Welcome to Oxford! While much of your first weeks as a student here will be consumed with the learning curve of your classes and making countless new aquantices, Oxford has so much else to offer you beyond the campuses, so we’ve made you a short intro guide to the city. We love it here and hope you come to love it here too.
Getting Around
First things first: get a bike. Oxford is very much a cycle city, with much of the city centre becoming increasingly car-free. Having a cycle means dodging delayed buses too.
There are several bike shops to be found in Oxford – Cowley Road has both Cycle King (great for second hand bikes) and Beeline Bicycles, while St Michael’s Street in the city centre is home to the Bike Zone. Walton Street Cycles are a one-stop shop for repairs and they also sell second hand models.
Unfortunately, cycle theft is a major problem in Oxford, so if you want to remain a cyclist for longer than a day, a good bike lock is an essential. As are a helmet and lights for that matter, because a concussion is not a strong start to your first term.
Check out our guide to cycling round Oxford as well as another on bike hires. And you can find bikes for sale here.
If you’re not a cyclist, the Oxford City Council also has around 850 e-scooters available for public hire in and around central Oxford. You can find a list of locations on their website.
Head to the pictures
Cinephile? You’re in luck. Oxford is home to some fabulous cinemas, including our very own independent venue, the Ultimate Picture Palace. Showing two to three films a day, the UPP’s programming is a mix of some of the biggest heavy hitters on the arthouse scene, indie gems missed out elsewhere and classics playing as part of curated seasons. Once you’ve been there, you’re sure to make it a mainstay, so maybe even grab a membership - their 15-25 option offers £5 tickets to all screenings Mon-Thu.
Out in Jericho, there’s the Phoenix Picturehouse, which has been a fixture of the Oxford scene for a hundred years. The home to two screens, a very chic bar, and the comfiest seats in town, they show a mix of new releases and eclectic seasons of cult and classic films. As with the UPP, you can grab a student membership, which will give you discounts and priority booking.
And on social media, keep an eye on Cinema Under the Stairs who host hugely popular screenings of cult films throughout the year, and Keeping It Reel Quiz, who host themed monthly movie quizzes in buzzy venues.
Museums to visit
If you’re looking to escape for a few hours and take in some free culture, head to one of Oxford’s museums. There’s the stunning Ashmolean Museum, a nearly 400 year old home for art and archaeology, with collections spanning different cultures and thousands of years of history. Or there’s the History of Science Museum, collecting artefacts that trace our scientific journey.
On the natural side there’s the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, home to fossils, specimens, and fascinating insight into the world around us. And connected to that (through a door in the back) is the Pitt Rivers, a treasure trove of artefacts from across the globe and cultures.
Art can be found at Modern Art Oxford (reopening in November), a leading contemporary gallery. And to learn more about this city, head to the Museum of Oxford nestled in the Town Hall, which is pay what you can, and will always have a fascinating exhibition on an aspect of Oxford life.
Food
Two great spots for cheap meals are Gloucester Green Market and the Covered Market. Gloucester Green Market is open during the day Wednesday to Saturday and is the home of a number of fabulous street food options from scrumptious curries to divine mac n cheese. Check out the reel we made of our recent visit and head down to survey the choices.
Alternatively the Covered Market has many fabulous food and drink vendors, including mini-pubs, Thai, pies, Lebanese and oh so much more. Open every day with extended evening openings Thursday to Saturday.
And make sure you download the nationwide app Too Good to Go, which seeks to limit food waste and will point you to restaurants and shops selling surplus stock at the end of the day. The value-for-money tends to be excellent and plenty of businesses in Oxford participate.
In terms of grocery shopping on a budget, Lidl in Cowley and Aldi in Botley can’t be beaten for their value ranges and pricing overall. Generally, any large branch of a supermarket is going to be significantly cheaper than its smaller locations (the Tesco on Magdalen St vs the Tesco Express on Abingdon Rd, for example), sometimes for the exact same products.
You won’t likely have a lot of time to cook in your first month. Fast food is almost a given, but keep instant, portable, nutritious foods around to protect both your budget and immune system. Fresh fruit, mixed nuts, hummus with carrots, baked beans, cheese strings, boiled eggs and are all winners. And buy a spare carton of UHT milk so you’ll never be without a cup of tea when you need it most.
Books
There’s arguably no more essential student need than books, and thankfully in Oxford, there are a number of options. You will no doubt be aware of Blackwells by now. Their flagship branch on Broad St prides itself on stocking textbooks and will happily order in what you need, if you’d like to dodge Amazon. You can also click and collect via their website.
Oxfam Secondhand bookshops are always worth checking out and their Superstore is a great spot to check for books (as well as other bargains to pick up).
And of course don’t forget the libraries. Not just the ones on campus but the county ones. The large Central branch in the Westgate is also a nice, free study spot outside the college itself.
Comedy and gigs
Oxford is home to a rich, thriving comedy scene. Tours of various sizes come to the city's theatres (New Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Old Fire Station, North Wall Arts Centre), whilst there are also several groups that run comedy nights.
