Which city is better: Oxford or Cambridge?

Telegraph

13-04-2025

Oxford and Cambridge loom large in British history. The two university cities have educated some of the country's most celebrated writers, philosophers and scientists.
Some 45 British prime ministers are alumni. While there are many other remarkable universities, and university cities, across Britain, it is these two that attract the most visitors specifically for their institutions. It's impossible to wander around their cobbled streets without imagining Isaac Newton, or Iris Murdoch, doing the same.
Teaching has happened in Oxford since at least 1096, although there's no clear date of its foundation. Cambridge University was established later, in 1209, when a group of scholars fled Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople (a pattern that repeats throughout the subsequent centuries).
While this history is a part of what attracts the modern visitor, there are plenty more to both, from lively music venues to expansive botanical gardens. Both are easy to reach from London, making them ideal for an engaging weekend away.
For those planning to visit, however, it can be hard to choose between the two. So we compared the two across categories including architectural prizes, academic accolades, Telegraph -recommended hotels and Michelin stars, to crown a winner. (This is only a bit of fun, of course; visiting both cities is the only sure-fire way to decide on your own personal favourite.)
Visiting the colleges
Almost all the colleges at Cambridge and Oxford allow visitors. Our ranking has excluded those that are 'by appointment only', such as Darwin College in Cambridge, but included colleges that have limited opening hours. By this metric, the colleges are neck and neck: 27 colleges in each city can be easily visited.
As these are places of work (and a home for students), the rules about visiting them vary. Some have free entry, while others charge a small fee. Some are only open for a Sunday service in the chapel (these have been omitted from the list). It's always best to check their websites before visiting, and if you do pop by, be sure to speak to a porter – who should be stationed by the main college entrance – who can advise as to which parts of a college are open to the public.
In Oxford, Christ Church College is especially popular. Thirteen British prime ministers studied here, as did Lewis Carroll and John Locke. Tickets, starting at £20, can be booked in advance on its website.
If you would rather not plan your college-exploring in advance, Somerville (where Margaret Thatcher studied chemistry), Brasenose, Wadham, Wolfson and St Catherine's all have areas open to the public free of charge.
In Cambridge, guests can take a guided tour of Trinity College at 10am or 2pm daily, costing £5 per adult. Former alumni include Alfred Lord Tennyson, Bertrand Russell and Sir Francis Bacon, plus television personality Richard Osman and spy Kim Philby.
Free colleges include Jesus, Downing, Pembroke and Sidney Sussex, all of which are centrally located. Or for something more intimate, explore King's College with Cantab Tours, which offers hour-long private experiences within the photogenic favourite.
The score
Cambridge: 1
Oxford: 1
Staying in a college
At both Oxford and Cambridge, colleges have a small number of rooms available for guests. These range in style from very basic – some might be used as student accommodation in term times – to the luxurious. Prices vary; check the University Rooms website for information and availability.
Calculated using the cheapest price available at the time of writing, the average price of a one-night stay in a college in Oxford is £136; at Cambridge it is £102. At the latter, there were particularly affordable rooms at Christ's (£57) and Churchill (£76), while Downing was the most expensive at £150.
Oxford also offers rooms at places that are not strictly colleges, meaning you could bag a room in the alumni-focused Oxford University Club (£124) or Rewley House (£99), which is used by the Continuing Education department. The cheapest room came in at £69 per night, at theological college Wycliffe Hall, while the most expensive was £290 at Jesus.
The score
Cambridge: 2
Oxford: 1
University accolades
These are centres of academia, and so our ranking took into account the number of Nobel Prizes won by researchers at the Universities. Oxford, according to a list on its website, has 57: from the detained former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, to the writer VS Naipul. Cambridge counts 125, with philosopher Bertrand Russell, physicist Niels Bohr and physiologist Elizabeth H Blackburn all getting gongs.
Some winners, such as Dorothy Hodgkin, the third woman to be awarded for chemistry, are claimed by both universities. If it's the intellectual history of the universities that you're interested in exploring, visit their respective libraries for topical exhibitions.
