Christ Church

Lonely Planet review

The largest and grandest of all of Oxford's colleges, Christ Church is also its most popular. The magnificent buildings, illustrious history and latter-day fame as a location for the Harry Potter films has tourists coming in droves.

The college was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey - who suppressed 22 monasteries to acquire the funds for his lavish building project - and over the years numerous luminaries have been educated here. Albert Einstein, philosopher John Locke, poet WH Auden and Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) all studied here, as did 13 British prime ministers.

The main entrance is below imposing Tom Tower, the upper part of which was designed by former student Sir Christopher Wren. Great Tom, the 7-ton tower bell, still chimes 101 times each evening at 21:05 (Oxford is five minutes west of Greenwich), to sound the curfew imposed on the original 101 students.

Mere visitors, however, are not allowed to enter the college this way and must go further down St Aldate's to the side entrance. Immediately on entering is the 15th-century cloister, a relic of the ancient Priory of St Frideswide, whose shrine was a focus of pilgrimage. From here you go up to the Great Hall, the college's magnificent dining room, with its hammer-beam roof and imposing portraits of past scholars.

Coming down the grand staircase you'll enter Tom Quad, Oxford's largest quadrangle, which was used as a cattle pen by Royalist forces during the Civil War. From the quad you enter Christ Church Cathedral, the smallest cathedral in the country. Inside, brawny Norman columns are topped by elegant vaulting, while beautiful, stained-glass windows adorn the walls. Look out for a rare depiction of the murder of Thomas Becket.

You can also explore another two quads and the Picture Gallery, with its modest collection of Renaissance art. To the south of the college is Christ Church Meadow, a leafy expanse bordered by the Isis and Cherwell rivers and ideal for leisurely walking.