Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Vaults & Garden Café
CAFE/HEALTH FOOD This cozy English cafe serves
tasty soups in cups (try the leek and potato), artisan bread, and organic vegetables
from nearby Worton Organic Garden. It's another of Oxford's good choices for vege-
tarians, with dishes such as roast-vegetable Spanish tortilla, roasted butternut squash,
and tofu-and-brown-rice vegetable stir-fry gracing the menu, and organic beef lasagna
for meat-eaters. All main courses are served with salad, brown rice, or potatoes. The
cafe occupies a gorgeous 14th-century hall on the grounds of the University Church
of St. Mary the Virgin.
University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Radcliffe Square.
&
01865/279112.
www.vaultsandgarden.com.
Main courses £6-£8. MC, V. Mon-Thurs 9:30am-9:30pm; Fri-Sat 9:30am-10pm; Sun 9:30am-8:30pm.
Shopping
Golden Cross,
an arcade of first-class shops and boutiques, lies between Cornmar-
ket Street and the Covered Market. Parts of the colorful gallery date from the 12th
century; many buildings remain from the medieval era, along with some 15th- and
17th-century structures. The market has a reputation as the Covent Garden of
Oxford, with live entertainment on Saturday mornings in summer. In the arcade
shops is a diverse selection of merchandise, including handmade Belgian chocolates,
clothing for women and men, and luxury leather goods.
Alice's Shop,
83 St. Aldate's (
&
01865/723793;
www.aliceinwonderlandshop.
co.uk), is set within a 15th-century building that has housed some kind of shop since
1820, mostly a general store (selling brooms, hardware, and the like). Alice Liddell,
thought to have been the model for
Alice in Wonderland,
used to buy her barley sugar
sweets here when Lewis Carroll was a professor of mathematics at Christ Church
.
Today, the place is a favorite stopover of Lewis Carroll fans from as far off as Japan,
who gobble up commemorative pencils, chess sets, bookmarks, and, in rare cases,
original editions of some of Carroll's works. Open daily 10:30am to 5pm (July-Aug
9:30am-6:30pm).
The
Bodleian Library Shop,
Old School's Quadrangle, Radcliffe Square, Broad
Street (
&
01865/277091;
www.shop.bodley.ox.ac.uk), specializes in Oxford souve-
nirs, from topics and paperweights to Oxford banners and coffee mugs. It's open Mon-
day to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 4:30pm, and Sunday 11am to 5pm.
Castell & Son (The Varsity Shop),
13 Broad St. (
&
01865/244000;
www.
varsityshop.co.uk), is the best outlet in Oxford for clothing emblazoned with the
Oxford logo or heraldic symbol. Choices include both whimsical and dead-on-serious
neckties, hats, T-shirts, pens, beer and coffee mugs, and cufflinks. It's commercial-
ized Oxford, but has got a sense of relative dignity and style. It's open Monday to
Saturday 9am to 5:30pm, and Sunday 10am to 5pm. A second location is at 109-114
High Street (
&
01865/249491
).
The best bookstore in Oxford is venerable
Blackwells,
at 48-51 Broad St.
(
&
01865/333536;
www.bookshop.blackwell.co.uk), open Monday to Saturday 9am
to 6:30pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.
Entertainment & Nightlife
Students tend to unwind in pubs, private college bars (which have “bops” or discos),
and private student apartments in Oxford, so the nightlife can seem relatively tame
to outsiders. There is, however, a steady supply of high-quality classical and choir
music on offer, and a few places offer more energetic live music. In any case, the pubs
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