Photo: Dave Price (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Oxfordshire
Wondering what to do in Oxfordshire? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
🎟️ This weekend near Oxfordshire
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 10:00
Oxford Victorian Christmas Market
Broad Street, Oxford · 3.6 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 20:00
Lock & Key Singles Party in Oxford @ The Varsity Club | 40s-...
The Varsity Club, Oxford · 3.8 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Banbury Audio Tour: Hidden Gems and Stories of Calthorpe's H...
Hunt Edmunds, Banbury · 18.1 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Oxford Highlights Audio Tour: Scholars and Spires
Oxford Castle, Oxford · 3.7 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Museums & Galleries
3.1 mi from Oxfordshire
Bate Collection of Musical Instruments
The Bate Collection of Historical Musical Instruments is a museum of musical instruments from the Middle Ages onwards. It was housed in Oxford University's Faculty of Music near Ch... — Wikipedia
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3.4 mi from Oxfordshire
Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is a free-to-enter museum in a striking neo-Gothic building, open daily from 10am to 5pm. Inside you'll find the world-famous Oxford Dod...
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3.4 mi from Oxfordshire
Oxford Bus Museum
The Oxford Bus Museum is a transport museum at Long Hanborough, West Oxfordshire, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Witney and 7 miles (11 km) northwest of the city of O... — Wikipedia
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3.4 mi from Oxfordshire
Pitt Rivers Museum
The Pitt Rivers Museum is an anthropology and archaeology museum in Oxford, founded in 1884, holding more than 500,000 objects, photographs and manuscripts from around the world. I...
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3.5 mi from Oxfordshire
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum is the University of Oxford's museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683, with collections ranging from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art. You can explo...
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3.6 mi from Oxfordshire
ST Lee Gallery and Treasury
Two gallery spaces with rotating temporary exhibitions curated from the library material.
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3.7 mi from Oxfordshire
Museum of the History of Science
The Museum of the History of Science sits in the heart of Oxford, housed in the world's oldest surviving purpose-built public museum building on Broad Street. Inside you'll find ar...
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3.8 mi from Oxfordshire
Museum of Oxford
The Museum of Oxford is the only museum dedicated to telling the story of Oxford and its people, housed inside the Grade II listed Oxford Town Hall in the centre of the city. Insid...
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3.8 mi from Oxfordshire
Story Museum
The Story Museum is a family museum in the heart of Oxford, where you can step into immersive story spaces such as a Whispering Wood, an Enchanted Library and a Story Arcade, or pu...
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3.8 mi from Oxfordshire
Oxford Illusion Museum
The Oxford Illusion Museum is an interactive optical-illusion museum in the centre of Oxford, set across four floors of a 235-year-old building on the High Street. Inside you'll fi...
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3.9 mi from Oxfordshire
Christ Church Picture Gallery
Christ Church Picture Gallery is home to Britain's first public art collection, housed within a Grade II listed building in Oxford. It holds an important collection of Italian art...
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4.1 mi from Oxfordshire
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum tells the story of how conflict has shaped the county and its people, from frontline soldiers to those living through the Home Front. Tucked in the g...
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4.7 mi from Oxfordshire
Combe Mill
Combe Mill is a historic sawmill adjacent to the River Evenlode and close to Combe railway station, between the villages of Combe and Long Hanborough in Oxfordshire, England. A Gra... — Wikipedia
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5.6 mi from Oxfordshire
The Kilns - CS Lewis's Home
The Kilns was C.S. Lewis's Oxford home and is now run as a study centre by the C.S. Lewis Foundation, offering pre-booked guided tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Visitor...
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7.6 mi from Oxfordshire
Cogges Manor Farm Museum
Cogges Manor Farm Museum is a historic Manor House and working farm set in seventeen acres, with an adventure playground, orchard, walled garden, café and shop, making it a relaxed...
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7.9 mi from Oxfordshire
Witney Blanket Hall
Witney Blanket Hall is a Grade II* listed 18th-century building in Witney, built in 1721 by the Company of Blanket Makers, where blankets were once weighed and measured and trade r...
