More great books have been written in Oxford than in almost any other city on earth. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings in his Merton College study and drank with C.S. Lewis at the Eagle and Child on St Giles'. Lewis Carroll invented Alice for the daughter of Christ Church's dean. Philip Pullman set His Dark Materials around Jordan College (a fictionalised version of Exeter). And Colin Dexter sent Inspector Morse into almost every pub in the city. Oxford is not just a setting for literature: it shaped it.
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were the core of the Inklings, an informal literary group that met on Tuesday mornings at the Eagle and Child pub on St Giles' (the "Bird and Baby" to regulars). After the Eagle's back room became too noisy, they moved across the road to the Lamb and Flag. Tolkien was a fellow at Exeter College (1911-1915) and later Merton Professor of English (1945-1959) at Merton College. Lewis was a fellow at Magdalen College for nearly three decades. The Kilns, Lewis's home in Headington, is open for tours by appointment.
Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) was a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church for most of his adult life. The Alice stories were first told to Alice Liddell, daughter of the college dean, during a rowing trip on the Thames. Christ Church's hall, with its ornate fireplace, inspired key scenes. Across St Aldate's, Alice's Shop is the original "Old Sheep Shop" from Through the Looking-Glass, now selling Wonderland memorabilia.
Pullman studied at Exeter College in the 1960s. His fictional Jordan College borrows Exeter's layout but also draws on several other colleges. The Bodleian Library, the Covered Market, and the Pitt Rivers Museum all appear in His Dark Materials. Pullman has said that he set the novels in Oxford because the city's architecture felt as though it might contain a doorway to another world.
Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novels and the subsequent TV series used Oxford as an atmospheric backdrop for murder. Morse drank at the King's Arms, the White Horse, and the Turf Tavern. Filming locations included Brasenose, Wadham, Hertford, and Exeter colleges. The Randolph Hotel on Beaumont Street appears repeatedly. Morse walking tours remain popular, and the Turf Tavern has a plaque commemorating the series.
Blackwell's on Broad Street is one of the great bookshops of the world, with the cavernous Norrington Room underground containing over three miles of shelving. The Bodleian Library shop stocks academic titles and literary gifts. For rare and antiquarian books, Sanders of Oxford on the High Street has maps, prints, and first editions.
The real shop that inspired Tenniel's illustration in Through the Looking-Glass — now selling all things Alice.
No students, the hardest exam in the world, and Hawksmoor's twin towers
The world's first university museum — free, with major collections of art and archaeology.
One of Oxford's oldest colleges — plain outside, historically significant inside
The original Ben's Cookies — baked fresh in the Covered Market since 1984, famous far beyond Oxford.
An Oxford institution since 1879 — Broad Street bookshop with the cavernous Norrington Room below.
One of the oldest libraries in Europe — the Divinity School, Duke Humfrey's Library, and the Radcliffe Camera.
Right behind the Radcliffe Camera — an intimate college with a painted chapel ceiling
Broad Street's independent art supplies shop — paints, papers, and materials for working artists and students.
Loose-leaf teas and freshly roasted coffees in the Covered Market — the smell alone is worth the detour.
Oxford's grandest college — part cathedral, part palace, all spectacle
One of Oxford's smallest colleges, with a famous pelican sundial
A proper traditional butcher in the Covered Market — locally sourced meat, hand-cut to order.
Tolkien's college, a miniature Sainte-Chapelle, and a hidden view over Radcliffe Square
A former Jericho bar in a deconsecrated Greek Revival church — currently closed, with the building under new ownership.
A modern graduate college wrapped around a Georgian observatory tower
Oxford's mature-student college with notable Pre-Raphaelite stained glass
Home of the Bridge of Sighs — Oxford’s most photographed architectural moment
The Welsh college on Turl Street — quieter than its neighbours, full of character
Victorian polychrome brick — Oxford's most divisive building and a masterpiece painting
Oxford's part-time and continuing education hub — not a tourist destination
Riverside gardens and pioneering history, away from the tourist crush
A proper Oxford local — ancient, unpretentious, and owned by St John's College.
