There’s plenty to do in 2 days in Cambridge.
You can see all the main attractions in the city and also add some unique or unusual places and activities to your itinerary.
Cambridge has its own charm, a lovely mix of nature, history, and culture.
A two day city break in Cambridge lets you enjoy the atmosphere at a relaxed pace, and at the same time have an itinerary packed with interesting things to see and do.
In this guide I share a detailed plan for spending 2 days in Cambridge, plus how to get to Cambridge and where to stay.
Table of contents
Where to stay in Cambridge
It’s easiest to stay in the city centre, where most of Cambridge’s main sights are within easy walking distance and the streets are generally pedestrian-friendly.
If you’re spending 2 days in Cambridge during the summer months (June–August), it’s worth booking your accommodation well ahead of time.
- Graduate by Hilton Cambridge : A stylish boutique hotel in a central location, with some rooms offering views over the River Cam.
- Wilde Aparthotels : Serviced apartments in the heart of Cambridge, with kitchen facilities and the city’s main highlights within walking distance.
- Gonville Hotel : An elegant option conveniently located between the city centre and the railway station.
What to do in 2 days in Cambridge (TL;DR)
Here’s a quick overview of things to do in Cambridge in two days:
- Cambridge walking tour with a university graduate
- King’s College Chapel
- Cambridge Market
- Kettle’s Yard
- The Museum of Cambridge
- Creepy Cambridge Ghost Walk
- Botanic Garden
- Fitzwilliam Museum
- Punting
- Visit Cambridge colleges
My itinerary for 2 days in Cambridge
Here’s a full itinerary for spending two days or a weekend in Cambridge.
Do check opening times before you go, as they change according to seasons and university events.
Book tours and activities in advance, especially if you’re visiting Cambridge on a weekend or in high season. It will often help you secure a lower prices and also anchor your itinerary.
Day 1: Classic Cambridge attractions plus some unusual activities
Arriving in Cambridge
Cambridge railway station is a little bit outside the city centre, but not too far.
You’ll find bus stops right outside the station or you can take a taxi straight to your hotel.
Leave your luggage at the hotel and start your first day in Cambridge with a classic tour and the most beautiful building in the city.
Cambridge walking tour and King’s College Chapel
When you’re visiting Cambridge for two days, a local guide is the best way to get a feel for the city right after you arrive.
I’d recommend starting your visit with a guided walking tour. It helped me get my bearings while discovering some of Cambridge’s history and main sights.
What made this tour stand out from others I’ve taken was our guide’s connection to the city: he was a Cambridge University graduate.
Naturally, our group was curious about what student life was really like, and he was happy to share stories from his own experience.
It was a nice extra that you don’t always get on a typical city tour.
Along the way, we visited some of Cambridge’s best-known sights, learnt about famous people who studied there, and heard some amusing stories about Cambridge traditions.
By the end of the tour, you’ll have seen the historic colleges in the city centre, the Backs, the Mathematical Bridge, and quite a few other “must-see” places in Cambridge.
King’s College Chapel
King’s College Chapel is Cambridge’s most iconic sight. The interior is gorgeous and definitely worth a visit.
When booking the walking tour, you can also choose to add entry to the chapel for the standard chapel ticket price (it just saves having to make an extra booking).
The chapel visit is self-guided and takes place after the walking tour.
I really enjoyed exploring the chapel, and it was every bit as impressive as I’d imagined.
If you’re interested in architecture and design, take a closer look at the stained glass, oak screen, and spectacular ceiling. The first thing I did when I entered was look up in awe.
History lovers should also explore the exhibitions in the side chapels.
Despite being a popular attraction, the chapel felt spacious when I visited, and it didn’t feel particularly crowded even with plenty of other visitors around.
Cambridge Market and lunch
After your guided tour and visit to King’s College Chapel, you’ll find yourself in the heart of the city, just a short walk from the Cambridge Market Square.
The market takes place here most days and is worth exploring even if you’re not planning to buy anything.
The surrounding streets are a great place to wander, with a mix of cafés and restaurants. This is a good spot to stop for lunch.
Cambridge city centre has all the familiar UK high street shops that you can find anywhere else, but also plenty of independent shops that are unique to Cambridge and some lovely souvenir shops.
