OK, my diploma requires me to make such overreaching statements. The city of Oxford is a college town at heart, because it hosts the University of Oxford - one of the great intellectual institutions in the world. My camera took a peak at the courtyard of one of the colleges, and it feels stately even at a distance.
The University of Oxford is the oldest English-speaking university in the world. It was established in 1096. It really took off in 1167, when King Henry II wouldn't allow English students to go to the University of Paris. The buildings display a great variety of English architectural styles, and they seem to have an aura that reflects education. The list of "superstar" students is a long one, including 73 Nobel Prize laureates. Graduates have won 160 Olympic medals, and this is where Oxford student Roger Bannister broke this four-minute mile. So maybe that sound mind/sound body stuff is true.
That's not the whole town, naturally. Manufacturing, publishing, and information technologies also thrive in this city of more than 160,000.
From the tourist standpoint, the university and its surroundings are a charming place for a walk.
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