Oxford is a beautiful city, perfect for a weekend away or even a longer break. If you’re staying at an Oxford Travelodge, there’s no shortage of things to do, but in-between wandering the grounds of the university and browsing the market, be sure to fit in some interesting trips to some of the best museums in the country.
1.The Ashmolean
Oxford has been built around the university and The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford’s art and archaeology museum. It’s so good, it even rivals some of the big London museums. Here you can see works of art by Manet, Joseph Beouys and Cezanne after browsing ancient Egyptian artefacts, Guy Fawke’s Lantern and much, much more. The Ashmolean was founded in 1683 and was Britain’s first public museum. It has been built up over the years to house a collection that spans all the corners of the world through all the ages.The Ashmolean’s treasures include the largest collection of Raphael drawings in the world, the only Minoan collection in Great Britain, the best Anglo-Saxon collection outside the British Museum, the foremost pre-Dynastic Egyptian antiquities in Europe and the most important collection of modern Chinese art in the West. As well as a public museum, The Ashmolean is a research centre for Oxford University and is at the forefront of some of the greatest academic work in the world.
2. The Pitt Rivers
The Pitt Rivers is another university museum housing items of anthropology and archaeology. The museum started out as the personal collection of General Pitt Rivers and includes the items he collected from his world travels. Particularly interesting items include the Pacific Island artefacts such as a Tahitian mourner’s costume, Japanese Noh masks, Inuit costume and full sized sailing boats. The Pitt Rivers has a different feel from other museums and the beautiful building is worth a visit in itself. The collections are arranged by type instead of by area of the world. Walk through magic, masks and music and be swept away into an exotic world.
3. The Story Museum
Oxford is also famous for its literary wonders and the characters that have been created on its grounds. Favourites include Alice in Wonderland and the many characters of C.S.Lewis’s, Narnia. The Story Museum is a fun place to visit with children or anyone who likes to be whisked away to another world. The Story Museum is a centre for storytelling and holds a variety of different events, so make sure you check what’s on in advance. Some of our best loved children’s authors and storytellers are involved, including Philip Pullman, Malorie Blackman and Michael Morpurgo. The Story Museum will be celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th anniversary, as well as holding daily workshops, storytelling event and a variety of concerts.
