I may be biased because I lived in Oxford, but I firmly believe that visiting Oxford is one of the best things you can do in England! There are so many fun things to do and amazing historical connections in this beautiful university city. So its no wonder that people from across England and visitors from around the world want to make sure they see Oxford, even if only for a day!
If you are in England and planning to spend one day in Oxford, it can be difficult to decide what is worth doing and what is okay to skip. So this Oxford day trip itinerary is here to help you make the most of your short time exploring this spectacular city! From my favorite city sights to my favorite places to eat, you’ll learn exactly what you won’t want to miss seeing in Oxford.
Oxford Day Trip Itinerary
Wondering what to do in Oxford in one day? There are so many things to do here that it can be really hard to choose what to see. But I’ve narrowed all these options down to some of my favorite things to do in Oxford so you can plan your itinerary and know you are experiencing the best of this quintessential English town!
1. Take a Tour of Oxford
I think one of the best ways to get the lay of the land in Oxford is to take a high-level tour of the city. There are two ways you can do this.
The first way would be to take a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. You’ll see these red buses all across Oxford, and if you have purchased a ticket you can get on and off of them anywhere along the route. This means you can simply sit on the bus for the whole route and listen to the guided tour to learn more about Oxford, or you can choose to get off at some sights if you want to see them in more depth.
The second option is to take a walking tour of Oxford. While you can take a guided tour to hear the history of Oxford from a local, you can also use the free guide I put together to see all the important sights in Oxford and the University of Oxford!
Regardless of which option you choose, getting familiar with the layout and learning a little bit about the city and its history is the perfect way to start out your time in Oxford.
Click here to check out the Hop-on Hop-off Bus or discover the walking route of Oxford!
2. Visit Christ Church College
If you only have one day to spend in Oxford, Christ Church College is the place to visit. The University of Oxford has a ton of amazing colleges, but Christ Church makes the cut as the best college to see on a day trip because of its grandeur.
It’s a huge college with beautiful quads and buildings, including the college cathedral. As you wander the college, be sure to be on the lookout for any hints of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Why? Well, this is the college that Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) lived and worked at…so you may see some aspects of the college that may have inspired parts of his classic novel!
The Christ Church dining hall is also a must-see, as it is the hall that Hogwarts’ Great Hall was modeled after in the Harry Potter movies. And it’s actually still a working dining hall where students eat meals every day!
Unsurprisingly, a few other locations throughout Christ Church were also used in the Harry Potter films (such as the entrance to the dining hall, which is where Professor McGonagall meets the first years in the first movie). That’s why this is an essential stop on any Harry Potter tour of Oxford, and also one of the reasons that this college is worth a visit on any Oxford one day trip.
Christ Church has a small fee to enter (unless you are entering solely for a church service in the cathedral) but it is worth it to get to explore this beautiful college on your day trip!
Click here to check out Christ Church College and how to enter the grounds!
3. Explore the Pitt Rivers Museum
There are a plethora of amazing museums to explore in Oxford, but the most unique one is the Pitt Rivers Museum. And it doesn’t really matter whether you love museums or not…this should still be on your list either way!
Why should it be on your list? Because I guarantee it’s different from any other museum you’ve been to. Instead of being organized in a typical, clinical museum way, this museum organizes everything by groups into cases such as “Pottery,” “Musical Instruments,” and “Treatment of Dead Enemies.” It’s far more like an old Victorian attic than it is like your usual museum!
With three floors to explore, this is a unique and fascinating place where you could easily lose track of time as you wander. And best of all, it’s one of the many free things you can do in Oxford!
4. Take a Library Tour
We all know that Oxford is well known across the world for the University of Oxford. But as part of the university, this city holds some amazing libraries! If you are at all interested in the scholarly side of Oxford, these are a must-see.
The libraries are impressive not only for their collections of books ranging from medieval to modern, but they’re also stunning and impressive simply by virtue of their architecture. You can view many of these libraries from the outside for free, but unless you are a student of the university you will need to take a tour to see inside.
There are several tour options to choose from, but the Old Bodleian and Duke Humfrey’s library should definitely be on your list. Also the Radcliffe Camera if you have the time!
Check out some of the coolest libraries in Oxford to find out which ones you should see!
5. See Oxford From Above
The beautiful city of Oxford is even better when seen from above! This city is known as the “city of dreaming spires,” which you can’t fully appreciate until you view the spires at eye-level.
The Sheldonian Theatre is my top choice to visit for views of Oxford, as you get to explore inside the theater (used for concerts and all official Oxford University ceremonies) as well as climb to the cupola to see an impressive 360-degree view of Oxford. You get amazing views right over the Old Bodleian Library complex!
The second best view over Oxford, in my opinion, is from the spire at St. Mary’s Church. Because it is located just to the south of the Radcliffe Library, you get an excellent direct view of this iconic building from above with all the other spires of Oxford in the background.
Both places cost money to enter, but if you choose one of these options on your day trip then you’ll get to experience the city of dreaming spires in a beautiful and unique way!
6. Go Punting on the River
Punting is a quintessentially English (and Oxford!) thing to do. There is nothing quite as peaceful as going out on the river and enjoying floating and picnicking during the afternoon. Unfortunately, punting doesn’t happen all year round…but if you are in Oxford during punting season then I highly recommend giving it a go!
Punting is especially popular with Oxford students during Trinity term, but you can usually punt from early spring into early to late fall. This is an amusing pastime (and a bit tricky!) if it’s your first time punting, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. Especially if you check out my punting guide ahead of time so you know what to expect!
