Thinking about visiting Oxford with a baby? Wondering what the best Oxford itinerary is for 48 hours in the city. 

Best time to visit Oxford?

There is a sweet spot for visiting Oxford. You want to hit it when the students aren’t there but also avoiding the summer visitors. Therefore September is the perfect time to visit

So what are the best things to do in 48 hours in Oxford? The perfect Oxford itinerary

The Covered Market

We started our day with a walk round the covered market. It’s not huge but worth a look. The butchers inside has the worlds oldest ham apparently.

covered market, oxford

Radcliffe Camera

Then we headed to the bodelian library to see the Radcliffe camera. You can also go into the library but babies and libraries don’t usually mix.

radcliffe camera, oxford

How to visit Oxford Colleges?

One of the things I hadn’t realized about Oxford is that the Oxford colleges are open to the public. We stumbled upon New College while wondering around the city and discovered it was open so decided to go in.

wandermust family in new college oxford

Unfortunately the interior of college prohibits photography so I can’t show you how lovely it was. Our particular favorite room was the chapel, the reredos is particularly stunning.

New college is also great for children who will recognize it as the grounds of Hogwarts from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Another thing I hadn’t realized is how extensive the grounds of the colleges are and we were surprised by the beautiful garden and mound in the grounds of new college which are  enclosed by the Oxford city wall.

New college, oxford grounds

It was a beautiful spot for photos. We enjoyed walking the grounds and taking some family photos.

wandermust family in new college oxford

After a brief stop for lunch we decided to see what other colleges were open and stumbled open Magdelen college.

If we had been impressed by the grounds of New college, then Magdalen really took our breath away. Inside the college, aside from the stunning cloisters and chapel, there was a lovely garden, a view of the river where we spotted some students punting and most surprisingly a deer park.

magdalen college oxford

punters oxford

deer park, magdalen college

We took the opportunity to take some lovely family photographs while the grounds were empty before heading buck for the day.

48 Hours in Oxford Itinerary Day Two

On our second day we continued with our tours of the Oxford Colleges with a visit to Christ College. The most expensive of the colleges and with perhaps the most stunning dining room. This college is great for potter fans as this was used as the hogwarts dining room in Harry Potter and the philosophers stone. Entrance also includes access to the church.

We then spent our afternoon visiting some of the museums of Oxford – worthy of a post themselves The ashmolean has to be a family favorite.

We ended our day with a shopping trip including to a trip to Sanders of Oxford map shop where we bought the below map. It shows pacific currents for the part of our round the world trip we are doing by boat. We couldn’t resist.

Wandermust family top tip for families visiting Oxford

Be warned Oxford is very cobbled and our pram took a beating. Baby carriers are probably a good idea here

Read Next: Why not check out out post on what is best a baby carrier or stroller for travel? 

What are your top tips for visiting Oxford?