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Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
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Swirles Court (Girton College), Cambridge
Swirles Court (Girton College), Cambridge
Swirles Court (Girton College), Cambridge
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The Stephen Hawking Building, (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
The Stephen Hawking Building, (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
The Stephen Hawking Building, (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
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Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House, Cambridge
Westcott House, Cambridge
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Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
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Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Hughes Hall, Cambridge
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Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
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King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
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Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
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Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
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Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
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Histon Road (Lucy Cavendish College), Cambridge
Histon Road (Lucy Cavendish College), Cambridge
Histon Road (Lucy Cavendish College), Cambridge
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Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
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St Edmund's College, Cambridge
St Edmund's College, Cambridge
St Edmund's College, Cambridge
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Westminster College Cottages, Cambridge
Westminster College Cottages, Cambridge
Westminster College Cottages, Cambridge
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WYNG Gardens (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
WYNG Gardens (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
WYNG Gardens (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
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Harvey Court (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
Harvey Court (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
Harvey Court (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge
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Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
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Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
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Wychfield (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
Wychfield (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
Wychfield (Trinity Hall), Cambridge
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Westminster College, Cambridge
Westminster College, Cambridge
Westminster College, Cambridge
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Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
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Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College, Cambridge
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Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
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St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
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Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
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St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge

Where:

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Guests:

Bed and breakfast accommodation in Cambridge University colleges

Not just for students - anyone can book!

  • A unique backstage pass providing the opportunity to stay in a historic Cambridge college during your visit to this heritage-rich city, whilst helping to generate revenue contributing to the upkeep of these iconic buildings.
  • These B&B or self catering rooms are mostly located in central Cambridge
  • Re-trace the footsteps of graduates such as Newton, Darwin, Wordsworth, John Cleese, and Prince Charles; eat in the college hall, wander through the college's gardens or take a punt along the river followed by a drink in the college bar.
  • A great alternative to staying in budget Cambridge hotels, hostels or bed and breakfasts.

Reviews for Cambridge

4.2
Based on 24,495 reviews
Room
4.1
Value
4.2
Food
4.2
Service
4.4
Overall
4.4
★★★★★
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348
72

A really nice place to unwind and relax. All the staff were really helpful and polite. 10/10

Churchill College, Cambridge

A wonderful experience all round. Thank you for offering this at such a great price.

Selwyn College, Cambridge

We had a wonderful stay in Cambridge (family wedding )- such lovely rooms - staff - the housekeeper and porters were so helpful . Great location . Will definitely recommend and stay again .

The Stephen Hawking Building, (Gonville & Caius College), Cambridge

really good value and central location near to everything we wanted to see.

St Catharine's College, Cambridge

We were delighted with our short stay at Christ's College and would love to return sometime. Everyone was very helpful and we would highly recommend our friends and relations to stay in such a wonderful and historic setting.

Christ's College, Cambridge

A real find and we shall hopefully stay longer next time.

Westminster College, Cambridge

Excellent location and great price (Included breakfast) nice and quiet - will stop again and recommend to anyone visiting

Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Fantastic service from poerter and kitchen/serving staff. A credit to the college. Refectory superb environment. The food first class. A great stay, but you do pay for it!

St John's College, Cambridge

It was a great experience with you. I really appreciate everything and enjoyed a lot staying there. thanks

Homerton College, Cambridge

Cambridge Visitor information

An introduction to Cambridge

With Cambridge, the word unique takes on a new meaning. Founded as a University in 1209, the city today has preserved much of its outstanding beauty and original character as a quiet place of thought.

Visit Cambridge to wander among its narrow medieval streets or “The Backs”, the outstanding series of college gardens and grounds that lead down to the river. Study architecture of every period and of almost every century, and inspect the University’s many important literary, artistic, and scientific treasures. Some ideas include ghost walks, MP3 guided walks, visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum and of course, no visit to Cambridge is complete without punting down the River Cam!

“Such a balance of garden and building, of shape and form, of peace, quiet and constantly changing scene is only achieved once in the world” (R Tibbs, 1972).

It should be understood that colleges are designed primarily for students: not for children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, with this in mind, the colleges do meet level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with, and we will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Dates of Cambridge's academic vacations

Rooms are mainly available during the academic vacations.

