If you rent a car, Oxford breaks can be about more than just city sights - though what sights there are in this famous university city!

Explore your cultural side at Oxford University, Ashmolean Museum, Modern Art Oxford and the Museum of History of Science. Alternatively, experience the city's renowned architecture at the Radcliffe Camera or the Bodleian Library.

Oxford University is probably the most famous in the UK. It is made up of 38 colleges and has existed for more than nine centuries. Two of the best-known colleges are Christ Church and Magdalen and most are open to visit.

The Bodleian Library is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and the UK's largest university facility. It currently holds over nine million items. The Radcliffe Camera is also part of the university, housing reading rooms within its circular walls. It was built using funds donated by John Radcliffe in the eighteenth century.

Oxford has a great selection of museums and galleries. The Ashmolean Museum charts art and archaeology from the Neolithic era in 39 galleries. The Museum of Natural History includes the Oxford Dodo and a unique dinosaur collection. Used as a prison, Oxford Castle was built for William the Conqueror and was the setting for numerous public executions.

For something more scientific, try the Museum of the History of Science. Here, you can view over 10,000 scientific instruments, from cameras to sundials. And for excellent examples of modern and contemporary art, see the exhibitions at Modern Art Oxford. You can also take a boat trip along the Rivers Isis or Cherwell to view the city from a different angle, or head to the Botanic Garden for stunning displays of plants and garden features.

With so many places to visit and so much to see and do in and near Oxford, a hire car is a smart investment.

Book Oxford car rental as early as possible, securing a great deal using the price-comparison tool on TravelSupermarket. You can collect your vehicle at a convenient downtown location close to the city centre and the railway station.

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If you book car hire, Oxford and the stunning countryside around it are yours to explore at leisure.

Drive to Blenheim Palace, home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough. You can reach the palace and its 2,000 acres of gardens by road in around 25 minutes from Oxford. The birthplace of Winston Churchill, the palace will occupy hours of your time. There are guided tours of the house, walks in the gardens, a butterfly house, a maze and many exhibitions to capture your attention. It's also worth sparing time to see the antique shops and tearooms of the pretty village of Woodstock, which sits next to Blenheim Palace.

More natural beauty comes in the shape of the extensive woodlands and gardens of Harcourt Arboretum, which is a 10-minute drive south of Oxford. Part of the University of Oxford, some of Britain's oldest redwoods tower over the gloriously colourful flora at this year-round attraction.

If you're on a family trip, Cotswold Wildlife Park will amuse everyone with its giraffes, leopards, lemurs, meerkats and penguins. Alternatively, why not take a steam trip at the Didcot Railway Centre or head to Bicester Village outlet shopping centre (25 minuts from Oxford) for some retail therapy? Designer brands such as Dior, Mulberry, Prada and Stella McCartney can be snapped up here for a fraction of the original price.

Use TravelSupermarket's search and comparison powers and super deals on car hire in Oxford are at your fingertips.