Top Rated Attractions in Oxford

Completed in 1858, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History contains a wonderful exhibition of dinosaur skeletons, plus numerous curiosities including the remains of a dodo. This is a traditionally styled museum, but nonetheless holds delights for all the family. Venture upstairs to find the vast zoology, mineralogy and geology displays. At the rear, is the Pitt Rivers Museum which houses one of the world's finest collections of anthropological and archaeological exhibits. Also found within the premises of the museum are a souvenir shop and a Café.

When Lt. General Pitt Rivers, a man remembered for his contribution to the development of evolutionary anthropology and archaeology, decided to give his extensive collection to the Oxford University, he did so on two conditions. One was that a museum would need to be built to house the collection and two, that a lecturer would need to be appointed to teach anthropology. The Pitt Rivers Museum is a splendid structure that stands today as the place which houses these rare, precious and beautiful objects which were originally about 18,000 artifacts, but now total up to over half a million in all!

Take a step away from the hustle and bustle of the city and savor the silence as you browse through the wonderful and varied exhibits that are housed within the Ashmolean Museum. John Tradescant's collection of archaeological rarities (both man-made and natural) originally opened to the public in South London in the early 17th Century. The collection was inherited by Elias Ashmole and the Ashmolean opened in 1683. Even if you only have time to enjoy the antiquities galleries, with their exhibits dating from Paleolithic to Victorian times, your visit will have been worthwhile. You'll probably have to come back again if you also want to take in the collections of Eastern and Western art and the Heberden Coin Room. Lectures, guided tours and other special events are often organized and are always well-attended. The museum's galleries can also be hired for private events and receptions.

In the heart of Oxford, just off Broad Street, lies one of the oldest libraries in all of Europe, the Bodleian Library, which was established in 1602. As an Oxford library, the Bodleian Library boasts a splendid collection of over 11 million volumes of books, journals, magazines, audio recordings, manuscripts and more and the library is amongst the largest in all of the United Kingdom. Functioning primarily as a reference library, visitors or members cannot rent out most of the material and usually must be kept within the reading rooms. Nonetheless, a visit to this library is truly a treat for a visitor, as, besides the marvelous architecture and the collection, the library also plays host to exhibitions and other events.

Christ Church is the most famous Oxford college, probably the grandest and certainly the most photographed. Founded as Cardinal College in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey, the college became Christ Church in 1545. The college chapel, which is also the cathedral of the Oxford diocese, contains the reconstructed shrine of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, a rich variety of stained and painted glass including works by Abraham van Linge and Edward Burns-Jones and a rare panel depicting the martyrdom of St. Thomas A. Becket.