Oxford Travel Forum

I know it's difficult to compare two different cities, but I'm trying to get an idea of how Cambridge and Oxford are different and similar. I stayed in Cambrdige for a month back in 1991 and loved it. What I really liked was that it was relaxed, peaceful, laid back, and casual, but the city was beautiful and still had plenty to do and see (such as the churches, punting the Cam, walking around looking at all the interesting old architecture, and of course all the pubs). I also liked the fact that I could walk everywhere because the city is so small in area. How does Oxford compare using those criteria? And is one city generally more expensive than the other in terms of accommodations and eating?

Good question. I'd say that Oxford has more "bustle" than Cambridge - most people would say that Oxford is more of a city than "the other place," in part because it is the market center of a larger area. Also, although it's not in the center of the city, Oxford has an important industrial heritage than Cambridge doesn't; Oxford was for many years one of the most important centers of England's automotive industry.

Now don't get me wrong, Oxford also has its river(s), many of the colleges have beautiful parks (esp. Magdalene and Christ Church), and you can easily lose yourself in a maze of medieval streets. But the traffic rumbles right through the center of Oxford a little more loudly than it does in Cambridge.

There's also a distinction between the generalized academic character of the two universities. Broadly speaking, Oxford is more literary and romantic, Cambridge more philosophical and scientific. Oxford = Oscar Wilde and JR Tolkien, Cambridge = Charles Darwin and JM Keynes. And Oxford seems to have produced a lot more statesmen and political leaders than Cambridge.

Cambridge is better, 'cos some of our relatives live there and we visit them alot more than Oxford!!Cool city due to its first class university.

The big problem with Oxford, which is a beautiful city, is the pollution caused by the awful traffic. The Guardian published a report that said it was the worst in England, a day there is the equivalent of smoking three packs of cigarettes.

The article is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1292524,00.html

Goodness, I grew up in Oxford, and I guess living in London now, I don't think of it as being that traffic-ridden, but because traffic (in the sense of cars, not buses or taxis), is banned from parts of the centre, traffic is shunted into very congested one-way systems that wend round it. There has been some very poor city planning in Oxford, not least as regards traffic flow!

Having just returned from Cambridge, and knowing Oxford well, I think both have their virtues. Oxford has had other aspects to its development (industry) whereas Cambridge seems more historically focused on the colleges. Both have rivers, walks, architecture, castle mounds and (good) pubs galore. Both have bustling shopping centres, numerous tour groups and hop-on, hop-off bus tours. The Fitzwilliam is good, but the Ashmolean, University and Pitt-Rivers museums are wonderful so, from that point of view, Oxford wins!

Sarah, I think it's a combination of poor traffic planning plus the fact that Oxford, like most British towns & cities, were built long before motor vehicles were invented.
I used to love Oxford but last time I went there, four or five years ago, I couldn't wait to leave, the traffic and pollution were terrible.

I think it was worse then because, if I remember rightly, they were repaving the cornmarket then and it was hellish. The traffic in the centre is better (ie. it is quieter) than it was a few years back but worse round the station.

Cambridge is smaller, more intimate and just one of the best places to visit - plus my son is reading Law there!!!

well, my dad lives in Oxford so obviously it is the best!

Isn't this interesting? I can't think of any other two cities in UK that would have got such passionate responses if somebody had asked how they compare!

It is very true that they get passionate responses - actually I find it odd.
I probably should have added a :-)) to my last reply as I actually have no personal preferences ( was really trying very feebly to be funny). They are both different in feel/look/architecture to me, and I have strong family connections to both cities, so to me it is pointless trying to 'choose' one

I prefer Oxford (and I'm studying at Cambridge and lived most of my life in a village just north of Oxford) in terms of aesthetics - beautiful stone which is NATURALLY there, not dragged out into the fens like in Cbridge - compares with the cities of Southern Europe in beauty, lovely botanic garden, awesome museums etc., and it's generally more magical, with lovely plcaes to explore, passageways, beautiful villages nearby. ...but I just can't bear the pollution so I'm glad I'm here instead. It's not the business or the traffic per se - I like business and stuff going on - but after a day in Oxford you feel grotty and dirty. You can't breathe deeply and feel clean. It's really such a shame because it could be such a lovely city. Out here the air is crisp and clean, and there's not the vile haze you get in Oxford. Oxford doesn't have to be like it is. If only someone would be so very kind as to sort it out!