Suzannah Lipscomb's Oxford: My Kind of Town What's the first thing you do? I go to Blackwell's Book Shop (48-51 Broad Street), which serves excellent coffee and you can just gather up some books and read them to your heart's content. Where is the best place to stay? I would recommend the Old Parsonage Hotel (01865 310210; oldparsonage-hotel.co.uk; doubles from £220), a beautiful building in St Giles on the Banbury Road. They do lovely teas in the afternoon and it gives the sense of staying in a Cotswolds cottage. There are a couple of options such as The Turf Tavern (01865 243 235; theturftavern.co.uk), which has become very popular, or The Trout (01865 510930; thetroutoxford.co.uk) just outside Oxford in Wolvercote. If you want cocktails, the obvious place to go is the Duke of Cambridge (01865 558 173; dukebar.com), which now has a picture of Prince William outside. Quod Brasserie (01865 202505; quod.co.uk) on the High Street is wonderful and does very good French and Italian food at a fraction of London prices. Or there's the relatively recently opened restaurant on the top floor of the Ashmolean (01865 553823; ashmoleandiningroom.com). The first choice has to be Gee's (08165 553540; gees-restaurant.co.uk), which is up on the Banbury Road and serves modern European food in a conservatory and is completely lovely. Or I would suggest The Cherwell Boathouse (01865 552746; cherwellboathouse.co.uk). I would tell them to begin on the High Street and go down Logic Lane towards the cobbled streets around Merton College and potter around there and also Corpus Christi College and Oriel. Then head to Christ Church Meadow and wander by the river and have a picnic. If you go during exam time be careful to avoid the students and being sprayed with prosecco! Obviously go to the Ashmolean (1865 278002; ashmolean.org) for the new exhibition spaces and also the Divinity School at the Bodleian (01865 277162; bodleian.ox.ac.uk), which is beautiful and you can go on a tour around there. George Street at night can get out of control. Something from the covered market as there are some lovely delicatessens there, so some cheese or other gifts. There's a good Oxfam book shop (15 Turl Street), opposite Lincoln College, and St Philip's Books on St Aldgate is good for history and theology. Perhaps somewhere like Worcester. Although it does have some lovely Tudor parts, vast amounts of it are taken up by the usual suspects and shops you would find everywhere. Suzannah Lipscomb presents 'Bloody Tales," which is currently on the National Geographic channel on Wednesday nights at 10pm. Oxford city break guide Read our insider's guide to Oxford, featuring the city's best hotels, restaurants, bars, shops and attractions, as chosen by our expert Gail Simmons. Overview Oxford's best hotels Attractions Restaurants Nightlife Shopping Itineraries