Visit Cambridge Places

Welcome to Visit Cambridge Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Cambridge

  

Cambridge Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Cambridge

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Cambridge history

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Prehistory

Settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3,500-year-old farmstead discovered at the site of Fitzwilliam College.

Roman

The principal Roman site is a small fort (castrum) Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre. Fort was constructed around AD 70 and converted to civilian use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered including numerous farmsteads and a village in the Cambridge district of Newnham.

Medieval

Evidence exists that the invading Anglo-Saxons had begun occupying the area by the end of the century. By the 7th century, Cambridge was less significant and described by Bede as a “little ruined city” William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill in 1068, two years after his conquest of England. The first town charter was granted by Henry I between 1120 and 1131. Cambridge University was founded by Oxford students fleeing from hostility.

Early modern

Cambridge played a significant role in the early part of the English Civil War. It was the headquarters of the Eastern Counties Association, an organisation administering a regional East Anglian army. The town’s castle was fortified and garrisoned with troops and some bridges were destroyed to aid its defence.

Early-industrial era

Inclosure Acts of 1801 and 1807 enabled the town to expand over surrounding fields. In 1912 and again in 1935 its boundaries were extended to include Chesterton, Cherry Hinton, and Trumpington. The railway came to Cambridge in 1845 after initial resistance, with the opening of the Great Eastern Railway’s London to Norwich line.

20th and 21st centuries

During the Second World War, Cambridge was an important centre for defence of the east coast. During the war Cambridge served as an evacuation centre for over 7,000 people from London, as well as for parts of the University of London. Cambridge was granted its city charter in 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance and economic success.

Cambridge culture & places

Theatre

Cambridge’s main traditional theatre is the Arts Theatre, a venue with 666 seats. The largest venue in the city to regular hold theatrical performances is the Cambridge Corn Exchange with a capacity of 1,800 standing or 1,200 seated. The ADC Theatre is managed by the University of Cambridge, and typically has 3 shows a week during term time.

Museums

The Fitzwilliam Museum is the city’s largest, and is the lead museum of the University of Cambridge Museums consortium. The Museum of Cambridge, formerly known as the Cambridge & County Folk Museum, is a social history museum. The Centre for Computing History, a museum dedicated to the story of the Information Age, moved to Cambridge from Haverhill in 2013.

Music

Pink Floyd are the most notable band with roots in Cambridge. The band’s former songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett was born and lived in the city. Singer Boo Hewerdine is from Cambridge, as are drum and bass artists Nu:Tone and Logistics. The annual Cambridge Music Festival takes place each November.

Contemporary art

Cambridge contains Kettle’s Yard gallery of modern and contemporary art and the Heong Gallery which opened to the public in 2016 at Downing College. Anglia Ruskin University operates the publicly accessible Ruskin Gallery within the Cambridge School of Art.

Festivals and events

Several fairs and festivals take place in Cambridge, mostly during the British summer. Midsummer Fair dates back to 1211, when it was granted a charter by King John. For one week in May, on Jesus Green, the annual Cambridge Beer Festival has been held since 1974. Cambridge Folk Festival is held annually in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall.

Literature and film

The city has been the setting for all or part of several novels, including Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Rose Macaulay’s They Were Defeated, Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories, Rebecca Stott’s Ghostwalk and Robert Harris’ Enigma. Fictionalised versions of Cambridge appear in Philippa Pearce’s Tom’s Midnight Garden and Minnow on the Say.

You can visit Cambridge places with Walkfo Cambridge to hear history at Cambridge’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Cambridge has 270 places to visit in our interactive Cambridge map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Cambridge, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Cambridge places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Cambridge & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 270 audio facts unique to Cambridge places in an interactive Cambridge map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Cambridge Places Map
270 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Cambridge historic spots	Cambridge tourist destinations	Cambridge plaques	Cambridge geographic features
Walkfo Cambridge tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Cambridge

  

Best Cambridge places to visit

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Cambridge has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Cambridge’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Cambridge’s information audio spots:

Cambridge City Cemetery Cambridge City Cemetery is the main burial ground for the city of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire. It is to the north of the city, at the junction of Newmarket Road and Ditton Lane, near to Cambridge Airport. The cemetery also has a Jewish section, a Muslim section and a Roman Catholic section.

Pink Festival The Pink Festival is an open-air summer diversity event held in Cambridge, England, since 2003. The event is open to the public, entry is free of charge. It is independent from any council-run events.

Cherry Hinton Hall The house and grounds are owned and managed by Cambridge City Council. The Hall is known for hosting the annual Cambridge Folk Festival that draws thousands to the park. In 2007, Cherry Hinton Hall became home to Cambridge International School.

Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge The Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology is one of the teaching and research departments at the University of Cambridge. It conducts original research at the interfaces between engineering, chemistry, biology and physics.

University of Cambridge Sports Centre The University of Cambridge Sports Centre is the University’s main sporting facility. It is located in the centre of Cambridge’s main sports facilities. The centre is home to the Cambridge University Football Club.

Institute for Manufacturing Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) integrates research and education with practical application in industry. All areas of the IfM work closely with industry. Research is undertaken in collaboration with companies.

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics. It is named after the British chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish. 30 Cavendish researchers have won Nobel Prizes.

Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge The Department of Computer Science and Technology, formerly the Computer Laboratory, is the computer science department of the University of Cambridge. As of 2007 it employed 35 academic staff, 25 support staff, 35 affiliated research staff, and about 155 research students.

William Gates Building, Cambridge The William Gates Building is a square building that houses the Computer Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. It was named after William H. Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Construction on the building began in 1999 and was completed in 2001 at a cost of £20 million.

Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge The Institute of Astronomy is the largest of the three astronomy departments in the University of Cambridge. Around 180 academics, postdocs, visitors and assistant staff work at the department. The Kavli Institute for Cosmology is also located on the department site.

Visit Cambridge plaques