Where to Stay in Cambridge, England

What is Cambridge known for?

Cambridge is known as one of the great university cities of England, its colleges gathered in old stone at the centre. Trinity College Chapel and the Church of St Mary the Great rise among the college courts, while the Fitzwilliam Museum holds one of the country's finest collections. Museums of science and art fill the streets, from Kettle's Yard to the Whipple Museum of the History of Science.

Learning shapes it. The colleges have drawn scholars to Cambridge for centuries.

What are the main landmarks in Cambridge?

Cambridge's landmarks gather around its colleges, its museums, and its old churches. Trinity College Chapel rises among the courts, and the Church of St Mary the Great stands at the city's heart. The museums run deep here.

The Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettle's Yard hold the art, while the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, the Museum of Zoology, and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology carry the University's collections, with the Museum of Classical Archaeology and the New Hall Art Collection alongside. Older stone marks the streets too. The round Holy Sepulchre, St Bene't's Church with its Saxon tower, and the Church of St Botolph date to the medieval town, while Cambridge Castle and the open green of Parker's Piece frame its edges.

What is the history of Cambridge?

Cambridge grew from an ancient river crossing, and a fort once stood on the mound where Cambridge Castle later rose. A small town gathered around the crossing, its early church of St Bene't's Church surviving from those first centuries. Everything changed when scholars settled and the university took root, and college after college was raised in stone until the town became one of the foremost seats of learning in England.

Study made it. The Church of St Mary the Great came to serve as the university church at the centre of college life. Through the centuries the colleges spread their courts and chapels across the town, and Trinity College Chapel rose among the grandest of them.

Great collections followed the scholars, and the Fitzwilliam Museum was built to hold art and antiquities for the city. Museums of science and zoology gathered around the colleges, among them the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. The old greens, Parker's Piece foremost, kept their open ground.

The university shaped the whole town, and its colleges came to govern the streets, the greens, and the museums that grew up around their courts. Its courts still hold the centre. Cambridge remains a university city of England.

Where is Cambridge?

Cambridge stands on low, level ground in England, a compact city gathered around its colleges at an old river crossing. The land is flat and open here, and the greens run right up to the college courts. Parker's Piece lies at its edge.

The centre keeps a small footprint. Beyond the colleges and the museums, Cambridge spreads out gently across the surrounding country of England.

What is the climate of Cambridge?

Cambridge has a mild, dry climate, among the drier parts of England on its low and level ground. Rain falls less here than in the west of the country, and long spells of grey, still weather settle over the flat land around the colleges. Frosts are common in winter.

Summers stay mild and pleasant, while winters run cold and damp across the open country. Snow falls only lightly and rarely lingers on the college courts.

How do you get to Cambridge?

Cambridge sits on the main rail and road routes north of London in England, an easy reach from the capital. Trains run in frequently. The station lies a short way southeast of the college centre, and a motorway passes close to the edge of town for those arriving by road from the surrounding country.

From the station the colleges and the Fitzwilliam Museum stand within walking distance. The old crossing has drawn travellers to Cambridge for centuries.