TO fully appreciate why Oxford is known as ‘the city of dreaming spires’ the visitor should see it from above.

For vantage points, you are spoiled for choice, with a number of church towers offering birds’ eye views of the county town of Oxfordshire and its prestigious university.

We were encouraged to climb the spiral, but thankfully short, stone staircase at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin on High Street, a wide, elegant thoroughfare bordered by fine colleges including Magdalen, Queen’s and University College.

The university is made up of 38 self-governing colleges, and seem to stretch for mile, the awe-inspiring architecture filling countless camera lenses. No wonder the Victorian poet Matthew Arnold penned the famous ‘dreaming spires’ line in his poem ‘Thyrsis’.

Claimed to be the oldest university in the English speaking world, the exact date on which the university was founded is unclear, but teaching existed at Oxford as far back as 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167 when Henry ll fell out with the French and banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

To get under the skin of this fascinating and beautiful city, I strongly recommend an official tour. We signed up for a two-hour city tour with Experience Oxfordshire. Meeting our guide Kate at Oxford Visitor Information Centre on Broad Street, we were given an interesting insight into college life, including a visit to Balliol College which, along with Merton and University, lays claim to being the oldest in Oxford.

Sitting in the grand dining hall, with paintings of past masters and alumni, including former prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath, adorning the walls, Kate explained some of the age-old traditions that live on.

Two rovers run through Oxford, we were told - the Cherwell and the Thames, known locally as Isis. It is from this riverside location that Oxford got its name in Saxon times: Oxenaforda or ‘ford of the oxen.’

Kate took our small group to what is said to be among the most beautiful rooms in the world, the 15th century Divinity School at the historic Bodleian Library. Intricately carved from stone, the decorative ceiling has to be seen to be believed.

She pointed out the domed roof of the historic Radcliffe Camera reading rooms, Oxford's very own Bridge of Sighs and the TARDIS-like Blackwell’s bookshop, whose Norrington Room holds a place in the Guinness Book of Records as having the largest single display of books in the world.

We could not have stayed at a more wonderful location, and one with links to Oxford’s literary elite. Recently refurbished, the Mercure Oxford Eastgate stands opposite the university’s Examination Schools. Its sense of history is palpable, for good reason - in a former life, the mellow stone townhouse was frequented by famous novelists JR Tolkein and CS Lewis.

Rooms are charming and comfortable, staff welcoming and friendly, and the location just off High Street, with its mix of colleges, shops and cafes, cannot be bettered. It was a short walk to Christ Church Meadow and on to the Thames, where we watched college rowing teams practise.

There’s another advantage to staying in the Mercure - the hotel has within it Marco’s New York Italian restaurant, serving an array of dishes from Italian sharing platters, including pastas, pizzas and steaks. I enjoyed a great American beef burger with chips and salad, while my husband loved his lasagne Bolognese al forno. Prices are extremely reasonable and a mention must be given to the hotel and restaurant staff, who were so friendly and helpful.

Oxford is so much more than the university. During our two days in the city we walked beside Oxford Canal, browsed in fabulous shops, visited a charming covered market and strolled around art galleries and museums.

These include the marvellous Oxford University Museum of Natural History with its dinosaur skeletons and remains of a dodo. It leads to the mind-boggling Pitt Rivers Museum, housing the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford. Artefacts collected from around the world include disturbing tribal masks to intricately-made jewellery, children’s toys, clothing and weaponry.

In the town centre stands the Ashmolean Museum of art and archaeology, the world’s first university museum, dating from the late 17th century when a building was erected to house the curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave the University of Oxford.

There is something for everyone - permanent exhibitions contain art from all time periods and places, from ancient Egyptian to Mughal India, Early Italian, Japanese, German and Flemish, up to modern day. A special Andy Warhol exhibition runs until May 15.

Sadly, we did not have time to visit the Museum of the History of Science, which is home to a collection of scientific instruments and artefacts.

Too much to do, too much to see - we plan to return.

Factfile:

Mercure Oxford Eastgate, 73 High Street, Oxfordshire, Oxford OX1 4BE

T:01865 248332

W: mercure.com/Oxford-hotels; mpwrestaurants.co.uk/marcos-oxford

T: 01865 248695

officialtours@experienceoxfordshire.org; Oxford Visitor Information Centre, 15-16 Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3AS

T: 01865 686430.