It’s worth wandering into smaller lanes and side streets to find those indie businesses.
Cambridge is also famous for its bookshops. You’ll come across the large and welcoming Heffers, as well as G. David Bookseller, specialising in rare books.
Kettle’s Yard and the Museum of Cambridge
After lunch and wandering around the city centre, head to the Museum of Cambridge and Kettle’s Yard.
These are two quite unique museums right next to each other.
I visited both in one afternoon and you can easily do the same.
The Museum of Cambridge
The city history museum is housed inside what used to be a 17th century pub, White Horse Inn.
It was preserved and turned into a small, independen museum, while maintaining the old, squeaky floorboards and exposed historic timber beams.
After entering and getting a warm welcome from the friendly staff, I walked through the rooms of the pub and was introduced to what life was like in Cambridge in the past 300 years.
The museum has a huge range of items, a collection of antique every-day objects of all kinds, revealing the history of the people and the university.
For me this was a wonderful way to learn some folk history.
Kettle’s Yard
Right next to the Museum of Cambridge, there’s another unusual experience.
Kettle’s Yard is one of Cambridge’s loveliest little secrets.
It started as the home of Jim and Helen Ede back in the 1950s.
Jim collected art and was well connected in the art world, so some of his items were collected from friends like Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, and Alfred Wallis.
He arranged his eclectic collection throughout the house with real care and attention to every small detail.
He formally handed the house and everything in it over to the University of Cambridge, that extended the building and turned it into a museum open to the public.
When I arrived I bought a ticket and had to wait about 10 minutes for the next time slot, but once you’re inside you can stay as long as you like.
You can’t bring any bags into the house, so make sure you have room for your phone and wallet in your pockets, and leave your bags at the ticket desk.
I entered with a small group of people and we got a short introduction from the guide.
This was helpful for context, as you’re basically entering somebody’s house to see the art he picked up over the years, and I wanted to know the background story.
The guide at the entrance told us the background story and there were more guides on each floor who were happy to answer questions and chat with us.
This house has something to spot at every corner, on every wall, even behind the furniture. I enjoyed the small decorative details. I also loved the natural light in this space.
All in all, it was an oddly calming experience.
When you exit, you’ll find a modern gallery in the same building. It’s free and has rotating contemporary exhibitions, so you get both the historic house and fresh work in one visit.
A haunted evening in Cambridge
After the museums, you can have dinner or drinks in the centre before your evening activity that will make you see the city in a different light.
The Creepy Cambridge Ghost Walk shows you the lesser-known side of Cambridge through tales of haunted buildings, mysterious characters, and centuries-old local folklore.
Along the way, you’ll wander through the historic lanes, hearing stories about phantom Fellows, spooky scholars, occultists, and some particularly unsettling chapters of the city’s past.
It’s a theatrical tour which makes it super engaging and humorous.
I visited Cambridge in summer, when it gets dark pretty late at night, so you’re taking this tour before dark, but the creepy effect of those eerie local legends still holds.
Day 2: Relaxing nature, world-known museum, and more colleges
Punting
On your first day you’ll have seen the many flat boats on the River Cam. These are called punts and the activity Cambridge is famous for is called punting.
The wooden boats are pushed by a long pole against the river bed. You can see the city from the river, including some hidden corners inside the colleges that you can only see from the water.
Punting is fun and quite relaxing, especially if you do it with an experienced guide.
Some people prefer to hire a punt and do it themselves, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you have no experience, it’s harder than it looks. It’s so much easier when your guide does the steering.
You can go punting with a guide on a private tour, or share a boat with a group.
A shared punting tour: Join a group and have a relaxed river tour, listen to the commentary from the guide, and take in all the sights,
A private punting tour: Go punting with your family or friends privately. Just sit back on a plush cushion and enjoy the views.
Tip: Book this activity in advance if you travel on a weekend or in high season, as prices can go up if you book at the last minute.
Lunch
After the punting tour, you’ll be back in the city centre, where you can find a place for lunch, before moving on to the next stop, about 10 minutes away from the centre.
Alternatively, have a coffee or a snack now and leave lunch for later. The next stop and one after that both have nice cafes.
