How to Spend the Perfect One Day in Cambridge Itinerary
Last Updated on 27th February 2025 by Sophie Nadeau
This post may contain affiliate links. Please check out my privacy policy and disclosure for more information.
Cambridge is a delightful university city with centuries’ worth of history. Best visited over a long weekend, some of the best things to do in town include drinking pints in historic pubs, visiting churches, and exploring the free university museums (I particularly recommend the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences), and visiting the colleges. Here’s your guide on how to spend the perfect day in Cambridge.
Contents
What is Cambridge known for?
Cambridge is best known for its world-leading university, which is comprised of 31 colleges. Some are free to visit while for the most famous (such as King’s College and St John’s College) you’ll have to pay up to £11 to enter. Alternatively, you could opt to book a college tour led by a university graduate like this one.
How long do you need in Cambridge?
Cambridge sits on the intersection of being a small city, but a big town. Ideally, a visit over a long weekend is the best way to explore Cambridge, that being said, if you only have one day it’s completely possible to see the majority of its main sights and experience the Cambridgeshire life for 24 hours!
What’s the best time to visit Cambridge: Thanks to its wealth of both indoor and outdoor activities, Cambridge can be a pretty riveting destination to explore all year ’round.
Spring: Spring is always a wonderful time to visit Cambridge as the hotel prices are lower and days are longer than during the winter. With this being said, be prepared to experience a little bit of rain as this is one of the rainiest times to visit the city!
Summer: Unlike most destinations in the UK, this is actually one of the quietest times to visit Cambridge because all of the students are gone for the summer!
Autumn: If you enjoy crisp walks and beautiful fall foliage, then consider visiting Cambridge in the fall.
Winter: This is the cosiest time to visit as the often poor weather conditions will give you the perfect excuse to check out cosy pubs and even Christmas in Cambridge, which is a lovely little Christmas market in the park.
Suggested one day in Cambridge itinerary
Great St Mary’s
Start your day at the biggest church in Cambridge, which serves a dual purpose as a Church of England parish and the university church. The church has a history of over 1,000 years, however, the magnificent structure we see today is just over 500 years old, as it completely burnt down in 1291.
A history intertwined with royals, the cost of construction was largely covered by Richard III and Henry VII, who also donated 100 oaks for the roof.
Queen Elizabeth I visited in 1564 and gave a lengthy Latin speech which left her audience in awe, however the visit itself was chaotic to say the least as she visited during renovations… and she also ended up fining the church for not ringing the bells upon her arrival!
Great St Mary’s was also frequented by renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, who attended the University of Cambridge. In 2018 hundreds of people gathered at the church to pay their respects for Prof Stephen Hawking’s funeral (however, he’s buried at Westminster Abbey). Today there is a plaque in the church honouring Hawking.
A highlight of visiting Great St Mary’s is climbing up the 123 steps of the church tower (costs a fee of £7) and being greeted by panoramic views overlooking the city. The church itself is free to visit and opens from 10 AM every day, except for Sundays when it opens at noon.
Pembroke College
Lesser known, and arguably the most underrated part of the university, Pembroke College is the third oldest of Cambridge’s colleges and was founded in 1347.
Typically free to enter and wander around, unless during exam season, this tranquil pocket of history is home to a beautiful library which houses over 30,000 books and peaceful gardens.
The Round Church
Head to the second oldest building of Cambridge and step back in time by exploring one of the city’s most treasured gems, a sacred spot which has been an active place of worship for over 900 years.
Officially known as The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but mostly referred to as the Round Church, the structure was built in 1130, drawing inspiration from the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem.
If anything, a visit to this church is an absolute must for those fascinated by architecture and religious history! The round design is rare and is one of only four medieval round churches in England that remian in use today.
Please note, the Round Church is only open Wednesday-Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM and there is a charge of £3.50 to visit. If you want to learn even more in-depth about the church and its history, they offer paid guided walks.
St John’s College
Take a visit to one of the largest, wealthiest and most prestigious of the university’s colleges, a fact that will become apparent as soon as you lay eyes on it!
St John’s College was founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511, and it sits on the former site of a hospital which was known as the Hospital of St John the Evangelist.
An architectural neo-Gothic masterpiece! A particular highlight is the chapel, which is one of the most recognisable sights of Cambridge, simply because of how stunning it is!
Since the 1670s the chapel has been home to both religious and musical activities, the main spot where the world-famous College Choir sing for services during the university term time.
King’s College
Yet another college you simply have to see is King’s College, which was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI. King’s College Chapel is considered an architectural masterpiece, constructed in the Perpendicular Gothic style, which was the third and final stage of English Gothic architecture developed in the Late Middle Ages.
Something truly unique to King’s College Chapel is its 26 medieval stained glass windows, which are so valuable that the windows were removed during the Second World War to keep them safe from harm!
