With its picture-perfect cobbles and imposing spires that any other city could possibly match, Oxford isn’t just about libraries, students sweating over their tests or riverside picnics, there’s a lot more to see and do here in Oxford with some of the best museums, an expanding restaurant scene with scrumptious and hard to avoid gourmet thrills and pubs soaked in elegance and a historic past. Ideal for a visit all-year-round, Oxford has a jam-packed calendar of events and things to do, so it is best to plan your visit according to what interests you the most!

Home to over 260 species of animals spanning nearly 120 acres of beautiful parklands, the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens is perfect for a day out, strolling and enjoying uninterrupted sights of the animals in their natural habitat. From daily talks on Penguins and Lemurs to riding on a train called Bella to exploring tree houses and slides in their large playground, you will not have an idle moment at the park through the day. Enjoy watching the Rhino grazing on the laws in front of the Gothic Manor or have an eye-to-eye meet with the amazing Giraffes up at the Giraffe Walkway and explore the Old Walled Garden at the Tropical House with birds, bats, and the sloths.

A scheduled monument from the ancient era, the Cogges Manor Farm comes with over a 1000 years of history and is a grade II listed manor house from the 13th century with farm buildings from the 17th century. A popular tourist site, there’s over 15 acres of the manor house and grounds with picnic orchards, walled garden, moated islands and river Wind rush walk. From wild and adventurous activities to feeding the farm animals to trying out vintage clothing/handmade costumes in the dress-up parlor to playing varied games, there’s plenty and more to do for everyone at the Cogges Manor Farm, 7 days a week from 10 am to 5 pm.

There are entertaining tours conducted by Bill Spectre, a professional actor and Equity member as Oxford Ghost Trails, where, with the aid of illusions and props, Bill dons a costume with a black top hat and lead visitors through the Oxford streets revealing the ancient city’s dark secrets. With an hour and 45 minutes tour from the Oxford Castle & Prison to an hour and 15 minutes tour from the Oxford Visitor Information Centre, Bill leads two tours that you can choose from. These Ghost Trails have been voted as 10 of the best ghost tours in the world.

One of Oxford’s first distilleries and the world’s choice true crafted ones, the Oxford Artisan Distillery or TOAD as it is fondly nicknamed, cultivate, crafts, creates and curates some of the finest spirits with ancient heritage grain that are a product of the town’s selective and genetically diverse rye, barley and wheat grown on small local farms. Further, the town also has gorgeous copper stills, where they bottle the spirits as well. A guided tour through the premise will help you experience and be introduced to the production process and the principles, involved in the making of these spirits.

One of the longest established companies on the River Thames, Salter’s Steamers is a family-owned business that has been providing elite hospitality with their boat trips for nearly 150 years! The firm has one of the largest and most exclusive fleets of boats operating on the river that combine contemporary comforts, premium modern standards in perfect blend with traditional elegance. The firm’s renowned for a variety of immensely popular pleasure trips with some of the most gorgeous scenic views in England, operating from nearly every major location on the Upper Thames that includes everything between Oxford and the London edged city of Staines. These trip are typically conducted between May through September.

The city of Oxford has these hop on and hop off bus tours where you can enjoy exploring the town aboard a double-decker bus with 26 stops spanning the city, including Queen’s College, Christ Church College, Sheldonian Theatre, Trinity College, Oxford Visitor Information Centre and Martyr’s Memorial. Whether you board on the University & History City route or the Bridges & Meadows Route, you’ll have plenty of stops along each route, where you can get off or board to your liking. All the tours are fluent with audio guides that keep you informed about the attractions in 12 different languages.

Enjoy a meet and greet at UK’s only croc zoo, in West Oxfordshire – Crocodiles of the World. With plenty of feeding displays, photo ops, crocodile talks and more, you will have a whale of a time meeting some of the most amazing array of crocodiles (including the rare Siamese species), caimans, lizards, alligators, meerkats, snakes and even a Komodo Dragon, in addition to visiting the underwater viewing enclosures, hatchling enclosures, outdoor picnic area and gorging on some lip-smacking snacks and refreshments.