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Carfax is the junction of St Aldate's (south), Cornmarket Street (north), Queen Street (west) and the High Street (east) in Oxford, England. It is considered to be the centre of the city. The name "Carfax" derives from the Latin quadrifurcus via the French carrefour, both of which mean "crossroads". The Carfax Tower, also known as St. Martin's Tower (it is the remaining part of what was the City Church of St. Martin of Tours) is a prominent landmark and provides a look-out over the town.

Golden Cross (also previously known as the Cross Inn) is a shopping arcade at 5 Cornmarket Street in central Oxford, England. The original structure on the site dates from 1193, when it was called Maugershall after the then owner, and consisted of shops with an inn on the upper storeys. The building structures now on the site date from the late 15th century, when they were used as a traditional coaching inn, as is clear from its layout and historical documents. The collection of historic buildings in the Golden Cross courtyard to the east off Cornmarket Street, one of Oxford's main shopping streets. Golden Cross is now used as Oxford's branch of Pizza Express. The courtyard is used as a thoroughfare which leads to the historic Covered Market and has been redeveloped as a small shopping centre, with upmarket shops, a branch of iGlasses Opticians, Holland and Barrett and a Chinese herbalist. There is strong but circumstantial evidence to link the buildings with William Shakespeare, given his player's company's known performances in Oxford and the route from Stratford-on-Avon to London passing through Oxford. It is believed that Hamlet was performed in the inn courtyard and a signature that is reputedly his can be seen on the wall in the bursar's office on the first floor of the adjacent building occupied by New College, Oxford. The buildings were comprehensively restored in 1986/87 by Cordwell Property and Mal Parker of Dunthorne Parker Architects when the buildings were converted into a variety of retail uses, and a new structure carefully integrated into the existing building ranges to allow a sensitively constructed direct route through to the adjacent Covered Market. This covered market was constructed in 1774 so as to relocate the stalls previously pitched on the Cornmarket. but no direct access had been possible from the main retail street of Cornmarket up until the completion of this development. The poet Alexander Pope stayed here in 1735. The 15th century buildings have original timberwork and there are various examples of early wall paintings and hand painted wallpaper on the upper floors of the building, still easily accessible and viewable via the pizza restaurant that currently occupies the upper floors of the north range of buildings.

The St Scholastica Day riot took place in Oxford, England, on 10 February 1355, Saint Scholastica's Day. The disturbance began when two students from the University of Oxford complained about the quality of wine served to them in the Swindlestock Tavern, which stood on Carfax, in the centre of the town. The students quarrelled with the taverner; the argument quickly escalated to blows. The inn's customers joined in on both sides, and the resulting melee turned into a riot. The violence started by the bar brawl continued over three days, with armed gangs coming in from the countryside to assist the townspeople. University halls and students' accommodation were raided and the inhabitants murdered; there were some reports of clerics being scalped. Around 30 townsfolk were killed, as were up to 63 members of the university. Violent disagreements between townspeople and students had arisen several times previously, and 12 of the 29 coroners' courts held in Oxford between 1297 and 1322 concerned murders by students. The University of Cambridge was established in 1209 by scholars who left Oxford following the lynching of two students by the town's citizens. King Edward III sent judges to the town with commissions of oyer and terminer to determine what had gone on and to advise what steps should be taken. He came down on the side of the university authorities, who were given additional powers and responsibilities to the disadvantage of the town's authorities. The town was fined 500 marks and its mayor and bailiffs were sent to the Marshalsea prison in London. John Gynwell, the Bishop of Lincoln, imposed an interdict on the town for one year, which banned all religious practices, including services (except on key feast days), burials and marriages; only baptisms of young children were allowed. An annual penance was imposed on the town: each year, on St Scholastica's Day, the mayor, bailiffs and sixty townspeople were to attend a Mass at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin for those killed; the town was also made to pay the university a fine of one penny for each scholar killed. The practice was dropped in 1825; in 1955—the 600th anniversary of the riots—in an act of conciliation the mayor was given an honorary degree and the vice-chancellor was made an honorary freeman of the city.

The Museum of Oxford (MOX) is a history museum in Oxford, England, covering the history of Oxford and its people. The museum includes both permanent and temporary displays featuring artefacts relating to Oxford's history from prehistoric times to the present day. The museum also acts as a public meeting space which people and organisations rent for both public and private events. Other activities facilitated by the museum include frequent public talks by historians and local cultural organisations, organised school tours, family activities, adult learning workshops, and an older people's program.The museum contains a gift shop stocked with items related to Oxford's history and cultural heritage, including books, toys, food, clothing, postcards. The museum is situated in Oxford city centre, located inside Oxford Town Hall on St Aldate's Street.