Where to Eat in Oxford on a Day Trip
No Oxford city tour is complete without some delicious food! There are many amazing restaurants in Oxford, but here are a few of my favorites that I return to again and again.
Breakfast
There are two excellent options I recommend for breakfasts in Oxford: Vaults & Garden and Turl Street Kitchen.
- Vaults & Garden offers a range of breakfast items from simple toast to the “Full Oxford” English breakfast. They also have delicious scones! This is my top choice because it is located below the University Church of St. Mary in an old church room from 1320 with high vaulted ceilings.
- Turl Street Kitchen is another excellent choice for breakfast with pastries and other offerings such as salmon and eggs and the TSK English breakfast. There is also a cute little sitting room on the second floor where you can take your coffee/tea/hot chocolate and enjoy relaxing a little.
Looking for more options? Check out the best cafes in Oxford!
Lunch/Dinner
For lunch and dinner, the restaurants you choose will depend on what sounds good as well as what priorities you have (such as visiting locations of your favorite writers or book/TV characters). Here are a few of my favorites:
- The Eagle & Child (aka the Bird and Baby) is a nice choice for lunch or dinner with a classic pub menu. If you go here, I also highly recommend trying the sticky toffee pudding! This pub is the location where C.S. Lewis and the Inklings frequently met, so literary fans may enjoy the chance to follow in their footsteps by visiting here.
- Old Tom Pub has a pub atmosphere but offers Thai cuisine on the menu instead of regular pub food. My favorite dish here is their Red Thai Curry, although pretty much everything else is excellent too. If you plan to eat here, note that the restaurant is located in the back half of the pub so you should sit in the back instead of the front if you want to order food.
- The Turf Tavern is a great historic pub hidden away in Oxford. It is one of the locations used in Inspector Morse and has a lot of nice food options, including an excellent mac & cheese dish. You can’t go wrong with this pub!
How to Get to Oxford From London
Many people choose to day trip to Oxford from London because travel from London to Oxford is quick and easy! Here are three ways to travel between these cities.
Visiting Oxford By Bus
Taking the bus from London to Oxford is a popular option for a day trip (although it’s frequently called a coach instead of a bus in England). The Oxford Tube or the X90 are both about 1 hour and 40 minutes each way and cost approximately £15-20 round trip.
Visiting Oxford By Train
Taking the train from London to Oxford is my favorite way to travel between these two cities. Choosing a fast train means your journey time is only an hour each way…which means you have more time to see Oxford!
With trains, you also have a bit more flexibility with pricing than you do with buses…especially if you book your tickets in advance. A regular priced, round trip and off peak ticket should cost around £27 pounds. But if you know which specific train you want to take you can often book singles and get your whole trip booked for £10-20.
AND! If you plan to travel by rail a lot while in England, you may want to consider getting a railcard. Purchasing a rail card means you get discounted fares (usually 30% off). With such a good discount, railcards quickly pay for themselves with only a few journeys. I have frequently found £3-4 train fares from London to Oxford by using my railcard and booking in advance. Find out more about how to do this (and learn other money-saving tricks) in my guide on how to save on UK travel.
Visiting Oxford By Road
If you plan to drive from London to Oxford using your own car or a rental car, you should reach Oxford somewhere between 1 hour and 20 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes via M40.
Guided Day Trips to Oxford
I usually prefer to find my own way around cities and explore local places, but if you prefer guided tours instead of exploring on your own then there are several tour options to consider. An Oxford bus tour can be a great way to get to see several English landmarks in one day! Here are few top-rated day trip tours that include Oxford:
- Windsor, Stonehenge, and Oxford Tour: This full day tour takes you to three of the most popular destinations in England. Included in the price is transportation to and from London, entry to Windsor Castle, entry to Stonehenge, and a walking tour of Oxford. If this sounds like an option you are interested in, you may also want to consider this tour that visits all the same places but includes an exclusive viewing of Stonehenge outside of normal operating hours!
- Oxford and Cotswolds Villages Tour: If you want to spend more time in Oxford and the surrounding Oxfordshire area, then this is the guided tour for you! This tour spends time exploring the University of Oxford as well as beautiful countryside areas nearby. Transportation in a Mercedes coach is included plus a professional guide to help you explore.
- Cambridge and Oxford Tour: If you’ve ever wondered whether Cambridge or Oxford is the better university and city, this full day tour is the opportunity to find out. Round trip transportation is included in the price as well as a walking tour of Oxford and a walking tour of Cambridge.
- Harry Potter Studio and Oxford Tour: This tour is the perfect choice for Harry Potter lovers! You’ll visit the Warner Bros. Studio plus you’ll get a chance to explore Oxford, where many parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. Included in the tour is admission to the Harry Potter Studio, a professional walking tour of Oxford, and transportation to and from London.
Is a Day Trip Not Enough?
If you’ve looked at all there is to see and do in Oxford and found that there are too many things you want to do, then you might want to consider expanding your day trip to a multi-day trip. You certainly won’t regret it!
Oxford also makes an excellent base to explore England rather than staying in the hustle and bustle of London. Here are a few day trip ideas from Oxford in case you are considering making Oxford your base of operations for your vacation.
And if you want the complete scoop on Oxford, check out this guide that compiles everything you need to know including more sightseeing and restaurant recommendations for your time exploring this city!
Whether you visit for one day or decide to stay longer, you will definitely enjoy your time in this lovely city of dreaming spires. And you may even, like me, find that you love it enough to someday call it home!
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