The best things to do in Oxford: how to have the ultimate day trip in 2025

What is it? Britain’s oldest public museum, home to a collection that spans continents and cultures – with a brand new exhibition all about Radiohead. 

Why go? The first exhibition of its kind, This is What You Get: Stanley Donwood, Radiohead, Thom Yorke is running until January 2026, with album covers, lyrics in sketchbooks and tons of other fun stuff from the band’s collaboration with artist Thom Yorke. Not a Radiohead guy? The rest of the Ashmolean is well worth a browse (and it’s free!). A redevelopment turned this magnificent, neo-classical but once-stuffy museum into a modern, light-filled space packed with treasures – medieval musical instruments, European art, Michelangelo – you name it, Ashmoleon’s got it.  

Time Out tip: Getting hitched? The Ashmolean is actually one of the many ludicrously sophisticated wedding venues in Oxford. It’s never too early to get it booked in for 2030. 

Address: Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PH 

Opening hours: Open every day, 10am-5pm 

Price: Radiohead exhibition tickets £16.20 (£15.20 concession, £8.10 for kids). General admission to the Ashmoleon is free. 

What is it? The UK’s oldest botanic garden and its 130 acres of woodland, which between them, house species from across the globe.

Why go? Established 400 years ago to grow plants for medicinal research, Oxford’s botanic gardens and giant glasshouses contain more than 6,000 types of plant including specimens used to treat cancer and heart complaints as well as carnivorous plants and tropical wonders.

Time Out tip: The Harcourt Arboretum, a ten-minute drive away, to see spring magnolias, rhododendrons and bluebells in full glory, or the autumnal glow of acers and redwoods.

Address: Rose Lane, Oxford, OX1 4AZ 

Opening hours: 10am-5pm (till 4pm in winter)

Price: Adults £7.20, concessions £5.90, under-16s free with an adult, Oxford staff and students free with ID

What is it? A behind-the-scenes tour of the university’s colleges, quads and libraries, often led by those who know it best – its students and alumni.

Why go? Didn’t make the cut for the UK’s most prestigious university? Don’t worry, you can still see its hallowed halls, hushed quads and candle-lit chapels on this walking tour that explores its history, ceremonies and weird traditions as well as offering a personal account of what it’s like to study here.

Time Out tip: Not a lot of people know that there are roe deer behind Christ Church college – and you can get right up close.

Address: University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JD

Opening hours: Varies by college and department 

Price: Tours typically range from £20-80 per person

What is it? A river trip past Oxford’s boathouses and meadows into bucolic English countryside. The same scenery, as it happens, that inspired ‘Alice in Wonderland’.

Why go? Like its academic rival Cambridge, Oxford is encircled by pastoral scenery. You could strap on your walking boots, or you could kick back and relax on board a boat that plies the same river Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell once floated down while befriending white rabbits, red queens and sleepy dormice.

Time Out tip: Arrive early to grab drinks from the Folly Restaurant to take on your trip (check your tour allows them first!)

Address: Most tours meet at The Folly Restaurant at 1 Folly Bridge, Oxford, OX1 4JU

Opening hours: Generally you can book tours all day – evening cruises run until about 8.30pm 

Price: Generally ranges from £13 for a basic cruise all the way up to £90 for a cruise with a three-course dinner

What is it? Said to be Oxford’s oldest monument, this huge meadow is edged by the Thames and a popular outdoor haunt.

Why go? Need some big sky views? Head for Port Meadow, an ancient grassland grazed by ponies and cattle and loved by walkers, picnickers, birders and photographers. Pick up a picnic in Jericho along the way, bring a blanket and sit back and relax.

Time Out tip: It’s all good and well getting some fresh air here but you’ll need to freshen up with a drink in The Perch, an ancient thatched inn by the river with a gorgeous garden.

