Cambridge Guide
Smart City: Cerebral Cambridge offers punts, pints and a plethora of sights
Daniel Allen
Around 60 miles north of London, Cambridge and its environs boast a lofty reputation as a centre of excellence for both learning and ambience.
Today the city's world famous colleges are home to over 17,000 students, while Cambridge's heritage includes an outstanding record of scientific and artistic achievement: Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Wordsworth, John Milton, Ian McKellan, John Cleese, Emma Thompson and Zadie Smith all studied here over the generations since Cambridge was founded in 1209.
Cambridge is one of Europe's oldest universities and was established by scholars who had left Oxford University.
Cambridge Attractions
Cambridge is a compact, vibrant and picturesque city, with the feel of a market town. Home to one of the world's top universities, it is also home to a fine collection of buildings, ranging from the eleventh century through to the modern day. The 31 Cambridge colleges alone offer a range of architectural styles spanning seven centuries. In short, it's the ideal place for a short break from London or an extended holiday.
As with Oxford, the city's rival in academic excellence, Cambridge's buildings have changed little over the years - visitors can wander the college buildings and experience them as countless historical luminaries once did.
Intellectual achievement seems to permeate the very walls of the place, as cyclists loaded with books negotiate narrow cobbled passageways, students relax on verdant lawns, and great minds debate life-changing research in historic pubs.
Visitors will discover a perfect slice of England in Cambridge. In addition to the colleges, the bustling market sits at the centre of it all, surrounded by thriving shops, bookshops, pubs, cafes and restaurants, as well as the best Cambridge accommodation.
Museums in Cambridge
Cambridge boasts superb museums and art galleries, and the University Botanical Gardens are renowned with 40 acres of gardens and glasshouses presenting flowers and plants from all over the world. The University Botanical Gardens in Cambridge date back to 1846.
Near the city are a whole range of attractions, from the excellent IWM Duxford to the stately home of Wimpole Hall, part of Wimpole Estate, an exquisite Georgian manor house and grounds, now owned by the National Trust.
Farther afield the cathedral cities of Peterborough and Ely offer more architectural delights. The cathedral in Ely is ancient and parts of the present building date back as far as the 11th century.
Founded in 1284, Peterhouse is the oldest surviving college in Cambridge, and along with Corpus Christi's "old court", a medieval building erected in 1352 by own guilds, is definitely worth a visit.
Peterhouse was founded way back in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely and today educates an elite of just over 200 undergraduates.
Corpus Christi is the sixth oldest college in Cambridge and visitors will remember their visit by the immaculate grass lawn in the court.
St. Bene't's Church became the chapel for the newly formed Corpus Christi College and continued as such until the 17th century. The college continues as a patron of the church today.
Cambridge Colleges
Each Cambridge college has its own individual character and reputation - Kings for its music, Trinity for its intellectual prowess, and Magdalen - which only began admitting women in 1988 - for its students being rather more interested in sport and drinking than study.
Cambridge boasts numerous cultural centres, the grandest being The Fitzwilliam Museum on Trumpington Street (free entry). Located in the heart of Cambridge, the Fitzwilliam Museum is one of the most iconic buildings in the Cambridge cityscape, its monumental neo-classic facade and columns just a short walk away from the central colleges and the River Cam.
With over half a million incredible artworks in its collection, the Fitzwilliam Museum is one of the most impressive regional museums in Europe, presenting world history and art from 2500 BC to the present day.
Backs & Punts
Behind the ornate facades and courtyards of Cambridge's various colleges, a series of green spaces line the River Cam. Running through the heart of Cambridge, this waterway gives visitors the chance to enjoy some fantastic views of the world famous Cambridge College "backs" from the comfort of a traditional Cambridge punt (a flat-bottomed wooden boat propelled by a wooden pole).
King's College Chapel, The Wren Library at Trinity College and the Bridge of Sighs are just some of the famous Cambridge landmarks you can expect to see during a 45 minute chauffeured punt tour. The latter, built in 1831 at St John's College, is best observed from the stylish bridge (Kitchen Bridge) designed by Wren just to the south, also on St John's grounds. It was named after the covered bridge in Venice, on which prisoners would sigh as they were escorted to their cells.
Great St. Mary's University Church is virtually next door to King's College Chapel and it was here that the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking's funeral was held.
Cambridge's oldest river crossing is Clare College Bridge, built in 1639 and decked out with decorative balls. It connects the two parts of Clare College. Rumour has it that the architect of the bridge received (what he considered to be) insufficient payment and cut out a segment of ball in a fit of pique.
Another explanation for the missing segment is that complete bridges were subject to a tax at the time of construction, and the missing segment made the bridge incomplete and hence untaxed.
Perhaps Cambridge's most curious bridge is a flimsy-looking wooden construction known as the Mathematical Bridge. Joining the two halves of Queen's College, it was first built in 1749. However, despite what your guide may tell you, it wasn't the handiwork of Sir Isaac Newton (who died in 1727), originally built without nails, or even taken apart by academics who couldn't figure out how to reconstruct it.
Cambridge Shops & Pubs
For a bit of retail therapy, try the Grand Arcade in the city centre, which boasts all the well-known store chains. Nearby in the Market Square on Market Street, a range of stalls sell local produce, trinkets and clothing from 10 am-4 pm every day except Sunday.
As a famous university town, it's hardly surprising that Cambridge has more than a few atmospheric pubs.
The Eagle on Benet Street is one of the oldest pubs in Cambridge, dating back to the fourteenth century.
At the other end of the extreme, The Flying Pig is perhaps the city's dirtiest, darkest watering hole, but compensates for this with loads of character.
For coffee and cake, and somewhere to tap away on your laptop alongside the Cambridge intelligentsia, look no further than Fitzbillies, a historic eatery on Trumpington Street, where the Chelsea buns are so popular you can even order them by post.
Access - getting to Cambridge
Cambridge Station is over a mile south east of the city centre off Hills Road. The number #3 bus runs into town to Emmanuel Street. Long distance buses leave from nearby Drummer Street bus station.
Cambridge Station has rail services to Liverpool Street Station in London via Tottenham Hale and Hackney Downs. The "Cambridge Cruiser" travels non-stop between London King's Cross and Cambridge with slower trains stopping at Finsbury Park Station (connections to the Piccadilly & Victoria tube lines), Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth Garden City and Baldock.
Other local lines run to King's Lynn, Ipswich and also Norwich.
CrossCountry connects Cambridge to Birmingham New Street Station in Birmingham and to Stansted Airport via Leicester and Peterborough.
By car Cambridge can be reached by the M11 motorway or A14.
It's definitely worth renting a car if you want to get to some of the more off-the-beaten track places in East Anglia and out to the Wash and Hunstanton, a quaint Victorian resort on the coast.
Cycling is a good way to get around Cambridge and there are cycle hire outlets all over town. Do take care to lock your bike securely.
Hire a car in Cambridge. Compare the biggest brands in UK car hire to get the cheapest deal on a variety of vehicles from compact cars to estates to SUVs.
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Accommodation
If you wish to stay in Cambridge there are several recommended options. These include the three-star Holiday Inn Express Cambridge, the three-star ibis Cambridge Central Station and the four-star Ramada Cambridge, a 20-minute drive from the centre.
Hotels in Cambridge
Cambridge Accommodation - Booking.com
Book Hotels in England - Booking.com