21 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Oxford - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Oxford

Oxford, England

The Story Museum

An Oxford museum where visitors can have tea with the Mad Hatter and climb through the wardrobe to a fantasy land.

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Oxford, England

J.R.R. Tolkien's Grave

The names Lúthien and Beren can be found inscribed on the shared grave of the famous writer and his beloved wife and muse.

chateauesque

Added by chateauesque

Oxford, England

The Eagle and Child

J.R.R Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other "Inklings" met at the Oxford pub to discuss the now legendary fantasy stories they were writing.

Added by oswestryalex

Oxford, England

Duke Humfrey's Library at the Old Bodleian Library

One of Europe's oldest libraries.

M Rebekah Otto

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Oxford, England

Pitt Rivers Museum

Ancient Egyptian wigs, South American feather headresses, a bounty of anthropological artifacts in Oxford.

M Rebekah Otto

Added by M Rebekah Otto

Oxford, England

Oxford Museum of Natural History

Home to the most complete dodo remains known - one head, and one foot.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Oxford, England

C.S. Lewis's Grave

The beloved fantasy novelist is buried near a church containing a whimsical etched glass window full of Narnia favorites.

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Oxford, England

Codrington Library At All Souls College

Oxford University's stateliest library seems designed to make students truly feel the weight of knowledge.

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Unique
Food & Drink
in Oxford

Pancake Racing

Gastro Obscura

Ritual & Medicinal

Pancake Racing

What better way to celebrate Shrove Tuesday than to run with a pancake-laden skillet?

Gastro Obscura

GreyGryphonRampant

Added by GreyGryphonRampant

Trashing

Gastro Obscura

Ritual & Medicinal

Trashing

For some students at the University of Oxford, the end of the year means getting covered with eggs, shaving cream, and champagne.

Gastro Obscura

GreyGryphonRampant

Added by GreyGryphonRampant

Are we missing a unique food or drink in Oxford?

Atlas Obscura Trips

London Science Weekend: Medicine and Science in the Press

Sep 19—Sep 21, 2019

Join New York Times Journeys and Atlas Obscura for three days of scientific learning, special access and exploration in London. Accompanied by Times journalists and scientific experts, meet people contributing to the history of medicine and scientific journalism. This two-track program includes panels, exclusive visits and access to some of the best scientific minds available to concentrate on science reporting or medical history.

Atlas Obscura Trips

London Science Weekend: Medicine and Science in the Press

Join New York Times Journeys and Atlas Obscura for three days of scientific learning, special access and exploration in London. Accompanied by Times journalists and scientific experts, meet people contributing to the history of medicine and scientific journalism. This two-track program includes panels, exclusive visits and access to some of the best scientific minds available to concentrate on science reporting or medical history.

Photo by Thomas Kelley

Community Forums / U.K. & Ireland / England

Top Discussions in the England Travel Forum

Post	Replies	Views	Activity
S.O.E Monument	6 May 20, 2019	404	May 20, 2019
Kew Gardens Underground Aquarium	6 July 01, 2019	290	July 01, 2019
Staffordshire Oatcakes	6 May 01, 2019	462	May 01, 2019
Urine Deflectors of Fleet Street	2 May 05, 2019	506	May 05, 2019
London's Rose-Ringed Parakeets	4 June 15, 2019	223	June 15, 2019

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Explore Oxford, England

Launch Map

Recent Oxford Activity

karenjmoseley has been to The Saxon Tower at St. Michael at the North Gate

karenjmoseley wants to go to Annora's Tomb

rhapsodyinblve wants to go to The Story Museum

rhapsodyinblve wants to go to Oxford Museum of the History of Science

rhapsodyinblve wants to go to The Eagle and Child

Stories
About Oxford

This illustration of <em>The Love Books of Ovid</em> was, apparently, too much for young minds.

Oxford’s Library Once Branded Its Sauciest Books With a Greek Letter

How James Joyce, Madonna, and Monty Python ended up on the same restricted shelf.

by Matthew Taub

November 15, 2018

<em>An Ostrich Saving Its Young with the Blood of an Asp</em>, from <em>Miroir de l’Humaine Salvation</em>, France, 15th century.

The Secret Meanings Behind the Beasts in a Medieval Menagerie

In Middle Age Europe, animals were popular storytellers.

by Anika Burgess

August 17, 2018

Snazzy.

The Great Oxford Poop Prank

Don't you guano know what happened?

Drawing, 1932.

J.R.R. Tolkien Is Our Favorite Father Christmas

For 23 years he role-played in holiday letters to his children.

by Anika Burgess

December 21, 2017

Reverend Bob Wilkes points the way.

The Delightful English Tradition of Beating Parish Boundaries With Sticks

Or, why you may have seen 40 branch-wielding people in Oxford shouting "Mark, mark!"

by Emily Cleaver

A balloon view of London, 1851.

Take a Journey Into One of the World’s Most Impressive Map Collections

Peek inside the Bodleian Library's Map Room.

by Anika Burgess

December 23, 2016