Little things to do in Oxford

Of course, a tourist visiting Oxford for the day should go punting, visit colleges, wander around the Botanic Garden, and have an afternoon tea or the like. But here are some lesser-known little things I like to do in Central Oxford.

A.k.a. my thank you letter to a city which, even though I spent most of my time there living under a rock, surprised me with nice moments whenever I poked my head out. (Slightly inspired by Winnie Lim’s charming post about visiting Hanoi, which made me think that I don’t have to be a travel writer to talk about a place I like.)

Attend an organ recital

What with every college having a chapel and every chapel an organ, Oxford must have one of the highest densities of pipe organs in the world, not to mention one of the highest densities of free organ recitals for you to attend. Although there are plenty of other opportunities to listen to live classical music (check the Daily Info website or just skim the posters left around town) I think everyone should hear the bizarre, grand, synth-like sounds of a pipe organ in its original home of an ancient chapel at least once. If this instrument sounds futuristic now, imagine how it sounded to people in the 1600s!

Out of the colleges whose recitals I have attended, I was a fan of Queen’s College, which has one of the brightest and most elaborately decorated chapels, and Merton College, whose organ is enormous and billed as one of the finest in the UK, with a huge (if very austere) chapel to match.

Get a drink from Coba Tea

There are plenty of bubble tea shops in Oxford (shout out to Fantastea on the High Street, which has my favourite seating area) but this shop deserves a mention because it’s so easy to miss - it’s tucked away in the Golden Cross Shopping Centre, essentially a side street to the Covered Market. It looks a bit dingy from the outside, but inside it’s very charming, with windows covered in the cute Post-It drawings and messages left by customers, and a mini wall of Polaroids (you can get your photo taken for £2). They have a large menu, including my favourite cheese foam and QQ jelly option.

Explore around the Thom Building

I’m a big fan of brutalist and modernist architecture. So from an aesthetic standpoint, the area around the Thom Building might be my favourite place in the city. Although this is university property, don’t be afraid to explore in between the buildings and climb some stairs, so you can see them from different perspectives and get yourself truly surrounded by concrete and glass. And make sure to cross to the Banbury Road side to see the Denys Wilkinson building and its enormous fan, which apparently contains an old particle accelerator.

Visit Wellington Square

Little Clarendon Street is a scenic spot with plenty of trendy cafes and stores to boot. You get to see Somerville College’s gorgeous brutalist accomodation blocks overhead (I think these are even better than the St John’s beehive blocks), and if you want more architecture the Maths Institute and Blavatnik School of Government are just nearby. Somehow it took me years to realise that you can turn off Little Clarendon Street to Wellington Square, a secluded-feeling area with a park in the centre and Oxford University offices providing more brutalist goodness.

Get fish tofu in the Gloucester Green Market

A market consisting mainly of street food stalls from cultures around the world. There is something for everyone - my boyfriend likes to get souvlaki. The Chinese/Japanese snack food stall sells a fish tofu which is one of my favourite foods of all time. It comes in little cubes, which are ridiculously juicy, savoury and have the perfect texture when you bite in.

Walk along bits of canal

My favourite part of the canal to walk is west of the Folly Bridge… that is, go down St Aldate’s and turn right at the bridge (turn left to see a bunch of college boathouses). Lots of pretty nature and bridges. I used to think that if I kept walking this way, I would eventually leave the city behind altogether (I have a poor sense of direction).

Another nice spot is north of Hythe Bridge… that is, the canal-side path easily available to the right if you go down George Street and keep going past the intersection. More bridges, quirky canal boats, and greenery. Lots of people are taking this path just to get somewhere. It can get muddy so don’t wear your best shoes.