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9 mi from Oxfordshire
Abingdon County Hall Museum
Abingdon County Hall Museum sits in the heart of Abingdon on Thames, Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, telling the story of the town and surrounding area through its exhibitions. I...
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11.7 mi from Oxfordshire
Pendon Museum
Pendon Museum is a small museum in Long Wittenham, South Oxfordshire, built around extraordinary miniature dioramas recreating English rural life in the 1920s and 30s. You'll see t...
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11.9 mi from Oxfordshire
Aston Martin Heritage Trust
The Aston Martin Heritage Trust runs a museum near Drayton St Leonard celebrating more than 110 years of Aston Martin history. You'll see the Trust's growing collection of Aston Ma...
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Theme Parks
25.1 mi from Oxfordshire
Go Ape Wendover
Go Ape Wendover sits at the highest point of the Chiltern Hills, offering treetop high ropes and ziplines amid vibrant forest scenery. You can take on the testing Treetop Challenge...
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29.8 mi from Oxfordshire
Gulliver's Land
Gulliver's Land is a theme park resort in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, designed for children aged 2-13. You'll find rides in Western World and the JCB Zone, plus a Dinosaur and Fa...
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Water Parks
11.7 mi from Oxfordshire
Wet n Wild Oxford
Oxford Wet n Wild sits on the freshwater Queenford Lakes at Berinsfield, offering an Aqua Park, paddleboarding, kayaking, open water wild swimming and kids' summer camps, plus a la...
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30 mi from Oxfordshire
Splash ‘n’ Play
Splash 'n' Play is an outdoor splash park at Willen Lake in Campbell Park, Milton Keynes, with over 60 water features including a super splash bucket, water tunnel, sail boat, wate...
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Zoos & Wildlife
12.2 mi from Oxfordshire
Crocodiles of the World
Crocodiles of the World is the UK's only crocodile zoo, found in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire. Inside its tropical indoor areas you can see species from around the world,...
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15.6 mi from Oxfordshire
Waddesdon Aviary
Architectural structure in Waddesdon, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
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22.6 mi from Oxfordshire
Beale Park
Beale Wildlife Park is situated by the River Thames, between the villages of Pangbourne and Lower Basildon in Berkshire, England. It has three main areas of attraction: collections... — Wikipedia
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Where to stay near Oxfordshire
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Oxfordshire
Haunted Britain
Start with the big two
If you only have time for one headline day out in Oxfordshire, make it Blenheim Palace. It is the sort of place that swallows a whole day without trying: state rooms, formal gardens and acres of parkland to walk off lunch. Broughton Castle is the quieter counterpart — a moated house with a very different atmosphere, and a good choice if grand crowds aren't your thing. Both reward a bit of forward planning, as opening days vary through the year and the busiest slots go first in school holidays.
The county is thick with other historic houses, though they're a mixed bunch in terms of access. Ditchley House, Studley Priory, Woodperry House, Beckley Park, Bletchingdon Park and Wytham Abbey are all part of the landscape here, but several are private or used for events rather than open visiting. Check each one directly before you build a day around it, and treat anything you can get into as a bonus rather than a plan.
Rainy day options
Oxford handles bad weather well. The ST Lee Gallery and Treasury is the obvious indoor stop — small enough to suit a short attention span, interesting enough to hold an adult's. The Signalling Centre is the sort of specialist museum that people arrive at politely and leave genuinely enthused about, particularly if anyone in your group likes machinery and how things actually work.
If the forecast is grim for a full day, it's worth looking just over the county border. Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing in Buckinghamshire make a substantial pairing, and Buckinghamshire County Museum, the Chair Making Museum and Long Crendon Courthouse are all indoor options in the same direction. Towards the Cotswolds you'll find The Old Prison and the Cirencester Air Raid Shelter, and Swinford Museum at Bourton-on-the-Water.
With children in tow
- Wet n Wild Oxford — the easiest win on a wet or baking day, and a reliable way to tire everyone out.
