Cambridge University Self-Guided Tour: King's, Trinity, St John's

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. On this tour you explore the centre of Cambridge through three of the university's colleges.

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2. You start the tour next to the ticket station for The River Cam boat trips with the option of ending the tour with one of the boat trips.

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3. The tour starts in front of the main entrance and gatehouse of King's College.

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4. You're invited to stop and take photos at this location.

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5. The round, squat building is appropriately named The Round Church. Once you've had a look, turn left and keep walking, leaving the church behind you. The Round Church was built around the year 1130, which makes it the second oldest building in Cambridge. It is one of only 4 surviving medieval round churches in England. The church was too small for Cambridge's growing population, so the congregation have moved to a larger space. This building now hosts exhibitions and concerts.

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6. You stop briefly outside the Great Gate of Trinity College.

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7. King's College Chapel is one of the most famous pieces of Gothic architecture in the world, and probably the most famous building in Cambridge. You'll stop outside the chapel to admire it before continuing the tour.

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8. top here for a moment, and look at the magnificent gateway in front of you. These gates are part of Gonville and Caius College. Look through the gates. Can you see something set into the floor? It's a long strip of marble with a round plaque. This is a memorial to Francis Crick, a member of Caius College and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Crick and his colleague James Watson later won the Nobel prize for this discovery. Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist, is also a fellow here. In fact, I have seen Stephen Hawking while eating at Caius dining hall. Caius is notorious for serving the worst food of any Cambridge college, but it's worth it to be able to claim to have had dinner with Stephen Hawking.

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9. It was founded in 1092 by an endowment from Hugolina de Gernon, the wife of Picot of Cambridge, baron of Bourn and county sheriff. According to the 12th-century writings of Alfred of Beverley, Hugolina had been suffering from a long illness. The doctors had been unable to treat her and she had prayed to Saint Giles on her death bed promising to build a church in his honour if she were to recover, which she did. The church was rebuilt in 1875 as part of the Catholic revival and now has a rather plain exterior. The interior, however, is well worth a visit as it contains elements from the original church alongside beautiful panelling, glass and statues from the 19th Century.

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10. The tour takes you passed the grounds of Magdalene College.

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11. This tour takes you passed the Great Gate at St John's College

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12. You'll cross over the bridge on this tour.

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Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 55 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Showing reviews written in English.

• 5Great

  I did this tour with my 13 year old daughter and we really enjoyed it. Just enough history to keep her interested and got to see parts of Cambridge we wouldn’t have looked at without it. We really liked the bits of personal information 🥰

  F5104JSzoesMay 2026via Tripadvisor

• 5Interesting audio tour

  A great self guided audio tour that doesn't take long (around 45-50 minutes) and is ideal for solo travellers. The only down side is that the tour gets slightly confusing towards the end where the route was changed because of the Covid pandemic.

  Richard_PApril 2025via Viator

• 1Poor. Lost opportunity to learn more.

  The concept is great, however the level of historical info poor & the narrator's voice dour to the point of irritation. The narration should have been, with more research & effort, an opportunity to fill the listener with facts about Cambridge life &history, not just the odd random snippet. Buy a guide book instead.

  Trip822365March 2025via Tripadvisor

• 5The best!

  It was fantastic ! It was like having my own personal very lovemy tour guide. Headphones on phone in pocket and off we go! She has a beautiful voice and it was just perfect

  Susan_CMarch 2025via Viator

• 5Really enjoyed this tour!

  I really enjoyed this tour! It was informative and easy to follow along with the guidance, and it took me to parts of the city I don’t think I would’ve seen otherwise. It was also nice to follow along at my own pace and be able to start and stop the tour when I wanted.

  A7665APmariaMarch 2025via Tripadvisor

• 5Informative, personal and entertaining

  We loved the commentary, which was informative, personal and entertaining. It was great seeing Cambridge through her eyes.

  office429February 2025via Tripadvisor

Know before you go

How it compares in Cambridge

• Its from-price is 87% below the median of the 108 experiences we list in Cambridge.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 26 of 108.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Cambridge

Cambridge is an English university city on the River Cam, famed for its ancient colleges, King's College Chapel and punts gliding along the Backs.

The university, founded in the early thirteenth century, still shapes the centre, with college courts, gatehouses and chapels opening off narrow streets. King's College Chapel, with its fan-vaulted ceiling and tall windows, is the best known, and Trinity's Great Court and the Bridge of Sighs at St John's are close behind. The Fitzwilliam Museum holds antiquities and paintings, and the market square has traded for centuries.

Top-ranked sights in Cambridge: King's College Chapel, Trinity College, Mathematical Bridge.

See all 108 experiences in Cambridge