More creative? The battle for poet laureate is won by Cambridge, but only just. Of the 21 laureates Britain has had since 1668, seven studied in the city, including John Dryden, Ted Hughes and William Wordsworth, who wrote about 'Trinity's loquacious clock' in his narrative poem The Prelude.
Oxford has only one fewer laureate – six – whose number includes Robert Southey, Cecil Day-Lewis and Andrew Motion. Find out more on an Ink and Stones tour of literary Cambridge, or on Oxford Walking Tour 's equivalent.
The score
Cambridge: 3
Oxford: 1
The cities
Aside from the cities' intellectual history, it is their architecture that captivates. From 12th-century churches, such as St Peter-in-the-East in Oxford, to innocuous Arts and Crafts houses in Cambridge, the buildings are a crucial part of a visit. Matthew Arnold's 'dreaming spires' are how we picture Oxford, and glimpsing King's College Chapel is as breathtaking as images suggest.
As for the more modern additions? Both Oxford and Cambridge have been handsomely rewarded in the RIBA National Awards 'in recognition of their significant contributions to architecture'. Cambridge edges it, slightly, with 19 awards compared with its rival's 13.
Some of the buildings might not be of much note to those who aren't scholars of 21st-century design (the Welding Institute is not a typical tourist stop), but all of them build the character of the place and complement what are living cities.
Outside of London, Blue Plaques are awarded by local organisations, so comparing the number in each city means little. They are, however, a good starting point for finding out the less well-known parts of a place. Oxfordshire Blue Plaques runs the equivalent organisation.
Its 16 city-wide plaques include memorials to Ivy Williams DCL, the first woman to be called to the English bar, and Felicia Skene, a prison reformer and 'friend to the poor'.
Cambridge has 43, its number boosted earlier this year for the last child chimney sweep to die in Britain. The story of George Brewster, 11, would not otherwise be signposted in the city. Now, though, visitors can visit the spot (along with notices mentioning Charles Darwin, Oliver Cromwell and Syd Barrett) and learn all about an unusual slice of Cambridge's history. Find out more on the Cambridge Past, Present and Future website.
The score
Cambridge: 4
Oxford: 1
Places to eat
Both Cambridge and Oxford fare well in the Michelin guides. Oxford has three restaurants listed: the Lamb Inn, Pompette and Arbequina, plus more farther into the countryside. For something slightly more affordable, the Vaults and Garden Cafe is a lively place for breakfast, while Moroccan restaurant Kazbar is popular for dinner and cocktails. Tiny Japanese restaurant Edamame is a popular lunch option (try the soul-soothing ramen). Find out more in our guide to Oxford's best restaurants.
In Cambridge, luxury is to be found at five Michelin-starred restaurants. One of those, Midsumer House, was described by a Telegraph reviewer as a 'masterpiece of taste, presentation and sheer theatre'. There is, however, plenty to choose from elsewhere, from the rambunctious market stalls in the centre of the city – the falafel wraps are particularly good – as are the square pizza slices at Italian café Aromi. Smaller chains, such as Dishoom and Giggling Squid, have sprung up in the city too, but for an impressive meal, the Old Bicycle Shop, on Regent Street, is hard to resist. Find out more in our guide to Cambridge's best restaurants.
The score
Cambridge: 5
Oxford: 1
Pubs
Looking for a more informal history lesson? The pubs of both cities are a good place to start. CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien were regulars at the Eagle and Child pub, in Oxford.
It's at the Eagle in Cambridge that Watson and Crick declared that they had discovered DNA. If interesting ale is more your thing, the Pint Shop in Cambridge has an ever-changing menu of intriguing tipples, while Oxford's Tap Social Movement is the place to pick up good pizza and beer. The aptly-named Heritage Pub Tours can show you round the best in Cambridge, while Footprints Tours offers the same in Oxford.
So which city takes the spoils? We're giving the points to Oxford, which boasts 317 listings on the website of the Campaign for Real Ale Association (Camra), compared with Cambridge's 272.
The score
Cambridge: 5
Oxford: 2
Places to stay
There is no shortage of first-rate hotels in both cities. For Telegraph Travel 's reviewers, Cambridge clinches it, again; there are two hotels in the city we have given a rating of at least nine out of 10, compared with just one in Oxford.
