Explore Oxford
ZDMS 2026 Oxford — Things to Do Around the Meeting
Oxford is a compact, highly walkable city, and almost everything below is within a short stroll of the meeting venues and hotels. Here is a selection of activities to enjoy before, after, or between sessions. Popular tours and boat trips can sell out, so we recommend booking ahead where possible.
Tours & Sightseeing
Hop-on hop-Off Bus Tour
An easy way to get your bearings. The City Sightseeing open-top bus loops around Oxford's main landmarks with live or audio commentary, and you can hop off at any stop that catches your eye.
Oxford Official Walking Tours
The city's award-winning guided walking tours, led by professionally trained Blue and Green Badge guides. The flagship University & City tour covers the historic colleges, Radcliffe Camera, Sheldonian Theatre, and Bodleian Library, and themed options include film locations (Harry Potter, Inspector Morse), a C.S. Lewis & Tolkien tour, and ghost tours. Tours depart from the corner of Broad Street and Turl Street; group sizes are capped, so book ahead.
Footprints Tours (pay-what-you-want)
Lively two-hour walking tours led by Oxford students, covering the main highlights along with stories of student life, ceremonies, and college rivalries. Tours run daily at 11am and 2pm from the Oxford Visitor Information Centre at 16 Broad Street, on a pay-what-you-want basis.
Self-Guided Audio Walking Tours
Prefer to go at your own pace? GPS-guided audio tours on the VoiceMap app include a classic 'City of Dreaming Spires' walk, a fantasy-fiction literary tour, a historic pubs tour, and a 'Secret Oxford' route through hidden lanes and famous landmarks.
Free Self-Guided Museum Tour (with map)
A free, printable route linking Oxford's main museums — a good option for a spare afternoon, since most of the museums themselves are also free to enter.
Free Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Monuments (with map)
A companion walking route taking in the city's historic monuments, colleges, and famous streetscapes.
On the Water
Punting from Magdalen Bridge
The classic Oxford experience: propelling a flat-bottomed boat along the river with a long pole. Fun but tricky — chauffeured punts with a professional guide are available (and recommended for first-timers), or you can take the pole yourself.
Afternoon Tea River Cruise
A relaxed sightseeing cruise along the Thames with a traditional afternoon tea served on board — a more leisurely alternative to punting.
Museums & Libraries
Ashmolean Museum
Britain's oldest public museum, with world-class collections spanning art and archaeology from ancient Egypt to the Pre-Raphaelites. Free entry.
History of Science Museum
A small gem housing scientific instruments across the centuries — including the blackboard Einstein used during a 1931 lecture in Oxford. Free entry.
Bodleian Library & Radcliffe Camera
One of the oldest libraries in Europe and home of the iconic Radcliffe Camera. Guided tours of the historic reading rooms and the Divinity School run daily and are well worth booking in advance.
The Colleges
Christ Church
Oxford's grandest college, famous for its dining hall (the inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall), Christ Church Cathedral, and the expansive Christ Church Meadow. Guided and multimedia tours are available.
Note: guided tour tickets are released each Friday at around 10:30am for the following week.
Magdalen College
One of the most beautiful colleges, with its famous tower, cloisters, riverside walks, and a deer park within the grounds.
Exeter College
A smaller historic college whose Fellows' Garden offers one of the best views in Oxford, looking directly over the Radcliffe Camera. Tolkien studied here.
Outdoors & Literary Oxford
Port Meadow
An ancient, expansive riverside meadow just north of the city centre — free-roaming horses and cattle, big skies, and a favourite of Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' fans. A lovely walk, with historic riverside pubs (The Perch, The Trout) en route.
Literary Oxford
Oxford shaped J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings), C.S. Lewis (Narnia), and Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). A dedicated guided C.S. Lewis & Tolkien walking tour visits their haunts, including the pubs where the Inklings met to share their work.
Historic Pubs
Central Oxford is dotted with centuries-old pubs, all a short walk from the meeting venues and easy to combine with any of the walking tours above. Three favourites:
The King's Arms — Oxford's self-proclaimed oldest pub (pouring pints since 1607), opposite the Bodleian on the corner of Parks Road and Holywell Street. kingsarmsoxford.co.uk
The Turf Tavern — a famously tucked-away pub reached via narrow alleyways off Holywell Street; finding it is half the fun. turftavern-oxford.co.uk
Jude the Obscure — a relaxed Jericho local on Walton Street, named for the Thomas Hardy novel in which the neighbourhood features, with a sunny courtyard garden. Jude the Obscure (Greene King)
Day Trips
Blenheim Palace
The birthplace of Winston Churchill and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a monumental baroque palace and vast landscaped grounds. About 30–40 minutes from Oxford by bus or car.
The Cotswolds
Picture-postcard English villages of honey-coloured stone, rolling hills, and country pubs — the nearest villages are within a 30–40 minute drive of Oxford.
London
Just an hour away by train or bus, with its vast cultural offerings — museums, theatre, and everything else the capital has to offer.