Hotels in Cambridge

Cambridge is compact enough to feel like one large college quad, and its set pieces are the real thing: King's College Chapel's fan vaulting, the Backs where lawns run down to the Cam, and punting past it all — chauffeured if you value your dignity, self-hire if you don't mind the entertainment you'll provide. The Fitzwilliam Museum is free and far better than a town this size deserves.

Colleges charge entry and close during exams, and the centre's pavements clog with tour groups and bicycles by mid-morning in summer. Everything is walkable or cyclable; a car is a liability. Stay in the centre near the colleges to have the streets before the day-trippers arrive, or around the station area for easier London connections and slightly kinder prices.