Oxford is small, walkable, and surprisingly dense with things worth seeing. The natural starting point is the Courthouse Square — the literal centre of town and the model for the square in Faulkner's Jefferson — with the antebellum Lafayette County Courthouse at its middle and ringed with independent bookshops, restaurants, and bars. Square Books is one of the most celebrated independent bookstores in the South and could easily eat half a morning.
A short walk southwest brings you to Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's home for thirty-two years, kept much as he left it. North of town the University of Mississippi campus has its own slow walking circuit through The Grove, the Lyceum, and the University Museum. Outside town, the lakes and woods of the Sardis Reservoir and the Holly Springs National Forest make for good half-day escapes.