Cambridge has around 20 000 students a quarter of them are foreigners, and all of them make Cambridge a dynamic intellectual town with a charming rural touch due to its smaller, in comparison to Oxford, size. As you probably know, there is a famous legend about rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge – both worldwide known and both possessing their special mystery. However, it’s difficult to say if the rivalry still persists or if it became a part of the myth to maintain the fun and attention.

The answer is way too simple: by strolling in the town and visiting as much colleges as possible. However, it’s very easy to get lost in names and places, so keep it cool by picking the essentials for yourself. The entrance to the colleges is quite unpredictable, as it depends on the time of the year, the exams schedule, the events and other unknown variables.

The most famous are:

– King’s College (£8): Only gardens and chapel are opened for visits. The 15^th century chapel is, however, extraordinary. As the Chapel is often taken for the concerts, it’s better to check its opening hours in advance.

– Trinity College (£2): one of the smallest colleges of Cambridge, it’s mainly visited for its stunning Wren Library. The entrance to the library is very restricted – 12:00-14:00 on weekdays only.

– Saint John’s College (£7.50): probably, the most beautiful college with several yards and the access to the Cambridge’s Sigh Bridge – yes, one the five existing Sigh bridges in the world, including the one in Venice and in Oxford!

If you are not in the mood for actually entering any of them or if you missed the opening hours, you can take a punt tour (the price varies from £7 to £10, but they accept bargaining!). Actually, the punt tour is the Cambridge’s must, regardless if you visited the colleges or not, but this way you will be able to see some of them from another side, which is almost as good as entering in the yards. As the local “gondoliers” are the students from Cambridge colleges, you will have a chance to hear some of the stories from the first hands.

On a punt tour you will see the famous Cambridge’s Sigh Bridge and the Mathematical Bridge. By the way, along the river, you might notice lots of the rowing clubs – someone must practice in order to beat Oxford in the next boat race in April!

We really enjoyed walking through the market on the Market square – they had some really nice croquettes! Also trying to catch as many beautiful, covered with the virginia creeper, details of the architecture as possible was a great pleasure, walking into an opened the yard or church and, finally, simply absorbing Cambridge spirit. Any town, which loves bikes, is automatically our friend.

There is also a bunch of churches worth a visit, the Round (or Holy Sepulchre) church for its architecture (£8), Great Saint Mary’s Church for its view from the tower (£4), which is also the exact center of Cambridge used for the orientation, and, of course, King’s College Chapel for its amazing gothic vaults. However, the only place we entered this time was the Gonville & Caius College Chapel.

Our personal favorite – Trinity lane passing between two universities – is definitely one of the most beautiful Cambridge streets (and it has a lot of them, mind it!)

Our last stop of the day was Jesus Green Park, not that in February it has any particular charm. Still, walking along the boathouses and even hijacking their swinging tire was a great fun before the dark. Because no matter how many things there are to enjoy in Cambridge, February’s day hours didn’t leave us too much time for taking the most of it.

Whenever we are out of London, we always try to lunch in a good rustic pub with English classics. This time we chose a pub “The Anchor” with a nice view on the Cam river (ever wondered where Cambridge takes its name from?).

Even if for a proper tour with the visits of the major Colleges and Churches (as well as museums!), one day would probably be not enough, but for a relaxed walk out of London on a cold winter day, Cambridge is a great place to go to, that is for sure. :)

Have you ever been to Cambridge or Oxford? Tell us in the comments!