i.e some non-touristy recommendations for visitors (and for personal reference) as of 2025

food

• gloucester green market (street food stands and other stuff. i love taking people here)
• endorphins dessert cafe (bingsu and beautiful cakes, drinks etc. very rarely they sell homemade mochi and its always delicious and i wish they had it in more often)
• red star on cowley (havent been there yet but apparently EXTREMELY extremely authentic north chinese cuisine. 2 whole people recommend it to me separately. and i trust them both)
• rachel’s (slightly expensive cafe but very nice, they sell homemade baos, banh mi etc.)
• tse noodle |(v affordable and i love it in there, its always packed though)

other

• ultimate picture palace (UPP) on cowley — really cute independent cinema i love it there a lot !!!!!!!!!
• canal-side walk (beautiful)
• st. thomas the martyr cemetery (by train station)
• ashmolean museum is great and its also FREE
• headington shark

misc. notes

• of the limited number of oxford colleges i’ve ever visited, st. anne’s was my favourite based on vibes alone. so if anyone ever asks me that q i have an answer; my second favourite would be magdalen college, on account of the deer park
• there are some really nice parks around. south park sucks but headington hill park is very nice - small but nice. it has good trees.
• headington and cowley are both great places imo. they remind me of home a bit. but the centre itself can be pretty miserable
• oxford town hall is v pretty if you ever get a chance to go in there
• i did NOT enjoy the botanical gardens. i’d be willing to give it another chance one day but rn i can’t say i’d recommend it
• the canal walk is best if you pick a sunny day, and start walking early so that the sun rises with you. the river scatters the light and there is barely anyone around and it’s perfect
• one day i’ll take part in may morning celebrations and report back on them. one day.