Easter: mid-March to mid-April
Summer: mid-June to mid-October
Christmas: beginning of December to mid-January

Getting to Cambridge

From London: the best options include train or bus. Trains leave every half an hour from London Kings Cross or London Liverpool St (enquiries: 08457 48 49 50; www.nationalrail.co.uk). The approximate journey time is one hour and the return fare is £15.00 to £17.70 depending on time of travel.  The walk from the station to the centre of Cambridge takes about 20 minutes, or you can take a taxi from the rank at the front of the train station, the approximate cost of which is £5-£6.

Parking: Cambridge is generally not very car friendly, with pedestrianised zones and one-way systems. Some colleges (including Churchill, Downing, Fitzwilliam, Jesus, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards) offer on-site parking facilities, or alternatively there are large car parks in the city, with more information here  We would advise against using the Park and Ride services as they don't allow overnight parking.

If travelling from an airport to Cambridge, the best options are either hiring a car or taking a coach: www.gobycoach.com.

History of Cambridge

Whilst Cambridge possibly existed in Roman times, and grew into a Norman market town (the name of the town mutated from Grentabrige or Cantebrigge (Grantbridge) its University has made it was it is today.

The University was formed in 1209 when a group of Oxford scholars moved to the town to escape the violence prevelent in Oxford at the time. But even in these days the University was having problems of discipline (!). Students belonged to no particular body, were not responsible to any person and came and went in an irregular manner. By 1231 Cambridge students were sufficient in numbers and apparently so unruly that Henry III issued a number of writs for the punishment of the disorderly.

It was the solutions to these disciplinary problems, thought up by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely from 1257 to 1286 that was to sow the seeds of todays college system. He placed the scholars (now known as the "scholars of the Bishop of Ely") in two houses next to the Church of St Peter on the Trumpington Road. This became known as "The House of St Peter" and thus gradually the college system began to evolve, and Peterhouse, the first Cambridge college, was born.

In 1318 the University was officially baptised with a Papal Bull from Pope John XXII. Other colleges followed soon after: Trinity college (originally called Michaelhouse) was founded in 1324 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the time, Hervey de Stanton, and Clare college, originally called University Hall, was next in 1326. Pembroke college was founded in 1347 by the wife of the Earl of Pembroke and the following year, Edward Gonville founded a college of his own which came to be known as Gonville Hall: this was then refounded by Dr John Caius in 1557 to give us Gonville and Caius.

Most colleges were founded by wealthy individuals from the Church, Government or landowners. Corpus Christi, founded in 1352, is unusual in that it is the only college which sprang directly from members of the town. Christopher Marlow, Shakespeare's famous contemporary, was a student at the college and one can still see his rooms in the old court.

King's College founded in the fifteenth century: Henry VI intended it to form part of a double foundation with Eton and in doing this there is some evidence that he was repeating the plan of William of Wykeham, who had founded Winchester and New College, Oxford. Queens' was founded by Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, and later, William IV's wife Elizabeth Woodville became a co-founder (thus Queens' rather than Queen's). This has not unnaturally be described as the first outward symbol of the reconciliation of the houses of York and Lancaster.

The fifteenth century also brought two other colleges: John Alcock, the then Bishop of Ely, founded Jesus in 1469 and Robert Wodelark, a Provost of Kings College, founded St Catharine's in 1473.

Now with 31 colleges, the University has gradually grown in size, stature and influence on the world: its graduates have reached the highest levels in science, the Church, government, and business throughout the world.

Some notable alumni and academics

15 British Prime Ministers including Robert Walpole, considered to be the first Prime Minister of Great Britain
Oliver Cromwell - Lord Protector of England (1653-58) - Sidney Sussex
Sir Isaac Newton - mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author- Trinity
Charles Darwin - developed theory of natural selection - Christ's
Francis Crick, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins - established 3D model of DNA
Sir Ian Wilmut - cloned Dolly the Sheep in 1996 - Darwin
Sir David Attenborough - naturalist and broadcaster - Clare
Stephen Hawking - physicist, cosmologist, and author - Trinity Hall
Rowan Williams - former Archbishop of Canterbury - Magdalene
Sir Ian McKellan - actor - St Catharine's
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie - actors - Queen's and Selwyn
Sandi Toksvig – TV personality - Newnham
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell - Astrophysicist who discovered pulsars – Murray Edwards
Mishal Husain – broadcaster and presenter – Murray Edwards
Tilda Swinton – actress – Murray Edwards
Zadie Smith – novelist – King’s
Carol Vordemon – presenter - Sidney Sussex
Naomie Harris - actress - Pembroke College
Arianna Huffington – creator of the Huffington Post - Girton 
Baroness Brenda Hale – President of the Supreme Court of the UK – Girton