The Backs are the lawns of the Cambridge colleges that run down to the River Cam, the King’s College, the Clare, the Trinity Hall, the St John’s, and the view from the bridge at the Garret Hostel Lane (the punts, the weeping willows, and the chapel of the King’s College rising above the trees, the fan-vaulted ceiling that is the most beautiful in England, and the sense of looking at a painting that is alive) is the most beautiful view in Cambridge. Cambridge is the walking city: the 31 colleges of the university (the oldest, the Peterhouse, founded in 1284, the quad, the chapel, and the sense of walking through a history that has produced the 121 Nobel laureates, the Darwin, the Newton, the Wordsworth, and the Turing), the river (the punting, the essential Cambridge experience, the pole, the flat-bottomed boat, the 45-minute glide past the Backs, and the guide who tells the story of the bridge that the students built without the bolts, the Mathematical Bridge, and the college that the Henry VIII built, the Trinity, the largest and the richest of the colleges), and the museums (the Fitzwilliam, the most beautiful museum in Cambridge, the Greek, the Roman, and the Egyptian collections, the Monet, the Renoir, and the Titian. Free). Here is your guide.

Visit Beautiful Cambridge

• The colleges, the essential Cambridge: King’s College: the chapel (the most beautiful building in Cambridge, the fan-vaulted ceiling, the largest in the world, the stone flowing like the wood, the Rubens’ “Adoration of the Magi” behind the altar, the stained glass of the 16th century, and the choir, the King’s College Choir, the Festival of the Nine Lessons and Carols on the Christmas Eve, the most famous choir in Britain. ~£15, and the essential Cambridge experience). The King’s College is the emblem of Cambridge, and the chapel is the one building you must enter. Trinity College: the largest and the richest college, the Great Court (the largest enclosed court in Europe), the 32 Nobel laureates (the most of any Cambridge college, the most of any educational institution in the world, the Newton, the Rutherford, the Byron, the Nabokov), and the Wren Library (the Christopher Wren design, the 1695, the manuscripts, the Shakespeare First Folio, and the most beautiful library in Cambridge. ~£5 for the library only, the college is closed to the visitors during the exam term, the May–June, and the essential check before the visit). St John’s College: the Bridge of Sighs (the 1831 covered bridge, the most beautiful bridge in Cambridge, and the most photographed), the New Court (the 19th-century Gothic, the most romantic college in Cambridge), and the chapel (the 19th-century, the beautiful, and the essential stop after the King’s). ~£12. More UK →
• The punting, the essential Cambridge experience: The punt, the flat-bottomed boat, the pole, and the glide along the River Cam past the Backs, is the essential Cambridge experience. The options: the chauffeur (the guide, the pole, the 45-minute tour, the commentary, and the relaxation. ~£20 per person, and the essential value), the self-hire (the pole, the boat, the 1 hour, and the risk, the punting is harder than it looks, the pole gets stuck in the mud, and the fall into the river is the Cambridge rite of passage. ~£25 per hour for the boat of the 2–6 people). The essential punting company: the Scudamore’s (the largest, the best fleet, and the essential booking, the summer queues at the Mill Lane and the Quayside are the longest in Cambridge. Book online, and the early morning slot, the 9am, is the best experience). The essential recommendation: the chauffeur. The self-hire is the adventure and the memory; the chauffeur is the relaxation and the knowledge
• The Fitzwilliam Museum and the Kettle’s Yard, the art of Cambridge: The Fitzwilliam: the most beautiful museum in Cambridge, the neoclassical building on the Trumpington Street, the collection (the Greek, the Roman, the Egyptian, the Impressionist, the Monet, the Renoir, the Cézanne, and the Titian “Venus and Cupid with a Lute-Player,” the most beautiful painting in the museum), and the café (the tiled Edwardian room, the best museum café in Cambridge, and the essential lunch. ~£10 for the light lunch). Free. The Kettle’s Yard: the house of the Jim Ede, the Tate curator, the 1957 conversion of the four cottages, the 20th-century British art (the Ben Nicholson, the Barbara Hepworth, the Alfred Wallis), the pebbles on the table, the sunlight through the window, and the most beautiful small museum in England. Free (the house, the timed entry, and the essential booking in advance)