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Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Some of the best views of Oxford are afforded from the tower of the church, dating to 1280. The church, rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries (with various additions after this time), is full of architectural and historical interest. The church has a coffee shop, the Vaults and Garden, now re-opened under the management of Will Pouget (already known for his 'Alpha Bar' in the Covered Market) and specialising in organic food and fair trade tea and coffee.
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is an Anglican church in Oxford situated on the north side of the High Street. It is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew and its parish consists almost exclusively of university and college buildings.
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The museum tells the tale of the growth of the city and university.
Built 1737–49, this is a library and reading room for Oxford students and so is not generally accessible. The grand exterior, however, is well worth viewing.
Houses an internationally renowned collection of Old Master paintings and drawings – some 300 paintings and almost 2000 drawings. The paintings include works by Carracci, Tintoretto, Filippino Lippi, Van Dyck and Frans Hals. Christ Church’s collection of Old Masters drawings is one of the most important in the country and includes work by major artists such as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Durer and Rubens. For reasons of space and conservation, it is not possible to show the entire collection but a selection of drawings is always on view.
This museum is in the Old Ashmolean building and houses an unrivalled collection of early scientific instruments. The Old Ashmolean building is the world's oldest surviving museum-purpose building. It is a department of Oxford University and a public museum. Its website offers an online database of their collection.
This unusual building was Sir Christopher Wren's first major architectural commission. At the time he was a professor of Astronomy at the university. There is a series of busts outside the theatre facing Broad St with strange expressions and facial hair.
Once voted the most uncomfortable concert hall in England, the Sheldonian never has a shortage of both professional and amateur classical music concerts, and though it is "uncomfortable", it cannot be denied that its baroque majesty is truly beautiful.