Address: Port Meadow, Walton Well Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6ED

Opening hours: 24 hours 

Price: Free (public park)

What is it? An Oxford institution, these three independent cafés serve the city’s best ice cream, bagels and brownies.

Why go? Proudly independent, locally based and making all deliveries by bike, G&D’s has the feel-good factor as well as scrumptious handmade bakes and ice creams that have earned it generations of loyal followers. Along with sweet treats, you’ll need to be game for cow-themed competitions and hopefully, in time, a return to late-night openings to rival any kebab van.

Address: Branches can be found on Little Clarendon Street, St Aldates and Cowley Road

Opening hours: 9am-11pm

Price: Scoops vary by flavour

What is it? A small-group tour of the spellbinding Oxford locations used in the shooting of the Harry Potter films. 

Why go? Know right where the sorting hat would put you? Run into the wall at King’s Cross station? Need to know more? Tour Oxford’s streets and colleges to see the inspiration behind Hogwarts’s great hall and Knockturn Alley and visit the real life Divinity School which was used as a backdrop for the Hogwarts infirmary and classroom scenes. Geek out with a Potter-mania quiz along the way and learn how life in Hogwarts compares to university life today.

Time Out tip: Check extra costs before you book – for some tours, you’ll have to pay entry for one or two sites along the way. 

Address: Most tours meet outside Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BG

Price: Typically range from £25-80 per person

What is it? A new restaurant and part of the Dishoom family, serving a streamlined version of the signature menu.

Why go? There is no urgent shortage of Indian restaurants in Oxford. Lucky, then, that the Permit Room isn’t your standard Indian restaurant. Open all day, serving all three main meals, this fresh addition to the city centre has come crashing into the city like a cool cousin. We had the chicken pick-me-ups – tender, spicy bundles of joy, the crispy spinach chaat – a colossal punch of flavour, and the chef’s lamb curry – a lovely, hearty, spicy thing – with garlic naan.

Time Out tip: The Permit Room is five minutes on foot from the Westgate Curzon. If you time it right, you can have dinner and a film without breaking a sweat.

Address: North Bailey House, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford, OX1 2RP

Opening hours: Monday-Thursday and Sunday 9am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 9am-midnight. Kitchen closes 10pm

Price: Starters £4-10, mains £12-18, sides £4-10

What is it? A massive country house with landscaped formal gardens and extensive parkland. It was the birthplace of Winston Churchill and is now home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough as well as regular festivals and events.

Why go? Escape the city and get a glimpse of how the other half lives in this baroque pile in the Oxfordshire countryside. Although strictly speaking, it’s not a palace, its size and splendour are such that it could easily be. Tour the ostentatious State Rooms, see where Churchill was born, walk the parklands, lose yourself in the yew maze, and check out Ai Weiwei’s monumental Gilded Cage.

Time Out tip: Take the ‘Upstairs Tour’ for an exclusive peek at the private apartments of the Marlborough family and see where Charlie Chaplin, Bill Clinton and Sylvester Stallone once stayed.

Address: Woodstock, Oxfordshire, OX20 1PP

Opening hours: Palace 10.30am-5.30pm

Price: Adults full entry ticket £41, children £24, family tickets £110. Other passes can be found on its website

What is it? A cute café with a vegetarian (mostly vegan) menu and excellent coffee from local coffee roastery Routes. 

Why go? Green Routes has a cracking brunch and lunch menu that’s plant-based but won’t disappoint meat eaters. With whitewashed walls and tons of plants, it's a trendy spot on the already trendy Magdalen Road. Here, you're just off vibrant Cowley Road, which lined with independent shops and great places to eat and drink, so the neighbourhood is well worth checking out too. 

Time Out tip: The Number 39 Bap is ridiculously good, as are the pancakes. 

Address: 39 Magdalen Road, Oxford, OX4 1RB 

Opening hours: Monday-Friday 8am-4pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am-4pm 

Price: All-day breakfast menu dishes range from £8-13