An eco-focused graduate college — admirable but not a visitor attraction
A perfectly preserved medieval gem on Turl Street — John Wesley's college
Extensive grounds with a deer park, river walks, and a famous tower
A Nonconformist college with a Gothic Revival chapel and progressive spirit
Oxford's oldest quad, a medieval library, and Tolkien's second home
Medieval cloisters, a stretch of city wall, and a chapel with an El Greco
Oxford's social science powerhouse — architecturally divisive, intellectually formidable
Mid-century furniture, vintage homeware, and salvaged curiosities on the Cowley Road.
Oxford's oldest royal foundation — seven centuries on a beautiful square
Dinosaurs, dodos, and Darwin's legacy — all under a Gothic Revival iron-and-glass roof.
The retail home of the world's largest university press — dictionaries, academic texts, and OUP's full catalogue on the High Street.
Samuel Johnson's college — quietly handsome, just off St Aldate's
A Victorian cabinet of curiosities — shrunken heads, totem poles, and half a million objects from every culture on earth.
A tiny Baptist hall on St Giles' — small and friendly
Antique maps, prints, and engravings on the High Street — established 1967.
Fine pens, handmade papers, and writing instruments on Turl Street.
A pioneering women's college — alumni include Thatcher, Sayers, and Indira Gandhi
A modernist campus college with a strong access ethos — not a sightseeing stop
Oxford's international affairs college — impressive seminars, not impressive buildings
Designed by Arne Jacobsen — a complete modernist campus with sculpture gardens by the Cherwell
A small graduate college on St Giles' — pleasant but not a visitor destination
The oldest academic hall in any university — 800 years in a tiny quad off Queen's Lane
Oxford's last single-sex college (until 2008), with Cherwell riverside gardens
14 acres of gardens in North Oxford — one of the largest college grounds in the university
Oxford's wealthiest college — Canterbury Quad, large gardens, and serious money
A young college on an ancient site — unassuming but well located near the castle
The Covered Market's organic grocer — wholefood staples, fresh produce, and zero-waste refills before it was fashionable.
A well-stocked museum shop — jewellery, prints, and design objects inspired by the Ashmolean's collection.
Oxford's oldest pub — famous for its tie collection and recently expanded into a larger space.
Every type of brush imaginable — a Covered Market institution.
An independent bakery in the Covered Market — honest cakes, pastries, and bakes without the artisan price tag.
A proper pub hiding in plain sight on the High Street — the 15th-century beams are the real deal.
Oxford's beating heart since 1774 — over 50 independent stalls under one historic roof.
Where the Inklings met — Tolkien and Lewis's local on St Giles'.
A big riverside pub at Folly Bridge — the terrace over the Thames is the whole point.
The pub where Radiohead played their first gig — Oxford's main small live music venue.
Oxford's quintessential student pub — Young's ales on Holywell Street, opposite the Bodleian.
A proper village pub in Headington Quarry — the kind of place C.S. Lewis would have walked to, because he did.
A serious cheese counter in the Covered Market — British and European artisan cheeses, cut to order.
A thatched riverside pub reached via a walk across Port Meadow.
A baroque showpiece on the High Street — Oxford's only fully classical college
A village green pub in Wolvercote — proper ale, proper food, properly relaxed.
North Parade's anchor pub — a proper local where the landlord knows every regular by name.
Inspector Morse's local, perched over a weir on the Thames at Wolvercote — come for the view, stay for the atmosphere.
A well-hidden pub, tucked down a medieval alleyway behind the Bodleian.
A tiny Broad Street pub squeezed between Blackwell's and the Bodleian — smaller than some college rooms.
Spacious gardens and a Wren chapel on Broad Street — often overlooked
Vintage clothing on the Cowley Road — rammed rails at student-friendly prices.
Possibly Oxford's oldest college — Shelley's memorial and a long High Street facade
A well-preserved Jacobean quad, large gardens, and a progressive reputation
Isaiah Berlin's riverside graduate college — pleasant Cherwell-side setting
A lake, medieval cottages, and large gardens — one of central Oxford's hidden landscapes