Things to do in Cambridge

Cambridge is a university town on the River Cam, about 50 minutes from London King's Cross by fast train. The university dates from the early 13th century. The colleges, not the streets, make up the centre.

Colleges and the river

Everything sits close to the market square.

• King's College. The Chapel, built between 1446 and 1515, with a fan-vaulted ceiling. The college front is on King's Parade.
• Trinity. The Great Court, and Wren's library of 1695 beside the river.
• Queens' and the Mathematical Bridge. The story says Newton built it without bolts. The bridge dates from 1749, two decades after he died.
• The Corpus Clock. A gold-faced clock on the corner of Corpus Christi, crowned with a grasshopper-like creature that devours time.
• Great St Mary's. The university church, with a tower you can climb for views across the centre.
• The Eagle. The pub where Crick and Watson are said to have announced the structure of DNA in 1953.

What people book here

Phone-led city games lead the list. Clues and puzzles walk you round the colleges, the Round Church and the bridge, and run from an hour to nearly three. There is no guide to meet.

The one other trip is a private car to London, about two hours door to door. Punting on the Cam is the usual add-on. Hire a punt by the hour near the bridges.

Practical

• Weather. July afternoons average about 22C. In January the days manage about 7C, with frost at night. The east of England is drier than the west, but it is cold in the wind.
• Colleges. Several charge entry, and many close to visitors in the exam weeks of April to June. Chapel services also shut King's to sightseers.
• Getting here. Stansted Airport is about 30 minutes by train. The station is some 1.5 miles from the centre, a bus or a 25-minute walk.
• Bikes. Cambridge is flat and thick with cyclists, and a bike is quicker than the bus.
• Service. Restaurants often add 10 to 12.5 per cent to the bill, so check before you tip.