If you were showing a friend around Oxford, what would you spend the day doing? Here are some suggestions from our staff - do send in your own ideas using the review box below!
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Alwyn would:
In order to thoroughly experience Oxford, you have to embrace both sides of the city: Town and Gown. The University tends (unsurprisingly) to dominate guidebooks, but you’re missing out if you just stick to the museums and colleges. Start the day with the best the “Town” has to offer: an artery-hardening breakfast at the St. Giles' Café, then a stroll down the High Street. Here you can window-shop for impossibly expensive silverware, antiques and the sort of clothes you can only buy if you’ve got a double-barrelled name and at least one title. Console yourself with a milkshake from Moo-Moo’s in the Covered Market. Alpha Bar’s salads and Pieminster’s pies are both perfect examples of often-disappointing dishes, and make an ideal lunch! Now, time to try the "Gown" side of things by visting the famous Oxford colleges. Wear a pair of pyjamas and carry a large pile of books under one arm and a bottle of Pimms under the other. College porters will assume you are a student, and let you in without charging a ruinous entrance fee. Older visitors can replace the pyjamas with tweed and the Pimms with sherry to impersonate a don instead. As well as the usual suspects of Magdalen, Christ Church (the “Harry Potter college”) and Merton, try Worcester’s lake, the Woody Allen gargoyle in Teddy Hall, and The Light of the World in Keble College Chapel. Continue your student experience (and put that Pimms to good use), by heading to Magdalen Bridge for a spot of punting; if it’s a terrible day, so much the better! Unimpeded by tourists travelling in slow circles in the middle of the river, you should be able to get the punt up to a full speed of 2, perhaps 2 ½ mph. See our guide to punting for more information on how not to fall in (or, if you must fall in, how to do so in the most dignified manner possible). Once towelled off, stroll across Magdalen Bridge and down Cowley Road and appreciate how the other half of Oxford lives; if the fantastic street art and vibrant international atmosphere don’t draw you in, the most important place in Oxford should. If you have time, head up to Headington to check out their famous shark, buried head first in a house. Eating places to watch out for are retro-chic diner Atomic Burger, brilliant fish-n’-chips-n’-Chinese-n’-Cambodian takeaway AK City, and authentic pizzeria Mario’s. If you’re feeling brave, try the Red Star Spice Challenge, and have your photo put alongside those of spice lovers and macho posturers from across the world. To tackle the feeling that your throat is about to burst into flames, head out for a cocktail. It would be unfair to single out one particular Oxford cocktail bar as especially excellent: Kazbar, Café Tarifa, the Grand Café, Raoul’s, the Duke of Cambridge and Angels are all worth a try. More importantly, all of these establishments have different Happy Hours, so get the timing right and you won’t pay full price for a drink all night. To inject a final touch of authentic student colour into your visit, get a late-night snack at one of Oxford’s (in)famous kebab vans. Cheesy chips are probably safest, but a chicken, egg and cheese burger will, once tried, never be forgotten. 10/02/10 Miranda would: Walk through New College Lane to look at the gargoyles, then, if fine: buy a basketful of goodies (from Maison Blanc or Gatineau, Manos or the Co Op plus or minus alcohol from Oddbins), and punt from the Cherwell Boathouse to the Vicky Arms for lunch. If wet: the recently revamped Ashmolean for Art, the University Museum for Nature or the Pitt Rivers for all kinds of human weirdness. Or if your visitor prefers their nature a bit more animated, to the Goldfish Bowl on Magdalen Street - one of Europe's leading aquarium shops, it's almost as good as the zoo. Or, your companion may prefer the elegant simplicity of a day spent gently lurching between the Turf Tavern, the Angel and Greyhound and the King's Arms. I'd plan to return in the evening to a concert or play (preferably in one of the colleges in order to show off the unique architecture and student vibe). Edamamé, a Japanese restaurant of amazing food and unusual opening hours, is good for a brisk meal if you're trying to fit a lot into an evening (you may have to queue but it usually moves swiftly). If you decide to skip culture for the evening, and especially if your visitor eats meat or fish, you mustn't miss Moya, that jewel of Oxford dining. Civilised yet unpretentious, with beautiful dishes intelligently designed and exquisitely cooked. If it's a Sunday night, and if neither of you have to work the next day, you could finish up with the folk night at the Half Moon. Miranda Rose, 03/02/10 Ben would: Head down to George & Danver on St Aldate's and grab a breakfast bagel. If it's sunny, take it into Christ Church meadow and sit for a while by the river. If not, eat it there (would a mid-morning ice cream be wrong?) and head down Pembroke Street to Modern Art Oxford. Once you're done being cultured, head over to Hythe Bridge St and wander up the canal into Jericho, past the assorted houseboats and towards the Gardener's Arms on Plantation Road. It's an unpretentious, friendly pub out of the bustle of the city centre that serves excellent vegetarian food, of the sort you needn't be a vegetarian to enjoy. Rain or shine, a visitor can't leave Oxford without a trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum, at the back of the Museum of Natural History on Parks Road. Make sure you check out the items hidden away in drawers and behind curtains - it's an eclectic, occasionally creepy collection, but worth a peek. If it's a sunny day, the University Parks next door provide an escape from the shrunken heads and Tim Hunkin installations. In the evening, the Cowley Road is the place to be. Mario's Trattoria doesn't look like much but is where the city's Italians go to eat (be prepared to wait). Afterwards, there'll be a gig on, or there are plenty of great places to go for a drink. (Maybe start at the Brickworks?) Alternatively, for something a little calmer, wander down to the Victoria Arms in Old Marston for a meal as you watch the sun go down over the river. Ben Werdmuller, 03/02/10 Jamie would: - Get up early and walk/jog through the University Parks. The trees are fantastic in the morning mist. - Have breakfast at the Excelsior on Cowley Road. It's the least pretentious café in town, and still the coffee is exceptional. - Walk from Magdalen Bridge into the Botanic Gardens and then Christ Church Meadow, following the Cherwell till it meets the Isis, then back up towards Merton College. Ideal route for watching plants, people and punts. - Have lunch and go shopping in the Covered Market... my favourites include Cardews, the Oxford Framing Gallery, Chocology, the Cake Shop and Ben's Cookies! - Head from Carfax along Cornmarket, right into Broad St, right down Turl St, left along the High St and left up Catte Street, stopping in as many shops and colleges as you feel like! Try the tower of St. Michael's at the North Gate, the three Blackwell shops, Exeter College chapel, Scriptum, the Black Sheep Gallery and the Bodleian Library. - Wander underneath Hertford College Bridge and find the little passageway that leads to the Turf Tavern. Ideal for ale with an academic. - Have dinner... there is just far too much choice to discuss here! Have a browse on our Food page. - Round off the evening with a concert at the Sheldonian Theatre or the Holywell Music Room; a film at the Phoenix Picturehouse or the Ultimate Picture Palace; a gig at the Jericho Tavern, the Cape of Good Hope or the Wheatsheaf; or just a pint at the Bear, the White Horse or the Half Moon. Jamie Huddlestone, 03/02/10 |
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