His Dark Materials: Lyra's Oxford

Lyra Belacqua lives at Jordan College, a fictional Oxford college in a parallel universe, where she watches the Master poison wine meant for Lord Asriel and warns him in time. Pullman drew the place from his own college: Jordan's location and layout are analogous to Exeter's, and the novel exaggerates it into a maze of tunnels, cellars and vaults below ground. Exeter itself has stood on Turl Street since 1315.

Location precision: Jordan College is fictional and only analogous to Exeter, so the pin marks the real college that inspired it.

Visitor guidance: Exeter College is on Turl Street; check the college's visiting hours before you go.

When Lyra flees into London she is found by the Gyptians, canal-faring nomads, and Jericho is a mooring point for their boats. Pullman set parts of Northern Lights and Lyra's Oxford here, and the name Jordan was partly inspired by the area. The real suburb grew up beside the Oxford Canal, which arrived in 1790.

Location precision: The novel names Jericho only as a mooring point; the pin marks the suburb's centre, not a particular wharf.

Visitor guidance: Walk the Oxford Canal towpath through Jericho.

In the film of Northern Lights, The Golden Compass, Christ Church, Oxford played Jordan College. Filming began at Shepperton Studios on 4 September 2006. Christ Church's Tom Quad is the largest quadrangle in Oxford.

Location precision: Jordan is fictional; the pin marks Christ Church, the real college used as Jordan in the film.

Visitor guidance: Christ Church is a working college that is open to visitors; check opening times first.

For the BBC and HBO series His Dark Materials, which opens with Lyra living among the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, the filmmakers chose a different real college. The location used for filming Jordan for the TV series was New College.

Location precision: Jordan is fictional; the pin marks New College, the real college used as Jordan in the series.

At the end of the trilogy, Lyra and Will are parted. A bench at the back of the Oxford Botanic Garden stands in both of their worlds, and they promise to sit on it for an hour at noon on Midsummer's day every year, hoping to feel each other's presence. The bench is now a place of pilgrimage for fans, and since 2019 a sculpture by Julian Warren stands behind it.

Visitor guidance: Check the garden's opening hours and ticket price before you go.