Shopping in Oxford

Shopping near Oxford City Centre, Great Britain, is abundant and easy to find. A few of the more remarkable areas are George Street, Cornmarket Street, and The High Street. These streets form a chain of shopping districts, each historic, unique, and filled great shopping.

George Street has numerous shops between Cornmarket and Magdalen Street. There are historic sites dotting the street, like New Theatre Oxford, the Old Fire Station Theatre, and the world-famous Odeon cinema. The original Kebab Kid, famous for chicken kebabs, is directly across the street from the Odeon, so you can shop, eat, and sight-see all at once.

Cornmarket Street has many chain stores with a wide variety of items for sale. The historic Covered Market, dating to 1774, is between Cornmarket and Turl Streets. The original market was intended to clear unsanitary animal stalls from the streets of Oxford. Fresh food is still sold there today. Butchers, bakers and candlestick makers are all within the bustling market place, with gift shops and sandwich shops side by side. Adjacent to the market, Golden Cross Alley has premium boutique shops.

Also connected to the Covered Market is the world-famous High Street, which pierces the heart of the city. Commonly called The High, it is a wonderment of historical buildings belonging to Oxford University, Queens' College, and University College. The view is so inspiring that these buildings have made this stretch of road the subject of many painting and photographs.

Queen's Lane Coffee House, Oxford's first coffee house, is on The High. So are many small, specialized retailers from goldsmiths Payne & Son to print sellers Sanders of Oxford, from Waterfield's Books to freelance photographers. Some of these shops have been in business since the 1800's. The selection is eclectic and delightful prompting architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner's 1974 comment, "The High Street is one of the world’s great streets. It has everything."