Where to Stay in Oxford, England

Oxford City Centre puts you on High Street and Broad Street, within 8 minutes of the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera, and Christ Church. Hotels cluster around Magdalen Street and St Giles Street. Carfax Tower is your compass. It is loud on weekends when tour groups and pub crawls collide on Cornmarket Street, so pick a hotel on a quieter lane like Holywell Street or Merton Street. Parking is expensive and mostly impractical. You do not need a car here. The covered market on Market Street is a five-minute walk for a proper breakfast before the crowds arrive.

Best for

First-time visitorsshort staysno-car travellers

Walk times

Bodleian Library 5 min
Christ Church 8 min
Oxford Rail Station 12 min

Skip if: You hate crowds, you have a car, you want value for money

Local tip: Book a room above the ground floor on Broad Street. Street noise from deliveries starts at 6am.

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Jericho

Oxford without the tour groups

Budget $0-$0/night

Jericho sits just northwest of the city centre, anchored by Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street. It is Oxford's most liveable neighbourhood: independent coffee shops, the Phoenix Picturehouse cinema, and the Jericho Tavern where Radiohead played early gigs. Port Meadow, a vast flood plain used since the Bronze Age, is a 12-minute walk down Walton Well Road. The Oxford University Press building dominates Great Clarendon Street. Hotels and guesthouses here are quieter and 15 to 20 percent cheaper than the centre. You can walk to the Ashmolean Museum in 10 minutes via Beaumont Street.

Best for

Repeat visitorscouplesculture seekers wanting a local feel

Walk times

Ashmolean Museum 10 min
Port Meadow 12 min
City Centre (Carfax) 18 min

Skip if: You want to roll out of bed and be at the Bodleian in two minutes

Local tip: Sit at The Jericho Cafe on Walton Street before 9am and you will have the terrace to yourself.

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Cowley Road / East Oxford

Budget beds, real Oxford energy

Budget $0-$0/night

Cowley Road is Oxford's most multicultural strip, running southeast from Magdalen Bridge through half a mile of independent restaurants, vintage shops, and cheap guesthouses. The area around Iffley Road has student houses converted into B&Bs. You are 22 minutes on foot from Carfax and 10 minutes from Magdalen College, arguably Oxford's most beautiful. The bus along Cowley Road into the centre runs every 10 minutes until midnight. Do not confuse East Oxford with the Cowley industrial estate further out, which has nothing worth seeing. Eat at Arbequina on Cowley Road for Spanish tapas that beat anything near the tourist circuit.

Best for

Budget travellerssolo travellersfood loverslonger stays

Walk times

Magdalen College 10 min
City Centre (Carfax) 22 min
Oxford Rail Station 30 min

Skip if: You want a quiet street or a hotel with a concierge

Local tip: The Magdalen Bridge Boathouse rents punts from the east side of the bridge, avoiding the long queue on the High Street side.

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North Oxford / Summertown

Quiet streets, proper B&Bs, easy escapes

Budget $0-$0/night

Summertown is a prosperous residential suburb four kilometres north of the centre along Banbury Road and Woodstock Road. South Parade has independent restaurants and a Waitrose. The neighbourhood suits travellers who want space and quiet: buses 2 and S2 run every 8 minutes to the city centre. University Parks, Oxford's 70-acre green lung, is a 5-minute walk from most guesthouses on Banbury Road. The area has several well-rated family-run B&Bs charging 30 to 40 percent less than equivalent rooms in the city centre. Blenheim Palace at Woodstock is a 15-minute drive north.

Best for

Familiesdriversanyone staying 3 or more nightsBlenheim day-trippers

Walk times

University Parks 5 min
City Centre (Carfax) 35 min
Oxford Rail Station 45 min

Skip if: You are visiting for one night and want the colleges on your doorstep

Local tip: Bus route S2 from South Parade to Oxford Station costs GBP2.50 with a contactless card. Faster than walking and no parking stress.

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Prices shown for 1 room, 2 adults. Click to see current availability.