Oxford vs. Cambridge

How is MoTown these days!

Still Water, Wealth, Contentment and Health?

Stanislaus Class of 72’

Anyway, how many days for this return trip?
Believe that will dictate whether you can journey to and comfortably explore either.

About an 1.5 by train to each of them.

If you like Inspector Morse with John Thaw or Endeavour with Shaun Evans…then Oxford

If you liked The Theory of Everything or Silent Witness then Cambridge.

Double check for festivals and dates of summer vacation for both universities.

I prefer Cambridge. The Eagle Pub was a favorite of American pilots during WWII and it is where Watson and Crick first announced their discovery of the structure of DNA. And King's College chapel and evensong are sublime.

I've stayed overnight in both places and think you'd find either one very enjoyable. Cambridge feels somewhat more intimate, though there's not a major difference in the cities' populations.

At the moment part of the rail line to Oxford is out of service, so the trip takes longer than usual. The NationalRail website indicates the situation is scheduled to persist through June 9. I don't know how reliable that date is or what day you would take the trip. The trains depart from Paddington or Marylebone with the Paddington trains currently being considerably faster--51+ minutes vs. 78+ minutes.

Trains for Cambridge depart from Kings Cross (48+ minutes), Liverpool Street (65+ minutes) and St. Pancras (70 minutes). There are already some 9 GBP (one-way) Advance tickets for sale from Liverpool Street.

Perhaps one of the outbound stations mentioned above is a lot more convenient to your hotel than others.

Honestly, sometimes when I’m in one of them I forget which one I’m in. Not that they look exactly alike or anything, but it’s the same vibe.

At the moment the London Paddington to Oxford rail line is not functioning - at least until June - so that would make me lean towards Cambridge at the moment.

I have visited both cities and universities and both have lots of history to enjoy. Cambridge seems more impressive from an architectural standpoint.

If you saw the movie Chariots of Fire (about Brits in the Paris Olympics decades ago) you would recognize places in Cambridge.

I honestly don't know what Rick says on the subject, but even if the Oxford rail line was open I would lean to Cambridge as a preference. I would go further and also try to squeeze in Ely- the next town north, especially for it's Cathedral.

I've not visited Oxford , certainly it is a hard choice . I first visited Cambridge on my first trip to The UK in 2010 , and was throroughly taken with the place . So much so . that I'll be spending a week there this coming Autumn . A surfeit of beautiful architecture , from many periods of English history , and numerous sites to visit . As an aside , you can watch this film from 1985 to get a feel for the city and the university . Two hours ( in four half hour segments ) - https://youtu.be/Y2YIKQ5T1dY

If you go to the album crossing at Abbey Road, please be careful as the road is very busy. I crossed a few times back in 2011 just to recreate the cover (thanks Photoshop).

I spent a few days in Cambridge years ago. There were lots of activities around. I did a brass rubbing and also did a bell ringing tour ( sounds silly, but was very interesting ! ).