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Fitzwilliam is a wonderful Cambridge museum inside a beautiful building, well worth visiting for curious travellers.
It has a rather eclectic collection with ancient Egyptian artefacts, Impressionist paintings, Greek pottery, and much more, which means anyone can find something of interest.
I enjoyed the clever curation of the exhibitions and the themed rooms.
You can easily spend about an hour at this museum. I spent a bit longer than that, mainly to take photos of the magnificent architecture.
Entry is free, check opening times.
You can stop for food at the museum cafe, the Courtyard, that serves brunch, lunch, all-day drinks, cakes and pastries.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
From the Fitzwilliam, walk another 10 minutes or so to the University’s Botanical Garden.
I’m not sure why it’s called a garden (singular) rather than gardens, but there’s a variety of different gardens to see and many collections of flowers, trees and other plants, all very beautiful and well maintained.
I picked up a map when I entered but quickly found that I wasn’t really following it and just went around and looked at whatever caught my eye.
I spent about an hour at the Botanic Garden. You can spend more time there at a very relaxed pace. There’s a nice cafe on site where you can have a coffee or a light meal.
Visit Cambridge colleges
Back at the city centre, there are some Cambridge colleges that are open to the public and are worth visiting to see the old buildings and get a taste of student life.
Some colleges are free to visit, while others charge an entrance fee.
TIP: If you know anyone who’s a student at Cambridge and can join you, they can let you into paid colleges free of charge as their guests.
Opening times vary and I’ve heard from locals that even they find them too unpredictable, so before you add these to your Cambridge itinerary, check opening times directly with any college you’d like to visit.
Here’s my selection of beautiful Cambridge colleges worth visiting:
Downing College and Emmanuel College
Both colleges are free to enter so you can have a look around.
When you walk back to the city centre from the Botanical Garden, these are about 15 minutes away.
Downing College has some interesting architecture. All the main buildings look surprisingly Greek.
I found out that the architect, William Wilkins, embarked on a Grand Tour that included Greece, where he fell for ancient Greek architecture and decided to copy the style when he came back to England.
Before you exit Downing College, you’ll see a small contemporary art gallery to your right called Heong Gallery, also worth a visit.
Emmanuel College is just a couple of minutes away.
It’s one of Cambridge’s historic colleges, with a lovely mix of old architecture and peaceful green spaces.
I wandered around and found the chapel which was small but beautiful.
The college has also had some famous names among its students, including John Harvard, founder of Harvard University, and Charles Darwin.
Trinity College
Trinity is Cambridge’s largest and one of its most famous colleges.
Its impressive Great Court is a highlight, surrounded by historic buildings and the famous Wren Library.
Every time I passed next to it I saw people taking photos holding an apple next to a tree. That’s because Isaac Newton was a graduate, making Newton’s Apple Tree a tourist attraction. It’s actually an offshoot of the authentic gravity tree.
Other than Newton, Trinity has a long list of famous former students and fellows, including Francis Bacon, Lord Byron, and several Nobel Prize winners.
You can go inside only at specific times, so check in advance, and even if it’s closed to the public when you visit, you can still enjoy the architecture from the street.
St John’s College
One of Cambridge’s largest and most impressive colleges.
There’s an entry fee to get in, partly, I suppose because you can see the famous Bridge of Sighs from inside the college.
You’ll have seen it already on your punting tour, but from a different angle.
It has some beautiful and atmospheric architecture. The riverside grounds inside the college make it a great place to appreciate Cambridge’s quieter side, even at a touristy place.
I spent quite a bit of time sitting by the river and watching the punts there. It was very calm and picturesque.
This concludes this itinerary for 2 days in Cambridge. Feel free to share your own experience in the comments below.
How to get to Cambridge
From London
I took a train from London to Cambridge and it was fast and easy.
King Cross Station to Cambridge: 50 minutes (fastest direct train).
Liverpool Street Station to Cambridge: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
You can also travel to Cambridge from London by bus.
From other cities
There are fast direct trains to Cambridge from other cities in England, including Birmingham, Brighton, Ipswich, Leicester, Norwich and others.
From other countries
The nearest airport to Cambridge is London Stansted Airport. From there it’s only 35 minutes by train.
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