Things to Do in Cambridge

Punt along the College Backs

From the river you'll see ivy brushing medieval stone, hear the pole's splash echo under bridges, and smell crushed nettles as you push off. Ducks paddle past like they own the place while a student choir rehearses somewhere behind Trinity's wall, the notes drifting over water.

Climb the tower of Great St Mary's

The stone spiral is narrow and slick. But halfway up you'll taste iron in the air and feel the wind funnel through arrow slits. At the top, Cambridge spreads out like a map made of lead roofs and green rectangles, the market square's striped awnings no bigger than postage stamps.

Evensong in King's College Chapel

Inside smells of extinguished candles and cold sandstone. When the choir begins the sound pours from the fan vaulting itself. Feel bass notes through the oak bench even if you're tone-deaf. Stained glass throws ruby light onto your coat sleeve.

Friday twilight at the Market Square

Food vans hiss as onions hit iron. Vinyl tarps flap. Cumin and burnt sugar ride the air. Buskers swap a fiddle for an ukulele every twenty metres. Undergrads clutch £3 noodle boxes from the Chinese stall that's been there since 1998.

Museum of Zoology's whale skeleton

The fin whale still carries a faint briny whiff, even though it's been hanging in Cambridge since 1860. Kids stare up with their mouths open, echoing the skeleton's own jaw, while the touch-table lets you finger a tiger's rough tongue and a narwhal spiral.

Mill Road-De Freville: quiet Victorian terraces, river walks, boutique guesthouses

City Centre: student rooms let out in summer, five-minute stumble to pubs

Chesterton: converted warehouses, edgy cafés, skyline views back to King's

Newnham village: cottage rows, nightingales in spring, country-in-city feel

Hills Road: chain hotels, good bus links, less postcard but handy for station

Trumpington: new developments, parkland fringe, park-and-ride on doorstep