- The Signalling Centre — hands-on enough for older children who've had their fill of ropes and "do not touch".
- Earth Trust Centre — outdoor space with something to learn, which tends to go down better than a straight walk.
- Further afield — Kidsplay Activity Land, Gambado, Brickz and Eco Park in Northamptonshire, or Aquaventure in the Cotswolds, if you're happy to drive.
Outdoors and open air
The White Horse is the walk to do if you want a view and a sense of deep history underfoot — take proper shoes, as the ground can be slippery and exposed. Boarstall Duck Decoy is the opposite in scale: a small, strange, rather lovely National Trust site that works best as a slow hour rather than a half-day. The Earth Trust Centre rounds out the trio, with waymarked walking and wildlife that suits families and dog walkers alike. Pair any two with lunch and you have a full, unhurried day.
How to group it into a sensible day
Don't try to mix a palace with a theme park. The combinations that work are the ones with a shared pace:
- Heritage day: Blenheim Palace in the morning, a long lunch, then a short walk rather than a second house.
- Wet weather day: ST Lee Gallery and Treasury, then The Signalling Centre, with tea in between.
- Family day: Wet n Wild Oxford first thing, Earth Trust Centre afterwards if there's energy left.
- Quiet day: Boarstall Duck Decoy and Broughton Castle, both low-key and unrushed.
Where to eat
For a proper sit-down lunch, The Plough Inn and The Harcourt Arms are the pubs to aim for — both hold 5-star hygiene ratings, which is worth knowing when you're feeding a tired group. For something lighter, Brown's Café is the dependable all-day choice, Treatz suits a sweet stop with children, and Throwing Buns is the one to remember if you want cake after a walk. Book pub tables at weekends; the good ones fill by midday.
Turning it into a short break
Two nights is the sweet spot. Give day one to Blenheim Palace, day two to a walk at The White Horse or Boarstall Duck Decoy, and keep the morning you leave free for the ST Lee Gallery and Treasury or The Signalling Centre, both of which work as a half-day. There are 285 places to stay in Oxfordshire on BritStays, so it's worth choosing one near the attraction you most want to reach early rather than the one that looks most central.
Practical points: buy palace and museum tickets online where you can, check seasonal closures before you travel, carry cash for small sites, and assume parking at the popular places will be the slowest part of your morning. If you're walking at The White Horse, go early — it's far better before the car park fills.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main heritage attraction in Oxfordshire?
Blenheim Palace is the standout heritage day out, with state rooms, gardens and parkland that can easily fill a full day. Broughton Castle is a quieter alternative if you prefer somewhere less busy.
What can we do in Oxfordshire if it rains?
Head indoors to the ST Lee Gallery and Treasury or The Signalling Centre, both in Oxford. Wet n Wild Oxford is also a good wet-weather option with children. If you don't mind driving over the county border, Bletchley Park and The National Museum of Computing in Buckinghamshire make a full indoor day.
Which Oxfordshire places are National Trust sites?
Boarstall Duck Decoy and The White Horse are the two National Trust places listed in the region. The Duck Decoy suits a short, slow visit, while The White Horse is a walk with wide views, so wear proper footwear.
Where should we eat during a day out in Oxfordshire?
The Plough Inn and The Harcourt Arms are the pubs to aim for if you want a sit-down meal, and all five recommended places hold 5-star hygiene ratings. For lighter stops, try Brown's Cafe, Treatz or Throwing Buns.
What is there to do outdoors in Oxfordshire?
The White Horse is the classic walk, Boarstall Duck Decoy offers a small and unusual National Trust site, and the Earth Trust Centre has waymarked walking and wildlife that works well for families and dog walkers. The parkland at Blenheim Palace is also worth the time.
Can you visit all the historic houses in Oxfordshire?
No. Alongside Blenheim Palace and Broughton Castle there are houses such as Ditchley House, Studley Priory, Woodperry House, Beckley Park, Bletchingdon Park and Wytham Abbey, but several are private or used for events rather than open to general visitors. Always check access directly before planning a day around one.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Oxfordshire.