 | Effortlessly mixing the ancient with the modern, Oxford is a world famous English city located to the north west of London and south east of Birmingham along the M40.
Much of Oxford's fame originates from its famous firsts and just exploring these will keep you busy for several days. They span a whole range of interests from education to music.
Oxford University was the first English speaking university in the world. Founded in 1167 the University has made a name for itself because of education excellence. It manages to attract the cream of the crop from across the globe with around a quarter of all students coming from overseas. Some well known Oxford graduates have gone on to create firsts of their own including scientist Stephen Hawking, inventor of the internet Tim Berners Lee, explorer Walter Raleigh, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, former US president Bill Clinton, playwright Alan Bennett, film director Ken Loach, composer Andrew Lloyd Weber, journalist David Dimbleby and architect Christopher Wren.
If you're looking for alternatives to hanging around with some of the world' intellectual elite at Oxford University then famous firsts will take you around they city. You could visit the Britain's first public museum, the Ashmolean Museum and take in their collection on fine art and antiquities. Alternatively you could visit the first purpose built music performance hall in Europe, Holywell Music Room to listen to anything from student performers to prestigious musicians. Or sticking to the music theme you could venture to some of Oxford's live music venues where rock band Radiohead played some of their first gigs.
Outdoor types don't need to miss out on the famous firsts fun, Oxford is home to the first botanic garden in Britain. It was founded in 1621 and visitors can take a look at a variety of flora and fauna including an ancient Yew tree planted in the 17th century. And if allergies or lack of interest keep you way from the garden why not marvel at Oxford's oldest erection, the Saxon Tower of St Michael.
While these famous first make the city popular there are sure to be new firsts being created in Oxford and other areas in the OX postcode like Didcot, Banbury, Woodstock, Chipping Norton, Wallingford, Chinnor, Abingdon, Witney, Bampton, Thame, Wantage, Burford, Carterton, Kidlington, Watlington, and Bicester. You can find out about these and much more using City Visitor, the comprehensive online directory for the area and beyond. |
