Amid a busy events calendar and thriving pub culture, punting on the River Cam is the quintessential experience in this bustling English university town.
html) offers MP3 audio tours of the city, enabling visitors to take in the sights at their own pace. The commentaries can either be downloaded to a computer or bought on CD through mail order. There is a limited number of preloaded audio players for hire at the Tourist Information Centre in Wheeler Street. Choose one of the itineraries, plug in your headphones and spend a leisurely 60 minutes learning all about the chapel at King's College, Fitzwilliam Museum, the Round Church and the Backs.
2. Trinity College King Henry VIII founded the college in 1546 by combining two educational foundations. It is the largest Oxbridge college in terms of student enrolment and, as a major landowner, is also the wealthiest. Trinity has a proud academic tradition - alumni include Prince Charles, scientist Sir Isaac Newton, poet Lord Byron and 31 Nobel Prize winners. The 17th-century Great Court is famed as the location of the courtyard dash against
a chiming clock recreated in the film Chariots of Fire. Architect Sir Christopher Wren's library is a colonnaded masterpiece facing the River Cam. It houses many rare books and manuscripts and is open to the public at specified times. See
www.trin.cam.ac.uk.
3. Punting Boating along the Cam (right) is the classic Cambridge experience and provides an opportunity to see the college meadows, bridges and spires from a different perspective. Propelling the craft is more difficult than it looks. Besides the humiliating prospect of losing your pole and falling in, obstacles include tangled reeds, overhanging branches and other boaters, particularly when university exams are over and punters labour under varying levels of inebriation. If it all sounds like hard work, contact Cambridge Chauffeur Punts (
www.punting-in-cambridge.co.uk), which provides an experienced 'skipper' and life jackets, and even organises champagne picnics.
4. Grantchester A two-hour punt downstream from Cambridge is the village of Grantchester. Thatched cottages, Victorian tea rooms and an old vicarage - the home of disgraced peer, novelist and occasional politician Jeffrey Archer - draw a stream of sightseers and Anglophiles. Poet Rupert Brooke drew inspiration from the surroundings and was a regular at the Orchard Tea Gardens (
www.orchard-grantchester.com) in the early 20th century. Keep to tradition by stopping by for tea and scones.
5. Hotel du Vin The ancient college buildings and manicured courtyards demand thorough exploration, so consider staying in Cambridge for a night or two. Du Vin (
www.hotelduvin.com) has been voted best UK Hotel Group by readers of British newspaper The Guardian for the past four years. Rooms in the chain's Cambridge property, some with private terraces, have flat-screen televisions, giant bathtubs and Egyptian linen. The cosy cellar bar boasts an extensive wine list and a mouthwatering menu. Doubles start from GBP135 (HK$2,100).
6. Pub crawl With a student population in excess of 17,000, it's not surprising Cambridge is renowned for its watering holes. Modern theme pubs stand cheek by jowl with medieval hostelries. The Flying Pig offers live music while the Champion of the Thames keeps things unpretentious with scruffy upholstery, lino floors and a crowd of regulars happy to welcome tourists who demonstrate a taste for the local ale. The St Radegund pub is where the rowing community plots victory in the annual University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge (which takes place next Saturday). Before setting out on a pub crawl, swot up on the Cambridge Pub Guide (
www.cambridge-pubs.co.uk).
7. Varsity Restaurant The oldest eatery in Cambridge has attained legendary status for its enticing Greek-Cypriot menu at prices even students can stretch to. Diners at Varsity (35 St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, tel: 44 1223 356060) have included royalty, political heavyweights and TV celebrities, who have devoured generous servings of hummus and taramasalata, moussaka and chargrilled sea bass. Quirky Hellenic decor and friendly staff keep the faithful coming back. Open 12pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 11pm.
8. Festivals Cambridge hosts a hectic calendar of festivals, some more eccentric than others. In May, the annual cheese-rolling race in the nearby village of Stilton attracts participants in fancy dress, who roll wooden cylinders along the High Street for prizes of cheese and port. The Cambridge Summer Beer Festival (
www.cambridgebeerfestival.com) has more than 170 real ales to sample. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the event, which runs from May 19 to 24. The May Bumps are a series of university rowing races held, you guessed it, in June. In July and August, the city stages the long-running Cambridge Shakespeare Festival (
www.cambridgeshakespeare.
com). Performances take place in atmospheric college grounds as dusk descends. Bring a picnic and an umbrella just in case.
9. Botanic Garden A short walk from the city centre, Cambridge Botanic Garden is an ideal place in which to slow the sightseeing pace. Opened in 1846, the 16 hectares of landscaped grounds comprise a collection of more than 10,000 plant species. The Winter Garden retains a spectacular palette of colours well into April, just as the Limestone Rock Garden is beginning its dazzling display. One-day courses, covering the finer points of pruning, orchid care and home composting, are offered throughout the year for green-fingered experts and novices alike. See
www.botanic.cam.ac.uk.
10. Market Square For centuries, there has been a market in Cambridge's central square, which is flanked by attractive buildings, including Great St Mary's Church and King's College. It's a rewarding place to rummage around in for a bargain. From Monday to Saturday, stallholders sell fresh produce, cut flowers, second-hand books and clothing while bicycle repairmen do brisk business fixing flat tyres. On Sundays, the market is more arts and crafts-oriented.