In Cambridge, the Graduate Hotel offers riverside views and impeccable facilities , while the Gonville is described as having a 'pleasing air of indulgence'. There are honorable mentions for the Fellows House, Varsity Hotel and Spa and Hotel du Vin, too. See our full list of recommended hotels in Cambridge here.
The highest scoring in Oxford is the Old Bank Hotel, sitting directly opposite University Church, the Covered Market and All Souls College. In a city full of exceptional architecture, it still manages to burst with character – but if you would rather stay somewhere more affordable, you can read more reviews of Oxford hotels here.
The score
Cambridge: 6
Oxford: 2
Things to do
Both cities offer punting, either with a guide or solo. Be wary of ticket touts and be sure to book with a respectable firm. Scudamore's, in Cambridge, has been operating since 1910 – purchase tickets online in advance before picking up your punt on Mill Lane. Oxford's Magdalen Bridge Boathouse serves much the same function.
On sunnier days, the parks of both cities are an ideal place to take a picnic and a good book. Swerve Parker's Piece in Cambridge and instead visit Jesus Green, lined on its west side with charming cottages. In Oxford, the delightfully wild Port Meadow, to the north of the city, is popular with wild swimmers in the spring. Both also have wonderful botanical gardens, which will enthuse even the least horticultural family members.
In Cambridge, performance is king. Head to the Cambridge Corn Exchange for live music or comedy. The ADC is the oldest university playroom in the country; Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Thompson and Tilda Swinton all began their careers here. There's the Arts Theatre, too, which is currently being refurbished. It's due to reopen in the autumn.
As for museums, the Fitzwilliam is a grand Georgian building known for its tastefully curated artworks and objects. Other outposts of the University, such as the Polar Museum, will delight those with more esoteric interests. At the other end of town is Kettle's Yard, an enigmatic 'home for artists' that operates as a peaceful gallery and museum.
Oxford's equivalent is the Ashmolean, founded in 1683 (and the oldest public museum in England). The collection covers everything from Guy Fawkes's lantern to Michelangelo's studies for the Sistine Chapel. Children might prefer the Pitt Rivers Museum, which holds more than 18,000 curious Victorian objects collected from around the world.
There are plenty of places to hear live music in Oxford, from student favourite the Jericho to the Holywell Music Room, which has been hosting recitals for more than 250 years. Or for something altogether more peaceful, venture out of the city to Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and wander its perfectly sculpted Capability Brown parkland.
So which city gets the point? We're giving it to Oxford, which (according to TripAdvisor) has 572 attractions, including 31 museums and 136 landmarks, compared with Cambridge's 502.
The score
Cambridge: 6
Oxford: 3
Getting there
Direct trains to Cambridge leave London King's Cross (taking around 50 minutes to one hour) and London Liverpool Street (around one hour and 30 minutes).
There are also trains from Ipswich and Kings Lynn. FlixBus offers coach services from London Victoria Coach Station to Cambridge. Prices start at £7.49 each way.
Direct trains to Oxford leave London Paddington (taking around 50 minutes) and London Marylebone (around one hour and 30 minutes), plus Birmingham New Street, Reading and Didcot. The Oxford Tube offers a near-24-hour coach service between the city and the capital. Tickets start at £15 for a single journey, £22.50 for a return, with concessions available.
More central Oxford is easier to reach for much of the country, and is closer to Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, so gets the point.
The score
Cambridge: 6
Oxford: 4
The final verdict
Cambridge has, just about, seized the crown. Its number of university accolades, plus relatively affordable college accommodation, makes it a wonderful spot for a weekend away. In reality, though, each city has a wealth of fascinating history, lively attractions and expansive green space, meaning both are bucket-list destinations.
It's best, then, to choose one based on your own interests. Fascinated by JRR Tolkien? Oxford is the place for you. Want to get the perfect photo of Britain in the sunshine? Punt along the river Cam, and take a snap by King's College.
Ultimately, Oxford and Cambridge are wonderful places for a day out: the solution, really, is to visit both.