The best things to do in Cambridge

The big sights

The famous colleges sit side by side along the river, a few minutes apart.

1. 01

   King's College Chapel

   Landmark

   

   The emblem of Cambridge and one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe. Begun by Henry VI and finished under Henry VIII, the chapel is roofed with the largest fan vault in the world, a canopy of stone that seems to float above walls made almost entirely of 16th-century stained glass. Behind the altar hangs Rubens's Adoration of the Magi. The choir is famous worldwide for its Christmas Eve service of carols, but you can hear it sing evensong during term.

   Tip: Attending a choral service lets you experience the chapel as it was meant to be used. Arrive early to queue.

2. 02

   The Backs

   Nature

   

   The stretch of lawns, gardens and meadows where the colleges back onto the River Cam. From the far bank you get the view that defines the city: King's College Chapel rising above the grass, with cows sometimes grazing in the foreground. Walk along Queen's Road and cut through whichever college gates are open. In early spring the banks are carpeted with crocuses and daffodils.

3. 03

   Trinity College

   Landmark

   

   The largest and wealthiest of the Cambridge colleges, founded by Henry VIII, whose statue stands over the Great Gate holding a chair leg in place of a sceptre, thanks to a student prank long ago. Beyond lies Great Court, a vast quadrangle with a fountain at its centre. Isaac Newton studied and taught here; an apple tree outside the gate is said to descend from his famous one. The Wren Library, by the river, holds his notebooks and A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh manuscripts.

4. 04

   St John's College and the Bridge of Sighs

   Landmark

   

   Next door to Trinity, St John's spreads across both banks of the river through a sequence of ever-grander courts. The two halves are joined by the Bridge of Sighs, a covered Victorian Gothic bridge named after the one in Venice and one of the most photographed sights in the city. You see it best from the water, or from the older Kitchen Bridge beside it. The college's Victorian chapel tower is a landmark for miles around.

On the river

1. 05

   Punting on the Cam

   Activity

   

   The best way to see the colleges is from a punt, sliding under a succession of bridges along the Backs: the wooden Mathematical Bridge at Queens', Clare Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs. Hire your own and steer with the pole, or sit back on a chauffeured tour and listen to the stories, some of them true. It takes under an hour and it is unmissable, even if the river resembles a dodgem track on a sunny Saturday.

   Tip: Go early or late in the day for a calmer river. In Cambridge, the punter stands on the flat deck at the back.

2. 06

   Grantchester

   Day trip

   Follow the footpath upstream across the meadows and in under an hour you reach the village of Grantchester, all thatch, church tower and riverside pubs. The poet Rupert Brooke lived here and immortalised it in verse. The tradition is tea and scones in a deckchair under the apple trees at the Orchard Tea Garden, where Brooke, Virginia Woolf and their friends once did the same. On a hot day, some people punt all the way.

Museums and gardens

1. 07

   Fitzwilliam Museum

   Museum

   

   The university's art museum is a temple of marble and mosaic on Trumpington Street, and the collection lives up to the entrance hall. There are Egyptian coffins, Greek vases and medieval manuscripts downstairs, and upstairs paintings by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet and the English masters. It is one of the best museums in the country outside London, and rarely crowded. Give it at least a couple of hours.

2. 08

   Kettle's Yard

   Museum

   

   A row of cottages knocked together by a former Tate curator, Jim Ede, and filled with his collection of 20th-century art. Paintings and sculptures by artists such as Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska sit among pebbles, plants and well-worn furniture. Everything is exactly where he placed it, and you are welcome to sit in the chairs. It is an intimate, calming place, quite unlike a conventional gallery.

   Tip: Entry to the house is by timed ticket, which is worth reserving ahead.

3. 09

   Cambridge University Botanic Garden

   Nature

   

   Forty acres of gardens between the station and the centre, laid out in the 1840s by John Henslow, the professor who taught Charles Darwin. There are majestic old trees, a lake, a rock garden, a scented garden and a long range of glasshouses that take you from alpine peaks to steamy tropics. It is beautiful in every season and has plenty of room for children to run about. A good way to start or end a day if you arrive by train.

Eat and drink

1. 10

   The Eagle

   Nightlife

   The most famous pub in Cambridge, on Bene't Street. In 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson, regulars from the nearby Cavendish Laboratory, came in at lunchtime and announced that they had discovered the structure of DNA. Go through to the back bar and look up: the ceiling is covered with the names and squadron numbers of British and American airmen, burned on with candles and lighters during the Second World War.

2. 11

   Fitzbillies

   Food

   

   A Cambridge bakery that has been feeding students since 1920. It is known for one thing above all: the Chelsea bun, a spiral of soft dough packed with currants and drenched in a dark, outrageously sticky syrup. The original shop, with its Art Nouveau frontage, is on Trumpington Street near the Fitzwilliam Museum. Buy one to eat in, and a box to take home.

3. 12

   Cambridge Market

   Market

   

   Traders have set up in the square in front of Great St Mary's church since the Middle Ages. The stalls sell fruit, bread, cheese, flowers, second-hand books and bicycles, plus street food from around the world. It is handy for a picnic to take down to the river. While you are there, climb the church tower for a rooftop view over King's College and the market below.

Day trips

1. 13

   Ely

   Day trip

   

   A short train ride north across the flat, wide-skied Fens brings you to the tiny city of Ely and its enormous cathedral. Known as the Ship of the Fens, it can be seen for miles, rising from what was once an island in the marshes. Inside, the Octagon, a medieval lantern tower of timber and glass above the crossing, is one of the wonders of English architecture. Oliver Cromwell's house is nearby, and the riverside is pleasant for lunch.

2. 14

   IWM Duxford

   Museum

   

   South of Cambridge, a historic airfield that played a leading part in the Battle of Britain is now one of the great aviation museums of Europe. Its hangars hold Spitfires, a Lancaster, a Concorde you can walk through and a striking hall of American aircraft. The site is large, so wear comfortable shoes. On air show days, historic planes take to the sky above the runway.

Where to stay in Cambridge

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  ★★★★

  Hilton Cambridge City Centre

  Cambridge

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  From £195 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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  Cambridge

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  From £299 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 04:22

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  From £167 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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  Hyatt Centric Cambridge

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  From £92 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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  Quy Mill Hotel & Spa, Cambridge

  Cambridge

  Pool · 51 rooms · Parking

  From £116 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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  Cambridge Bar Hill Hotel BW Signature Collection

  Cambridge

  Pool · Pets allowed · Parking

  From £77 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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  Du Vin Bistro Cambridge

  Cambridge

  41 rooms · Pets allowed

  From £243 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 04:22

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  Graduate by Hilton Cambridge

  Cambridge

  Pets allowed · Parking

  From £182 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:37

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