Two Days in Cambridge

The central colleges and the Backs on the first day, and a museum, the botanic garden and the riverside walk to Grantchester on the second, composed from the place pages.

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The first day stays in the centre and finishes beside the river, and the second day heads south along the river to Grantchester. The meadows on the second afternoon are part of a flood plain that links the city to Grantchester. Each stop's description comes from its own page; check it for opening hours and any charges before you go. The order and the time allowances are our suggestion, not sourced facts.

Estimated time on the stops below: about 525 minutes (about 8.8 hours), not counting walking between them. Durations are our own estimates, not figures from the place pages.

1

Day 1, morning
King's College Chapel Church
A Tudor-era Gothic chapel with a fan vault, Flemish glass and a Rubens above the altar.

Allow about 60 minutes (estimate)
2
Cambridge Market Street food
An outdoor market on Market Hill that has traded in the same spot since Saxon times, open every day of the year bar three.

Allow about 30 minutes (estimate)
3

Day 1, afternoon
Trinity College College
Henry VIII's merged foundation, with the Great Gate, Great Court and Wren Library.

Allow about 60 minutes (estimate)
4
Bridge of Sighs Landmark
St John's covered Gothic Revival bridge over the Cam, completed in 1831.

Allow about 15 minutes (estimate)
5
The Backs Landmark
The riverside college lawns and bridges behind the Cambridge colleges, listed as a Grade I historic park.

Allow about 45 minutes (estimate)
6

Day 2, morning
Fitzwilliam Museum Museum
The University of Cambridge's art and antiquities museum, in a Grade I listed building with free entry.

Allow about 90 minutes (estimate)
7
Cambridge University Botanic Garden Park
A 16-hectare university garden, on its present site since 1831, with over 8,000 plant species and a lake.

Allow about 90 minutes (estimate)
8

Day 2, afternoon
Sheep's Green and Coe Fen Landmark
Two flood-meadow commons on either side of an arm of the Cam, managed together as a local nature reserve.

Allow about 30 minutes (estimate)
9
Grantchester Meadows Landmark
River meadows linking Newnham to Grantchester, used for walking, picnics and the classic punt-to-the-pub trip.

Allow about 60 minutes (estimate)
10
The Orchard Cafe
A tea garden in an orchard at Grantchester, popular with students and visitors since 1897.

Allow about 45 minutes (estimate)