Oxford
Arguably the world’s most famous university town, Oxford is graced by superb college architecture and oozes questing youthfulness, and despite its views across the meadows to the city’s golden spires appearing in 30% of English period dramas, their beauty never seems to wear thin.
Back in the real world, Oxford is not just the turf of toffs and boffs: it was a major car-manufacturing centre until the terminal decline of the British car industry and is now a thriving centre of service industries. The pick of the colleges are Christ Church, Merton and Magdalen, but nearly all them are drenched in atmosphere, history, privilege and tradition. Don’t kid yourself, you wouldn’t have studied any harder in such august surroundings.