Oxford Town Hall is a public building on the street called St Aldate's in central Oxford, England. It is both the seat of Oxford City Council and a venue for public meetings, entertainment and other events. It also includes the Museum of Oxford. Although Oxford is a city with its own charter, the building is referred to as the "Town Hall". It is Oxford's third seat of government to have stood on the same site. The present building, completed in 1897, is Grade II* listed.

The Clarendon Centre (or Clarendon Shopping Centre) is a shopping centre in central Oxford, England, opened in 1984. The centre faces Cornmarket Street, and has other entrances onto Queen Street and Shoe Lane. The fascia onto Cornmarket Street is that of the Woolworths store which had, in a decision later criticised, replaced the Georgian Clarendon Hotel; it was discovered during demolition that medieval construction had been present within the hotel. The shopping centre was expanded in 2012–14. Major tenants include TK Maxx, H&M and Gap Outlet.

Cornmarket Street (colloquially referred to as Cornmarket or historically The Corn) is a major shopping street and pedestrian precinct in Oxford, England that runs north to south between Magdalen Street and Carfax Tower.To the east is the Golden Cross arcade of small jewellery and craft shops in a courtyard, leading to the Covered Market. To the west is the indoor Clarendon Shopping Centre that connects in an L-shape to Queen Street. Cornmarket was semi-pedestrianised and made a limited-access street in 1999. Cycling is allowed 6pm to 10am. In 2002, it was voted Britain's second worst street in a poll of listeners to the Today programme. The rating was largely due to a failed attempt to repave the street in 2001. The granite setts, which had been laid extensively, cracked and the contractor went into liquidation. In 2003, it was repaved again and new benches installed, amidst reports of budgetary problems.

The Story Museum is a museum in Oxford, England. It aims to encourage education and support community engagement by exploring all forms of stories. It is a registered charity under English law.Highlights include a Whispering Wood, an Enchanted Library and Small Worlds, a dedicated space for younger children as well as a 100-seat theatre, a learning studio and a temporary exhibition space. In addition to welcoming public visitors and school groups to its Galleries, the Museum also delivers an extensive public programme, including skills courses, workshops, drop-in activities and access visits for those wanting to enjoy the Museum in a more relaxed way, alongside a programme of funded community and school participation projects with targeted groups. The Museum attracts up to 100,000 visitors a year.

Queen Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in central Oxford, England. It is one-way (west to east) for buses and taxis, two-way for cyclists outside main shopping hours, and forbidden for cars. It runs west from the centre of Oxford at Carfax. Here it adjoins Cornmarket Street to the north (also pedestrianised), the High Street continuing east, and St Aldate's to the south. Halfway along on the north side is an entrance to the Clarendon Centre, a shopping centre. At the western end is Bonn Square, named after the German city of Bonn with which Oxford is twinned, and the Westgate Shopping Centre, where the old city gate to the west used to be located. New Inn Hall Street leads north from near here. Close by is the mound of Oxford Castle and the former Oxford Prison off New Road, which leads on to the west towards the Oxford railway station. In the 13th century, the street was known as the Bailey due to its proximity with the castle. Cattle were slaughtered and the meat sold here, so the street later became known as Butcher Row. The slaughtering of animals in the street was outlawed by the Oxford Mileways Act of 1771 and the butchers moved to the Covered Market. The street was then named Queen Street after Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, who both visited Oxford in 1785. There were many gabled and timber-framed buildings here until the late 19th century. Until 1932, there was a showroom for Morris Garages in the street. In 1970, the street was pedestrianised. The buildings have mostly been replaced with modern stores, such as the Marks & Spencer shop on the south side of the street, built in 1975–8.

St Aldate's is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Oxford, in the Deanery and Diocese of Oxford. The church is on the street named St Aldate's, opposite Christ Church college and next door to Pembroke College. The church has a large congregation and has a staff team of about 30 which includes clergy, pastoral and administrative staff. The offices of the Rector and other members of staff are at 40 Pembroke Street.

The Covered Market is a historic market with permanent stalls and shops in a large covered structure in central Oxford, England.

Ben's Cookies is an international chain of shops that bake and sell cookies. After making cookies at home, Helge Rubinstein opened a stall to sell them in Oxford's Covered Market in 1984. The cookies can usually be purchased warm as they are baked on-site in the shops. The first store was in Oxford's covered market. The stores are mainly in London, but also in other UK cities, New York and other countries.The company was named after Rubinstein's son Ben, and the logo was created by the British artist Quentin Blake, a friend of the family.Ben's Cookies currently has numerous stores in the United Kingdom, including Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, London, and Reading. It has also opened stores overseas in South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Bangkok and Manila.