A city generous with its charms, Cambridge is as elegant and cultivated as its long history as an educational epicentre would suggest. It’s almost impossible to separate the city from the esteemed university, founded in 1209. The compact town’s neat streets teem with students—much of the nightlife and cafe culture is designed around them—and the university’s breathtaking architecture, particularly its churches and the astounding King’s College Chapel, are the main attractions. Winding gorgeously through it all is the River Cam, crossed by picturesque bridges. Few leave town without going punting on the Cam. Playing at the life of a scholar isn’t a bad approach for visitors—you can lose hours in bookshops, loll on the manicured lawns of the 31 colleges, discuss philosophy and quantum physics in hip cocktail bars, and finish up at a live music venue, without having to worry about rising early for lectures.

Hire a bike to get around like the students do. Bicycles are everywhere, so get used to dodging them around famous spots such as the Bridge of Sighs and the Mathematical Bridge. For a change of scene, use the National Cycle Network routes to get out into the countryside and visit nearby towns such as Saffron Walden. Buses link to them, too, but the small centre is easily explored on foot. Two railway stations have good regional and national connections. Direct trains to London take 45 minutes, and London Stansted Airport (STN) is 40 minutes away.

Late spring weather makes for glorious punting, which isn’t much fun on a cold wet weekend. Depending on how you feel about students, you might want to rent one of Cambridge’s cottages when they’ve cleared off home for the summer in mid-June, and note that before that the exam period can mean some colleges are closed to visitors. Although the warmer months get very busy, most visitors are day-trippers, so avoid the crowds by doing your sightseeing early in the morning or at the end of the day. Of hundreds of events, top billing has to go to the Cambridge Folk Festival at the end of July, one of Europe’s premier music festivals, which has been showcasing folk, country, blues, world music, and roots since 1965. Also popular is the Cambridge Beer Festival in May, which takes place on Jesus Green, the park beside Jesus College.

The Backs

The series of gardens and green spaces that run behind Cambridge’s colleges on the riverbanks is known as the Backs, and it’s a great place to soak up a peaceful atmosphere. The university’s Botanic Gardens or the ancient grassland of Midsummer Common, from where you can watch rowing teams practise, are lovely too. Or climb Castle Hill, an old Iron Age fort, for views over the city’s rooftops.

Museum hopping

A good sprinkling of museums includes diverse collections of art and antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences features fossils and minerals. The university’s own museums include the Polar Museum, tracing the history of exploration in the regions. Kettle’s Yard, a contemporary gallery in the former home of a curator at the Tate Gallery in London, houses an impeccable art collection.

Wicken Fen

It’s a shame most visitors don’t get beyond the city itself, as the Cambridgeshire countryside is rather lovely. The natural fen landscape — the term for the local marshland — leads right into the city. An hour’s drive outside, the Wicken Fen Nature Reserve is an important wetland with a windmill, boardwalks, and cycling trails. Expect to spy rare dragonflies, birds, and orchids.