The Corpus Clock
Less than a minute’s walk from King’s College, be sure to stop by and admire one of Cambridge’s most distinctive public monuments, which is also known as the Grasshopper Clock, thanks to the metal sculpture of a grasshopper that sits atop the gold plated clock face.
There’s no typical indication of time as the clock doesn’t have hands or numbers, instead, it has slits cut into the face which are lit up by the LED lighting behind. The grasshopper sitting above the clock appears to eat away at the seconds and the lights behind the slits pause at the correct hour, minute and second.
Unveiled in 2008 by Stephen Hawking, The Corpus Clock has been described as one of time’s greatest creations, and is considered a masterpiece of clockmaking!
Trinity College
A short walk away you’ll come across the largest of Cambridge’s Colleges which is also similar to King’s College in that it has strong links to the Tudors.
Home to a remarkable Tudor gateway, a sweeping courtyard and The Wren Library, where some incredibly valuable books are stored, many of which were published before 1820.
Trinity College was founded in 1546 in the penultimate year of the reign of Henry VIII. It is the wealthiest university college and has seen quite a few faces as its alumni… to name a few, six prime ministers, twelve archbishops, Sir Isaac Newton and even (former prince) now King Charles!
Entry for Trinity College is £3.50 and visitors are welcome to The Great Court (main courtyard) and chapel on their visit, but be sure to check in advance for The Wren Library as it’s not always open to the public.
Michaelhouse Café
Head back to Great St Mary’s Church and situated within the medieval chapel you’ll find a charming little no-fuss café that serves delicious and simple lunches in a canteen style, where you can queue and choose what you want from their rather large menu.
Emmanuel College
Nicknamed ‘Emma’, this college is best known to be a tranquil oasis of green. One of the most beautiful things to see at this college is The Paddock, which is a pool of water where plants thrive that sits at the end of a long and flat green expanse of extremely well-maintained grass.
Emma College is open to the public and free to wander around, best enjoyed on a sunny day when you can enjoy the grounds!
Fitzwilliam Museum
Next, head to the university’s very own art and antiques museum which is home to an extensive collection of over half a million artworks and objects from throughout history from some of the greatest artists in the world! And, what’s more, the museum is completely free to enter and explore.
Museum of Zoology
Another fascinating museum which is also part of the university is the Museum of Zoology, which is also free to visit!
One of Cambridge’s most popular attractions, this remarkable collection displays thousands of specimens spanning the entire animal kingdom, some of which were discovered by the likes of the great naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
While visiting, be sure to see the skeleton of the extinct Dodo!
Go Punting
(If time and weather allow) go punting! A punt is an English term for a long and narrow flat-bottomed boat which is square at both ends. Punting is essentially Cambridge’s less romantic answer to a gondola in Venice.
Experience the city by boat by cruising along the River Cam and soaking up all of the city’s main sights in a sweep-by-styled visit. Book a guided punting tour like this one.
The Eagle
End your day the traditional way by heading to a pub! Cambridge is full of historic public houses, but one of our favourite stops was The Eagle, which boasts to be the second oldest pub in the city (after the Pickerell Inn) and opened way back in 1667. Today, it is a Grade II listed public house.
One of the most unique aspects of The Eagle is looking up at the ceiling, which at first looks like a graffiti design but is instead a piece of history.
During the Second World War, the Allied airmen who socialised and drank in The Eagle would use wax candles, petrol lighters and lipstick to write their names and squadron numbers, and various other doodles. Ever since, the pub has been nicknamed the “RAF Bar”.
Where to stay in Cambridge
There are plenty of options when it comes to choosing where to stay in Cambridge, but the more central, the more it costs. Of course as always when travelling, the accommodation is completely dependent on your needs and budget. For this purpose, I will suggest a range of hotels with varying prices. Here are a few suggestions (based on web reviews):
Budget-friendly: YHA Cambridge Hostel – Located a 6-minute walk from Cambridge train station and a mile from the Fitzwilliam Museum and King’s College Chapel. Private rooms with en-suites are available. Amenities include free Wifi and a communal room, as well as lockers. Check prices and availability here.
Mid-range: The Orlando – Situated 4 minutes walk from Cambridge train station, this quaint hotel is set within a brick townhouse and offers 8 clean and comfortable guest rooms, each with its own en-suite. Amenities include free WiFi, TVs and a mini fridge. Check prices and availability here.
Luxury: Graduate Cambridge – With views overlooking the River Cam, this sophisticated hotel is a stone’s throw away from the University of Cambridge campus and boasts elegant refined rooms which offer the feel of luxury. There’s also the option to upgrade your room to a private balcony! The elegant hotel restaurant and bar offer riverfront dining. Check prices and availability here.
Enjoyed reading about how to spend a perfect day in Cambridge? Pin this article now, and read it again later:
