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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Oxford

48 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Oxford, England

Updated February 18, 2025

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Literature 9
Museums 8
Books 6
Sacred Spaces 6
Churches 5
Universities 5
Fantasy 5
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Stories About Oxford

The Respected Oxford Professors Who Say They Time Traveled

Two Victorian academics believed they saw Marie Antoinette at Versailles.
by Chris Wheatley
English archeologist Howard Carter is well-known for his discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. “We really wanted to showcase the Egyptian team, whose hard work has been overlooked for 100 years,” says Oxford University Egyptologist Daniela Rosenow, co-curator of the exhibition.

What We Overlooked in King Tut's Tomb

A new exhibit focuses on the Egyptians left out of the story of the most famous archeological find of the 20th century.
by Amy Crawford
This illustration of The Love Books of Ovid was, apparently, too much for young minds.

Oxford’s Library Once Branded Its Sauciest Books With a Greek Letter

How James Joyce, Madonna, and Monty Python ended up on the same restricted shelf.
by Matthew Taub
An Ostrich Saving Its Young with the Blood of an Asp, from Miroir de l’Humaine Salvation, France, 15th century.

The Secret Meanings Behind the Beasts in a Medieval Menagerie

In Middle Age Europe, animals were popular storytellers.
by Anika Burgess
Snazzy.

The Great Oxford Poop Prank

Don't you guano know what happened?
by Cara Giaimo
Drawing, 1932.

J.R.R. Tolkien Is Our Favorite Father Christmas

For 23 years he role-played in holiday letters to his children.
by Anika Burgess
Reverend Bob Wilkes points the way.

The Delightful English Tradition of Beating Parish Boundaries With Sticks

Or, why you may have seen 40 branch-wielding people in Oxford shouting "Mark, mark!"
by Emily Cleaver
A balloon view of London, 1851.

Take a Journey Into One of the World’s Most Impressive Map Collections

Peek inside the Bodleian Library's Map Room.
by Anika Burgess

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