The best way to get a running commentary on the important sights is to take a 2-hour walking tour through the city and the major colleges. The tours leave daily from the Oxford Tourist Information Centre at 11am and 2pm. Tours costs £6.50 ($12) for adults and £3 ($5.70) for children younger than 16; the tours do not include New College or Christ Church. There are two tours that leave the Oxford Information Centre on Saturday at 10:30am and 2pm. These tours include admission to Christ Church. They cost £7.50 ($14) adults, £3.50 ($6.65) children younger than 16.
The Oxford Story, 6 Broad St. (tel. 01865/728822; www.oxfordstory.co.uk), is a concise and entertaining audiovisual ride through the campus. It explains the structure of the colleges and highlights architectural and historical features. Visitors are also filled in on the general background of the colleges and the antics of some of the famous people who have passed through the university's portals. In July and August, the audiovisual presentation is daily 9:30am to 5pm. From September to June, it runs Monday to Saturday 10am to 4:30pm, Sunday 11am to 4:30pm. Admission is £7.25 ($14) for adults, £5.95 ($11) for seniors and students, and £5.25 ($10) children.
For a good orientation, hour-long, open-top bus tours around Oxford are available from Guide Friday (tel. 01865/790522; www.guidefriday.com), whose office is at the railway station (tours also start from the railway station; other pick-up points are Sheldonian Theatre, Gloucester Green Bus Station, and Pembroke College). Buses leave every 20 minutes daily; in summer, buses leave every 5 to 10 minutes. Tickets are good for the day. Tours run daily from 9:30am to 3:40pm November to February, daily from 9:30am to 4:40pm in March and daily 9:30am to 6:30pm April to October. The cost is £9.50 ($18) for adults, £8.50 ($16) for students and seniors, £4.50 ($8.55) for children 5 to 14 years old; a family ticket for two adults and three children is £24 ($46). Children younger than 5 get to ride free. Tickets can be purchased from the driver.
The Tourist Information Centre, 15-16 Broad St. (tel. 01865/726871), offers a ghost tour, which explores Oxford's ghoulish and gory past. The office also has a number of walking tours, with the ghost tour available Friday and Saturday evenings June to October from 7:45pm, covering the dark alleyways around the ancient schools. The cost is £5 ($9.50) for adults and £3 ($5.70) for children; tickets are available at the office during the day. Day tours begin at 10am daily, including Christmas, even for one person.
A Nostalgic Walk
Our favorite pastime here is to take Addison's Walk through the water meadows. The stroll is named after a former Oxford alumnus, Joseph Addison, the 18th-century essayist and playwright noted for his contributions to The Spectator and The Tatler.
Punting the River Cherwell
Punting on the River Cherwell remains the favorite outdoor pastime in Oxford. At Punt Station, Cherwell Boathouse, Bardwell Road (tel. 01865/515978; www.cherwellboathouse.co.uk), you can rent a punt (flat-bottom boat maneuvered by a long pole and a small oar) for £12 to £14 ($23-$27) per hour, plus a £60 to £70 ($114-$133) deposit. Similar charges are made for punt rentals at Magdalen Bridge Boathouse. Punts are rented from mid-March to mid-October, daily 10am until dusk. Hours of operation seem to be rather informal, however, and you're not always guaranteed that someone will be here to rent you a boat, even if the punt itself is available.
