44 Must-See Literary Landmarks in the United Kingdom

6. The Magical Realism of Lewis's Oxford

The dreaming spires of Oxford have nurtured some of the greatest literary minds in history, none more so than C.S. Lewis, creator of The Chronicles of Narnia. The city’s grand colleges and medieval streets provided the perfect inspiration for Lewis’s fantastical worlds, where wardrobes lead to snow-covered realms and talking lions reign. A visit to The Eagle and Child, the historic pub where Lewis and his fellow Inklings, including J.R.R. Tolkien, met to discuss their work, is a must for literature lovers. The Bodleian Library, one of the world’s oldest, houses treasured manuscripts, while Oxford’s colleges—each with their own magical charm—offer an enchanting glimpse into the intellectual world that shaped Lewis’s imagination.