Cambridge in general

But it is true that Cambridge is a very student-oriented city! Ever since the 13th century, when the first religious academics arrived in Cambridge, Cambridge has been known as a seat of academia. The university was founded by students at Oxford University, I'm ashamed to say, who were unsettled by a period of unrest at "the other place", and decided that Cambridge would be a great location for another university.

But, university ...
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By Bus/Coach: Cambridge is, naturally, a big enough place to be served by National Express Coaches, and you'll be able to pick up a return journey to the city fairly cheaply. Go to www.gobycoach.com for more details.

By Train: Trains run pretty regularly (from Kings Cross in London you'll find a train roughly every 15 minutes), but are slightly more expensive than travelling by coach.

By Car: Cambridge is ... more

But it is true that Cambridge is a very student-oriented city! Ever since the 13th century, when the first religious academics arrived in Cambridge, Cambridge has been known as a seat of academia. The university was founded by students at Oxford University, I'm ashamed to say, who were unsettled by a period of unrest at "the other place", and decided that Cambridge would be a great location for another university.

But, university aside, Cambridge is a thriving tourist attraction. It is, indeed, true, that many tourists come to the city to marvel at the 31 colleges which make up the university, but there are other attractions, some relatively unknown, which make the city the place it is.

************GETTING THERE*************

By Bus/Coach: Cambridge is, naturally, a big enough place to be served by National Express Coaches, and you'll be able to pick up a return journey to the city fairly cheaply. Go to www.gobycoach.com for more details.

By Train: Trains run pretty regularly (from Kings Cross in London you'll find a train roughly every 15 minutes), but are slightly more expensive than travelling by coach.

By Car: Cambridge is just off the M11, useful if coming from the South. From the East, North, or North-West, use the A14. Whichever direction you are travelling from, Cambridge is very well signposted!

By Air: The nearest airport is Stansted - once you arrive, just hop on the M11 and you'll be there in around 30 minutes.

***************GETTING AROUND IN CAMBRIDGE****************

The nice thing about Cambridge is that most of it is so close together - I personally travel everywhere on foot. However, you'll find that a bicycle is a very easy way of navigating the city - just watch out for other cyclists: there are thousands of them! Taxis are readily available, as are buses - including a very useful Park and Ride service running to and from a car park just outside the city - quite handy if there are no parking spaces in the town centre.

************ACCOMMODATION*************

Cambridge has a wide variety of types of accommodation, from bed and breakfasts from around £10 a night, to hotels such as the University Arms (Regent Street) for £140 for a single room for a night. If you look carefully at the options available, you're bound to find something that caters to your needs.

**************SHOPPING*****************

On first appearance you'll think that Cambridge caters only for students and tourists! There are Cambridge University sweatshirts galore, and bookshops all over the place, but search a little harder and you'll find a whole host of interesting places. Speaking of bookshops, Borders is the best I've found - there are branches in a limited number of cities, and they sell CDs, videos, DVDs and possibly the world's largest selection of magazines, as well as books, both educational and non-educational.

Just outside the city centre you have the Grafton Centre - a large shopping centre housing retailers of all descriptions: from Debenhams and BHS department stores to more specific shops, such as an arts and crafts shop and a nature and discovery store, selling everything from crystals to kites and cuddly toys.

Next to the Grafton Centre is Burleigh Street, known mainly for its vast array of charity shops, but also home to small music shops, furniture retailers and other curiosities.

Back in the city centre, there is another smaller shopping precinct: Lion Yard. Not quite as impressive as the Grafton Centre, this features a smaller range of shops, but many of you Ciao-ers I'm sure will be happy to know that we have our very own branch of Lush! A lingerie store, a sports shop and a few clothes retailers complete the picture.

Cambridge High Street is home to lots of chain stores, such as Boots, Waterstones and Woolworths (although not for much longer), as well as a few smaller shops hidden away, such as an amazing discount bookshop, Galloway and Porter, which comes in very handy for students!

Cambridge Market is also worth a mention - it is open every day, and is a normal market from Monday to Saturday, a craft market on Sundays. The market sells just about everything: food (fresh fruit and veg, fish, cheese, freshly ground coffee), clothes (including, naturally, the tacky Cambridge University clothing), books, CDs, watches and much much more. Market Square also houses a few choice shops of its own, from Mappin and Webb the jewellers to Gap clothing.

