, you can still do a bit of exploring outside the grounds. The meadow just outside the entrance is beautiful, and you get the gorgeous ivy-covered walls right there.
If the Harry Potter sights are your favorite, there are Harry Potter-themed walking tours available!
Magdalen College
If you want to do a second, this is the one. Magdalen College can claim CS Lewis, Oscar Wilde, and several former rulers and prime ministers.
In true British fashion, the name of the college isn’t pronounced the way you’d predict. It’s pronounced more like the word “maudlin.”
I visited Magdalen YEARS ago on my first trip to Europe, so it holds a special place in my heart. It’s a bit smaller than Christ Church College, and feels more cozy, the kind of place you can picture scholars holed up studying 300 years ago.
It also has plenty of space for wildlife on its campus; there’s even a deer park! Be sure to do Addison’s Walk while you’re here, taking you through the woods and along the river and meadow.
Around Oxford
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Libraries are a set of 26 libraries serving Oxford, but when people say “the Bodleian Library,” they’re referring to the Old Library. It’s one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and worth walking by to see the exterior at least! You can only enter by buying tickets for guided tours. I’d say this is optional, but if you love historic libraries, look into the tours!
Radcliffe Camera
The Radcliffe Camera is another iconic library inside a circular building that’s become an icon of Oxford. It’s also part of the Bodleian library complex and accessible by the same guided tour as the Old Library. Even if you skip the tour, make sure to pass by; it’s a beautiful building.
Narnia Door
The “Narnia door” is Oxford’s most popular unofficial sight! Just down the street from Radcliffe Camera is St. Mary’s Passage, a small street where you can find a door featuring a lion embellishment in the center. Adding to the image, it’s flanked with cornices carved into the shape of fauns! It’s a fun little Aslan and Mr. Tumnus moment in the center of a city so infused with C.S. Lewis history.
There’s no concrete evidence that this door inspired C.S. Lewis, but it’s fun to imagine!
Kilns & Holy Trinity Church
If you’re a C.S. Lewis fan, consider heading out to visit his Oxford home, the Kilns. It’s open for tours a few days a week. If this is a priority, pre-book: they’re not every day, and they only take cash at the entrance.
Nearby Trinity Church is where Lewis worshipped during his Oxford years and is buried. You don’t need an appointment to visit, but be aware that it’s still an active church and will have services.
The Eagle and Child
No Lewis-focused visit to Oxford is complete without stopping by the Eagle and Child! Nicknamed “the bird and the baby,” it was the beloved hangout of Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Unfortunately, it’s been closed for a few years now, but there are plans to restore and reopen the pub!
There are Lewis-themed walking tours available too, if that’s of interest!
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace is one of the most beautiful palaces in England, and because it’s a bit more remote, less crowded!
It’s a Baroque palace in the same vein as the Versailles Palace. Several famous families have owned or lived in Blenheim Palace, and Winston Churchill was born here!
You can tour much of the public spaces, and you may recognize spots from film – it’s one of the most filmed historic homes in the UK! Most recently it was used in Bridgerton. Don’t skip the gardens either – like Versailles, they’re beautiful and part of the draw of the property!
From Oxford, it’s another 45 minutes away by bus. Ride the S3 or S7, which run a few times every hour.
If you’re doing both Blenheim and Oxford in one day, start with Blenheim and then come back to Oxford. Paying extra for the train to Oxford is worth it – save yourself some transit time.
The Best Restaurants in Oxford
I could do an entirely separate guide to Oxford restaurants (and I have way more suggestions here), but since this is a day trip guide, here are a few of the best restaurants in Oxford.
The Crown
The Crown is a classic pub just off the main street! The food was good – one of my favorite pies in England! Plus, it has some outdoor seating if the weather cooperates.
Vaults & Garden Cafe
If you just need a snack, Vaults & Garden Cafe is my favorite cafe in town! Go for the scones, although everything is good. They also have a full breakfast menu.
Tse Noodles
If you need a break from British food, head to Tse Noodles! It’s good Chinese food and as popular with locals as with visitors.
Covered Market
Want options? The Covered Market is an indoor market filled with stalls! Its booths aren’t limited to food, either – you’ll find all kinds of things here. If your sweet tooth is calling, check out Ben’s Cookies or Moo-moo’s.
There’s enough to see in and around Oxford that you may want to spend the night! If you find yourself there overnight, here are a few hotels to get you started:
Want all of this and more in an easy to use interactive format? I’ve put it all into a guide on Thatch, which makes it effortless to organize your trip and see all the options in one map, including how to get between each place! It’s the perfect way to organize a day trip to Oxford. Thatch is how I plan all my own travels and deliver custom itineraries to clients – check it out for yourself!
