Location
Oxford, the City of Dreaming Spires, is famous for its University and place in history. The site of the oldest English-speaking university in the world, the city of Oxford has been a centre of education for more than 800 years.
Oxford International College has recently relocated to newly refurbished premises in the historical city centre, within walking distance of the railway and bus stations and all the city's amenities.
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The new premises are near a number of excellent restaurants and hotels. Our building is next to the Castle complex which has some great places to eat and a fantastic hotel. Full details of the hotel, restaurant and events can be found via the following link: Oxford Castle. We are also conveniently situated for train and coach travel.
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Travel
Oxford International College is conveniently located for both coaches and trains. There are excellent coach services to Heathrow and Gatwick, as well as London and many other towns and cities. The journey to Heathrow takes approximately 90 minutes with buses running every half hour during the day and every hour through the night. Further details can be found via the following link: Oxford to Heathrow. The journey to Gatwick takes approximately two and half hours and there are hourly services throughout the day and every two hours at night. Further details can be found via: Oxford to Gatwick. The coach and railway stations are less than a five minute walk from Oxford International College. Full details of rail services can be found on either the National Rail website or on the Train Line website.
Driving in and around Oxford is problematical – the city was not designed with cars in mind. During rush hours (8am to 9am in the morning and 4:30pm to 6pm in the evening) the traffic can be heavy. There are a number of Park and Ride facilities which can help to make driving into Oxford much easier. Further details can be found via the Park and Ride website.
Hotels
The nearest hotel to the College is Malmaison – an extraordinarily luxurious conversion of Oxford’s old prison – prices start at around £145 per night for a double room.
The Randolph is undoubtedly Oxford’s most famous hotel. Its official name is Macdonald Randolph Hotel however, everyone refers to it as 'The Randolph'. It is very close to our offices and practically in the centre of the city. If you are after luxurious Victorian Gothic, this the place to go – prices start from approximately £200.
The Old Bank Hotel is another high class hotel which is within a reasonable distance of the College. Independently owned, this hotel has a more personal feel than most hotels. Prices start from £132 per night. The hotel also has an excellent restaurant which is open to both hotel guests and the general public.
The Royal Oxford Hotel is also very close to both the College and the railway station. A reasonable place to stay for those who are a little more budget conscious – prices start from £85.
The Old Parsonage is a little further away at just under one mile's walk (1.5 km). A lovely hotel with a fine restaurant in a superb building dating back to approximately 1600BC. Prices start at around £170 per night.
For further information about hotels in and around Oxford visit Google maps
Restaurants
Oxford International College premises are next to the old Oxford Castle complex. The Castle complex has a number of cafés and restaurants – ranging from freshly-made sandwich bars through to The Living Room – all very conveniently located if you are visiting us.
Jamie’s Italian: just a few minutes walk from the College is Jamie Oliver restaurant, the nicest Italian in Oxford – often very busy so it is worth booking, particularly in the evenings or weekends. Further info can be found via: Jamie’s Italian Oxford
More information about restaurants in and around Oxford can be found via this link: Google Map
Shopping
Whether or not you regard Oxford as a good place to shop will depend on what you like looking for. If you are hoping for fashionable designer shops then you will probably be a little disappointed. However, if you want bookshops then Oxford is one of the best places to be! Blackwell’s is one of Europe’s largest bookshops and has an extraordinary range of books, with (of course) a strong academic bias – click here for their website: Blackwell’s Oxford. The Covered Market also has a fascinating collection of shops – Google “Covered Market Oxford” as their website is unfortunately rather unreliable.
Tourist Information
The Official Tourist Information site has the usual information that you would expect to find at a major tourist destination: Visit Oxford and Oxfordshire.
Oxford’s Daily Info provides a huge amount of information about what is currently on in Oxford. The following links will take you to their what’s on page and to their home page. Although Daily Info is aimed mostly at students, it is also useful to tourists who manage to find it. It is very good for cinema and theatre listings.
Where is Oxford University?
A number of people come to Oxford expecting to find the University as one overall campus or a campus-like collection of buildings. In actual fact, the Oxford University is not conveniently arranged along campus lines – it is made up of subject based faculties (e.g. The History Faculty) and 38 colleges (e.g. Keble College) and six permanent Private Halls. An undergraduate will be a member of a college and will have the majority of their tutorials within that college, however, seminars and lectures are mostly organised by the relevant faculty. As a tourist the colleges are the main attraction as many of them date back hundreds of years and a few were founded nearly eight hundred years ago. A list of the colleges and halls can be found via the following link: Oxford University Colleges and Halls and a map showing the locations of the colleges can be found here: Oxford University Colleges and Halls Map.
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