Registration is sorted, you’ve booked your accommodation, planned your transport and are set for your event in Cambridge. If you find yourself at a loose end when the day’s conference sessions and meetings have finished don’t panic, there are lots of activities waiting for you to enjoy in one of the UK’s best small cities. Here are 12 of the best…
1. Take a Punt!
Enjoy a chauffeured punt along one of the UK's most beautiful waterways, the River Cam. Take in the sights under the watchful eye of an experienced punter or give it a go yourself! Punting is a quintessential English activity and a tour a long the world-famous Cambridge College ‘Backs’ is one of the many pleasures of a visit to Cambridge! Punting companies operate from various points along the river. More information can be found here.
2. Tread in the Steps of Famous Alumni
An Official Green or Blue Badge Cambridge guided walking tour is the best way to see this special city, to find out more about the Colleges and why we are so well known across the world!
Cambridge is one of the best small cities in the UK and better explored on foot, every corner tells a story; discover characters from the past and find out how Cambridge's ideas shaped and changed the world we live in today.
Lots of different tours take place daily, so you can experience these magnificent buildings and hear insightful and fascinating facts, stories and myths. More information can be found here.
3. University of Cambridge Museums
Together, the eight University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden represent the UK’s highest concentration of internationally important collections outside London. With more than five million works of art, artefacts, and specimens, the collections have supported nearly 300 years of investigation into the world around us. Visit the internationally renowned Fitzwilliam Museum to browse over half a million objects or stop by the Polar Museum for penguins, paintings, sleeping bags, sextants, Inuit art and explorers’ diaries! Find a museum to visit here.
4. Cambridge Pubs
The city offers lots of choices for those who like a tipple, including one with its own on-site micro-brewery, plenty of riverside venues or cosy country pubs full of olde-worlde village charm. History and culture are never far away in Cambridge; why not stop for a pint at The Eagle pub where Nobel Prize winners Crick and Watson sketched the structure of DNA on a napkin? Or why not set your sights high with a drink at the rooftop bar at the Varsity Hotel & Spa, which offers fantastic views across the city.
5. Bat Safaris on the Cam
Take to the River Cam at dusk for a chance to see and hear the local bat population. Tours are led by Wildlife Trust Bat experts and special detectors make the bats’ sonic signals audible to the human ear. The result is like a modern orchestra score of amazing clicks and buzzes. You might even be lucky enough to see the mother bats flying alongside their little bat pups. Book here at the Wildlife Trust website.
6. Green Spaces
Whether it’s watching tourists falling in the river after a punting mishap, cycling alongside the locals or hanging out in one of the many parks or open spaces, Cambridge has 7 square miles of green public spaces. You can grab some takeaway drinks from Cambridge Wine Merchants on Bridge Street and sit by the Quayside, have a picnic on Parker’s Piece or if you’re into swimming, then Jesus Green Lido, one of Europe’s largest outdoor swimming pools is open until 7.30 pm in the summer months.
7. Grantchester
Take a quiet evening punt out to Grantchester, a quintessential English village and the location for the TV drama of the same name. Located on the outskirts of Cambridge and featured in the 1912 Rupert Brooke poem ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’, visitors can enjoy a bite to eat in one of its traditional inns, then walk back to Cambridge through the ancient meadows. If it’s a bit rainy never fear – umbrellas and blankets are provided by the punting companies!
8. King’s College Chapel
No visit to Cambridge is complete without stepping inside its most iconic building, King’s College Chapel, which took over 100 years to build! See the spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling, it’s the world’s largest! Step towards the far end of the chapel and take in the incredible Adoration of the Magi by Rubens and wonder at the beautiful stained-glass windows. Self-guided tours are available, and tickets can be booked online.
9. Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Cambridge University Botanic Garden holds a collection of over 8,000 plant species from all over the world and it’s a beautiful place for everyone to enjoy, whatever the weather. Talk a stroll through a series of wonderful landscapes bursting with colour to discover quiet corners lakes and historic glasshouses. Find out more.
10. The Cambridge Gin Laboratory
Cambridge Gin Laboratory is an interactive space in the heart of Cambridge, dedicated to the appreciation of everyone's favourite spirit – gin! Owned and operated by the world-famous Cambridge Distillery, the Gin Lab contains a beautifully well-appointed classroom, shop, tasting lounge and private hire room. Discover more about the history of gin production and the innovative approach to distillation used by the Cambridge Distillery - and most importantly, try the range of world-class gins for yourself...
11. Food for Thought
Cambridge is brimming with artisan makers, bakers, brewers and baristas, discover a range of independent eateries, coffee shops and delicatessens. Try a world-famous Fitzbillies Chelsea Bun, a scoop or two of Jack's Gelato or some of the best Pasticcini in the exquisite Dulcis. For coffee lovers, check out Bould Brothers and for pizza, you can’t beat Aromi for a slice of Sicilian life! Take a walk around the city centre and find a spot to watch the world go over a plate of something delicious or eat your way around the delightful food stalls in the market square. Walk it all off with a wander to Mill Road and discover a mile-long stretch of quirky shops, cosy cafes and international restaurants.
12. Lose Yourself in a Historic Library
A number of the Cambridge Colleges open their doors to visitors, and we’d recommend taking some time to step inside these historic buildings - just imagine the famous writers, thinkers and scientists that will have walked those paths before you! As well as the grounds and gardens, many Colleges will also invite you to visit their libraries, there are over 100 in the city! Visit the famous Wren Library to see Sir Issac Newton’s annotated copy of Principia Mathematica and the original AA Milne’s Winne the Pooh or take in the Parker Library with its internationally renowned collection of medieval and renaissance manuscripts. The stunning, riverside, Pepy’s Library is a rare example of 17-Century private library where books are on display in the original oak cases, designed by Pepy’s in 1666.
We hope you enjoy your time in our beautiful city! Don't forget to share your pictures with us!