DAY TRIPS FROM LONDON - London 2015 - page 767

Tours in Cambridge

▲▲▲ Walking Tour of the Colleges
A walking tour is the best way to understand Cambridge's mix of “town and gown.”
The walks can be more educational (read: dry) than entertaining. But they do provide a
good rundown of the historic and scenic highlights of the university, some fun local gos-
sip, and plenty of university trivia. For example, why are entering students called “under-
graduates”? Because long ago, new students at Cambridge were assigned to a mentor who
already had a degree...so they were “under” the supervision of a “graduate.”
The TI offers daily walking tours that include the King's College Chapel, as well
as another college—usually Queen's College ( £ 18, 2 hours, includes entry fees; July-Aug
daily at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, and 14:00, no 11:00 tour on Sun; Sept-June Mon-Sat at 11:00,
13:00, Sun at 13:00 only; tel. [phone], www.visitcambridge.org ) . It's smart to call
ahead to reserve a spot (they'll take your credit-card number), or you can drop by in per-
son (try to arrive 30 minutes before the tour). Notice that the 12:00 tour overlaps with the
limited opening times of the Wren Library—so you'll miss out on the library if you take
the noon tour.
Private guides are available through the TI and affordable if you can assemble
a group to share the cost (basic 1-hour tour- £ 4.75/person, £ 71.25 minimum; 1.5-hour
tour- £ 5.25/person, £ 78.75 minimum; 2-hour tour- £ 5.75/person, £ 86.25 minimum; does
not include individual college entrance fees, tel. [phone],

[e-mail] ).

Walking Ghost Tour
If you're in Cambridge on the weekend, consider a £ 6 ghost walk to where spooky sight-
ings have been reported (Fri at 18:00, organized by the TI, tel. [phone]).

Bus Tours
City Sightseeing hop-on, hop-off bus tours are informative and cover the outskirts, includ-
ing the American WWII Cemetery. But keep in mind that buses can't go where walking
tours can—right into the center ( £ 14, 80 minutes for full 19-stop circuit, buy ticket with
credit card at the bus-stop kiosk—or pay cash to driver when you board, departs every 20
minutes in summer, every 40 minutes in winter, first bus leaves train station at 10:06, last
bus around 17:30, recorded commentary, tel. [phone], www.city-sightseeing.com ) .
If arriving by train, you can buy your ticket from the kiosk directly in front of the station,
then ride the bus into town.