If you look carefully, there are thousands of little stores that nestle in back roads, generally going unnoticed: I have been in Cambridge for one and a half years now, and only last week did I find a little road called All Saints' Passage which is home to a wonderful (if expensive) retailer of handmade Belgian chocolates, and also "The Cambridge Cheese Company" (now my favourite shop!) selling cheeses from around the world, olives, fresh hummus, organic jams and preserves and the like.

************THE TOURISTY BIT**************

Yes, we may be smaller than Oxford, but we still have a hell of a lot for tourists to do! The obvious place to start is by looking around the colleges. As I mentioned earlier, there are 31 Cambridge colleges, so unless you have plenty of time to spare, you'll have trouble seeing them all. But if you don't know where to start, try Kings College. There is a small admission fee to be paid, but entrance is free to people living within an 8 mile radius. Go inside the imposing gates and marvel at the Gothic spires of Kings' chapel - the architecture is absolutely amazing. Trinity is the biggest and richest Cambridge college, so it may be worth having a look, but they often close their gates to visitors. Also, take a wander down Regent Street and have a look at Downing (not that I'm plugging my college at all...) You'll be surprised - the college gates are situated right in the middle of a row of shops, but once you go in, you'll be surprised at the size of it, and at the amazing Georgian architecture.

Some colleges (Kings definitely do) also invite members of the public to attend their chapel services - you'll get the chance to hear college choirs as well as being able to admire the buildings themselves.

So, what is there to do apart from visiting the colleges? How about the Fitzwilliam Museum? Founded in 1816 through the bequest of Lord Fitzwilliam, this museum houses, among other things, antiquities, porcelain and medieval manuscripts, as well as several original paintings. And admission is free!

If visiting Cambridge, going punting is a must. Surely you all have the stereotypical image of Cambridge students punting with glasses of chilled Pimms and fresh strawberries in the summer? Well...it's true. You can't come to Cambridge and say you haven't been punting. Punts are available for hire either with someone to punt for you, or, if you're brave, you can have a go yourself. It generally works out at around £8 an hour, and is well worth the money - you get some spectacular views of Cambridge at the same time. Just don't go in the week after exams in Cambridge end, or you may end up with a naked student jumping onto your punt....

You could also visit the University Botanical Gardens on Hills Road - there is a huge collection of plants and whatever time of year you go, there will always be something to keep you interested.

Kettle's Yard is another possibility for art fanatics: it regularly features exhibitions of modern art by unknown painters, and is also known for classical music concerts put on in the evenings, often by students.

If you don't fancy any of this, just stroll around and admire the beauty of the city itself.

*************CINEMA***************

WARNER VILLAGE: Situated in the Grafton Centre (about 10 minutes walk from the town centre), this cinema shows all the latest releases, and costs around £4.50 per adult ticket (less with student discount...)

ARTS PICTURE HOUSE: All of the more arty films are shown at this theatre on Regent Street, there is usually a wide selection of international and arty films, but they aren't usually shown very frequently -ticket prices are slightly more expensive than at the Warner Village cinema, but well worth it if you want an alternative night out.

****************CONCERTS*****************

Cambridge is, naturally, home to the Cambridge Corn Exchange, a venue which has been home to the gigs of many a famous band (Feeder and Jools Holland are scheduled to play this year) as well as classical music from the likes of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and others, to other entertainments such as the Chinese State Circus.

****************THEATRE*****************

There are a number of theatres around Cambridge, many of them starring students, and plays range from the classic to the modern, and are usually fairly inexpensive to see.

**************PUBS AND CLUBS****************

Nighlife in Cambridge is good, with 6 different nightclubs and countless bars and pubs, ranging from the friendly local, to a Wetherspoons giant, to concept bars which are trendy and expensive!

***************EATING OUT****************

Being a big city, you obviously have a lot of choice here. Starting at the bottom, there are several fast food outlets, mainly, I believe, catering to post-clubbing hunger endured by students. There are also a number of cafes (Costa, Cafe Nero, Starbucks etc) where you can sit and relax over a coffee.

International food is well-represented, with Cambridge housing Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Singaporean, Indian, Mexican, American, French, Spanish and Vietnamese food, along with food from several other countries. You'll find food for all occasions - from a quick snack to a meal out with the parents or your partner.

This was just a brief guide: partly because I've only lived in Cambridge for a year and a half so there are bound to be things I don't know, and partly because there's such a wide variety of things to keep both tourists and residents entertained that it would be impossible to list them all here. All I can say is that the only way to fully understand the diversity of what Cambridge has to offer is to visit the city yourself, and find out what life in one of Britain's most famous cities is really all about.

(please ignore some of the ratings below!) 

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