Oxford University

Oxford in Oxfordshire is home to the oldest university in the English-speaking world, founded in the late 11th century and formally organised by the late 12th century. The university comprises 39 colleges spread across the medieval city centre, each independently governed, and exploring their varied architecture — from the Perpendicular Gothic of Magdalen College to the Baroque Radcliffe Camera — constitutes the primary visitor experience. Many colleges open their courtyards and chapels to visitors for a small fee or free. Christ Church College is the most-visited, with a cathedral, a grand dining hall used as a filming location for Harry Potter, and the Christ Church Picture Gallery housing old masters. The Bodleian Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe and a legal deposit library since 1610, offers guided tours of the Divinity School — one of England's finest Gothic rooms — and the magnificent Duke Humfrey's Library, where books hang from chains. The Radcliffe Camera, a circular Baroque library completed in 1749, dominates Radcliffe Square and is the city's most photographed building. The Ashmolean Museum on Beaumont Street, the world's first university museum (opened 1683), houses Egyptian artefacts, Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and the Alfred Jewel. Punting on the River Cherwell through Christ Church Meadow is one of Oxford's great pleasures, particularly in May and June. The covered Victorian Market, the view from Carfax Tower, and the many independent bookshops along Broad Street round out a full day's exploration.