England for Dummies (ISBN by 0470165618)

Author:0470165618)
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: &NEW
Published: 2011-07-01T01:27:40+00:00

Carfax Tower 6

History & Pitt Rivers Museum 3

i

Christ Church College 8

Information

Magdalen College 15

RESTAURANTS

Merton College 9

Browns 1

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1/8 Mi

Modern Art Oxford 7

Mortons 5

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New College 14

The Turf Tavern 13

0

.2 Km

The Oxford Story 4

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216 Part III: London and Environs

Getting to Oxford

Trains to Oxford leave from London’s Paddington Station every hour; the trip takes about one hour and costs about £17 ($34) for a round-trip

“cheap day return” ticket. For train schedules, call % 0845/748-4950. By car, take the M40 west from London, and follow the signs. Note, however, that parking in Oxford is a nightmare.

Finding information and taking a tour

The Oxford Information Centre, 15–16 Broad St. (% 01865/726-871; www.

visitoxford.org), is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The center sells a variety of visitors’

guides and conducts two-hour walking tours of the town and its major colleges (but not New College or Christ Church). Tours cost £6.50 ($13) for adults and £3 ($6) for children 5 to 15; tours leave daily at 11 a.m.

and 2 p.m., with additional walks on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

City Sightseeing (% 01708/864-340; www.citysightseeing.co.uk) offers a one-hour bus tour (£9.50/$19) with hop-on/hop-off service.

Buses depart daily from the train station starting at 9:30 a.m. and run every 15 to 20 minutes until 5 or 6 p.m., depending on the season.

The Oxford Story, 6 Broad St. (% 01865/790-055), packages Oxford’s complexities into a concise and entertaining exhibit-cum-ride that takes you through 800 years of the city’s history, reviewing some of the architectural and historical features that you may otherwise miss. It also fills you in on the backgrounds of the colleges and those people who’ve passed through their portals. Admission costs £7.25 ($15) for adults and

£5.25 ($11) for children 5 to 15. The exhibit is open daily in July and August from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from September through June from 10 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m. (from 11 a.m. on Sun).

Exploring the best of Oxford

Many Americans arriving at Oxford ask, “Where’s the campus?” Oxford doesn’t have just one campus; it includes 45 widely dispersed colleges serving some 16,000 students. Instead of trying to see them all (impossible in a day), focus on seeing a handful of the better-known ones. Faced with an overabundance of tourists, the colleges have restricted visiting to certain hours (usually between 2 and 5 p.m.) and to groups of six or fewer; in some areas, you aren’t allowed at all. Before heading off, check with the tourist office to find out when and what colleges you can visit.

You may want to start your tour with a bird’s-eye view of the colleges from the top of Carfax Tower (% 01865/792-653) in the center of the city. The tower is all that remains from St. Martin’s Church, where William Shakespeare stood as godfather for a fellow playwright. The tower is open daily November to March from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and April to October from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs £2 ($4) for adults and £1

($2) for children 5 to 15.

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