Towering above them all is Jericho Comedy, hosting comedians every Saturday at the fabulous Common Ground for two gigs an evening. A great number of recent Fringe success stories have played here and you’re guaranteed a great time at a reasonable price.
The Oxford Imps, meanwhile, are absolutely iconic in the realm of improvised comedy, mainstays on Oxford’s comedy scene for over 15 years.
Other comedy groups worth keeping an eye on are Mates Rates Comedy (in weekly residence on Fridays at the Wig and Pen), the Glee Club (Saturdays at the Bullingdon), Awkward Actors (improv), and Undercover Comedy. In terms of free options, Dead Leg Comedy brings music and laughs to Tap Social Movement on Mondays and James Street Tavern hosts a comedy open mic every Thursday.
Keep an eye out for QED Comedy’s Oxford Comedy Festival next July, with dozens of Edinburgh Fringe previews across the month. This year’s festival’s line-up included Chelsea Birkby, Desiree Burch, Lou Sanders, and Sophie Duker.
The music scene is equally rich and the best way to find out what’s going on is to keep an eye on our gig listings. It’s the place to find amazing club nights, quizzes, open mics and a bunch of other fabulous nightlife options.
The Great Outdoors
City life can sometimes feel overwhelming, even somewhere as relatively small as Oxford. Luckily, one of the perks of this city is you're never too far from one of Oxford’s many parks and green spaces.
The green spaces of Christ Church Meadow, University Parks, South Park, and Florence Park offer walks of varying lengths. For a riverside amble, Christ Church Meadow offers views of both the River Cherwell and the River Thames, with wide and level paths able to accommodate pushchairs and wheelchairs. The University Parks can also offer a waterside stroll, with another flat and wide section of path running alongside the River Cherwell (and a well-populated duck pond). From the hilly summit of South Park, walkers can bask in the iconic Oxford Skyline, while Florence Park, with its adventure playgrounds, may be of interest to younger walkers. For those seeking a longer wander, several of the parks can be combined; for example, from University Park it's possible to loop via Mesopotamia Walk and Headington Hill Park to South Park, and from Christchurch Meadow one can follow the Thames Path down to Donnington Bridge, and then via Meadow Lane to The Kidneys.
For even more tips check out our guide to Riverside Walks in Oxford. Be sure to check out Oxford Preservation Trust as well, who have loads of free routes around Oxford’s nature.
Study Spaces
One thing you may well need to seek out is a quiet space for a few hours of studying. And you may well want to escape your college library and grab a cheeky treat to have alongside this. In which case head to one of Oxford’s many fabulous cafes. For the best places to hit, give our study spots blog a read, which will point in the direction of quality coffee and peaceful surroundings.
Decorating
If you’re looking for ways to decorate your new home there are a few options. Affordable art can be found at James Street Tavern’s monthly Art Market, helping give your walls a distinctive flare.
Second-hand furniture and art can be found at various charity shops, in particular Emmuas in Cowley or at the aforementioned Oxfam Superstore. It can also be found in our For Sale listings. TK Maxx in the Westgate also stocks a wide range of discount decor.
The Garden in the Covered Market is the place to visit for all kinds of flora, while the Robert Dyas in the city centre will be helpful for any small DIY projects.
Stay Safe and Well
University brings with it an enormous amount of freedom to explore and indulge, be it in alcohol, sex or substances. However much you intend to partake, make sure you always have your own back. Oxford Sexual Health Clinic offers free sexual health screenings, advice, contraceptives and treatment. Boots pharmacies also offer emergency contraception.
Stay safe at night. Never leave your drink unattended around someone you don’t know well. Know the night bus times, always bring emergency cash and save the number for a taxi service into your phone. Tell people where you’re going.
A few quick tips for hangovers: soluble painkillers (aka the kind that dissolve in water) work the quickest. Travel sickness medicine can help settle nausea. Dehydration and exhaustion are likely to cause the most suffering, as alcohol is a diuretic and ruins sleep quality, so prioritise salty food over carbs or fats, drink water, and take a nap or go to bed early.
Take proactive care of your mental health. Free helplines Citizens Advice and The Samaritans are there to provide balanced advice or nonjudgmental ear for logistical and emotional problems, respectfully, and are not just for emergencies. Familiarise yourself with your University’s Counselling Service, it’s there to help you succeed. Some loneliness and stress are universal elements of the freshman year experience, so don’t put pressure on yourself to have it all figured out right away, socially or academically. Give yourself time to adjust and find what you need to thrive.
Get to know Daily Info
Of course, our final tip is to get to know Daily Info! Explore our site, check out our guides, listings, blogs. We put out regular content to help you get to know the nooks and crannies of Oxford and all the best things to do here. Our weekly Editors Picks newsletter goes out on Thursdays, covering all the week’s events from theatre and cinema to gigs and concerts.
Follow us on our socials, in particular Instagram, where we put out regular Reels covering Oxford life, as well as posts on how to maximise your time in this wonderful city.
And finally, come find us at Freshers Fair where we will be handing out our free year planner to help you organise your life!