Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
belonging to the founding father. Don't miss the beautiful garden outside the college,
where you can stroll among the remains of the old city wall.
Holywell St., at New College Lane.
&
01865/279500.
www.new.ox.ac.uk. Admission £2 adults, £1.50
seniors and students, free for children 16 and under Easter-Oct; free Nov-Easter. Easter-Oct daily 11am-
5pm; Nov-Easter daily 2-4pm.
Sheldonian Theatre
THEATRE This ravishing piece of Palladian architecture
stands next to the Bodleian, completed in 1668 according to a design by Sir Christo-
pher Wren. As well as admiring the immaculate interior and ceiling frescos, you can
climb up to the cupola and enjoy fine views over Oxford. University ceremonies
(including graduation) are regularly held here, but it also hosts a varied program of
classical recitals and concerts; contact the Oxford Playhouse (
&
01865/305305;
www.oxfordplayhouse.com) for tickets.
Broad St.
&
01865/277299.
www.ox.ac.uk/sheldonian. Admission £2.50. Mar-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-12:30pm
and 2-4:30pm; Nov-Feb Mon-Sat 10am-12:30pm and 2-3:30pm. Closed when used for events.
University College & Shelley Memorial
HISTORIC SITE This modest
and forward-looking college is one of the oldest in the university, founded in the
1240s by William of Durham. It's best known for the monument to Romantic poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley, who came here in 1810 but was expelled the following year (for
writing a pamphlet,
The Necessity of Atheism
). The memorial, solemnly displayed in a
special hall, is an elegant white-marble sculpture of a reclining nude and a drowned
Shelley, as he washed up on the shore at Viareggio in Italy. Less romantic but equally
influential alumni include Bill Clinton and Stephen Hawking.
High St.
&
01865/276602.
www.univ.ox.ac.uk. Free admission. Daily 9am-4pm; ask first at the por-
ter's lodge at the entrance about visiting the Shelley Memorial (small groups only).
Where to Eat
VERY EXPENSIVE
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
CONTEMPORARY FRENCH This elegant
showcase for celebrity Gallic owner and chef Raymond Blanc offers the finest cuisine in
the region. Some 12 miles southeast of Oxford, the gray-and-honey-colored stone manor
house, originally built by a Norman nobleman in the early 1300s, provides a wonderful
backdrop to Blanc's seasonal menu. (He's known for using local and sustainable pro-
duce.) Perennial favorites include the smoked haddock soup with sea bass tartare and
caviar as a starter, as well as the slow-roasted aromatic Cornish turbot and utterly irresist-
ible raspberry soufflé. Everything is artfully prepared and presented.
5
Punting the River Cherwell
Punting on the River Cherwell is an
essential, if slightly eccentric, Oxford
pastime. At the
Cherwell Boathouse,
Bardwell Road (
&
01865/515978;
www.
cherwellboathouse.co.uk), you can rent
a punt (a flat-bottomed boat maneu-
vered by a long pole and a small oar)
for the hourly rate of £14 (weekdays)
or £16 (weekends), plus a £70 to £80
deposit.
Magdalen Bridge Boathouse,
the Old Horse Ford, High Street
(
&
01865/202643;
www.oxfordpunting.
co.uk), has an hourly charge of £16
(weekdays) or £20 (weekends). Punts
are available from mid-March to mid-
October, daily from 10am until dusk.
