Greetings, dearest visitor! Welcome to Cambridge, the town which inspired Newton’s laws of motion, Lord Byron’s ‘She Walks in Beauty’, Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and of course A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. Cambridge has welcomed millions of people from all around the globe for hundreds of years, and today it welcomes you.
Cambridge is home to the University of Cambridge, a world-renowned seat of higher education. It is a collegiate university comprising 31 colleges, with the first one dating all the way back to 1209. In its eight centuries’ worth of history, the University has produced 118 Nobel Laureates, 8 Fields Medalists, 123 Olympic medalists, and many, many more huge names in mathematics, natural science, philosophy, literature, social sciences, humanities, arts, sports, and politics. The University is also the city’s primary tourist destination, famed for its rich history, stunning architecture, and beautiful colleges.
Landmarks include King’s College’s Chapel, Great St. Mary’s Church, Fitzwilliam Museum, and the University Library. Other places which just can’t be missed are:
- Trinity College’s Wren Library, whose vast collection includes Newton’s first edition copy of Principia with his handwritten notes
- Cambridge’s two world-famous bridges, Bridge of Sighs and Mathematical Bridge
- Cambridge University Botanic Gardens
- Cavendish Laboratory, where the electron, proton, and neutron were discovered
- The Eagle, a pub where Watson & Crick announced their discovery of “the secret of life” (hint: structure of DNA)
For a very Cambridge-esque experience, you should definitely try punting along River Cam. A punt is a small boat which is steered by pushing the riverbed with a long pole. You can either hire your own boat and punt yourself, or sit back, relax, and allow an experienced punter to take care of you. Along the river, you will pass through several famous colleges and several of Cambridge’s many bridges – pun fully intended. If you’re lucky, you may also be treated with the sight of a family of ducks happily swimming along right beside your punt!
For a complete guide to Cambridge tourism, kindly go to www.visitcambridge.org
Getting here
Cambridge is located about 80 km northeast of London. You can travel here by train (50 minutes from London King’s Cross or 80 minutes from London Liverpool Street) or by coach from any of London’s five airports, of which Stansted is the closest. Cambridge is located in Cambridgeshire county.
Kota Cambridge terletak sekitar 80 km di sebelah timur laut London dan bisa dicapai dalam waktu 45 menit dengan kereta api yang berangkat dari London King’s Cross Station. Kota Cambridge sendiri berada di County (semacam region di Inggris) bernama Cambridgeshire.
Kota Cambridge berasosiasi sangat erat dengan Cambridge University. Konon, kota ini perlahan-lahan berkembang setelah Peterhouse, college pertama di Cambridge University, didirikan pada tahun 1209. Tak heran, bangunan-bangunan University tidak terletak di kawasan tertentu dari kota, melainkan tersebar di seluruh penjuru kota. Pusat kota sendiri didominasi oleh bangunan-bangunan tua yang merupakan bagian tak terpisahkan dari University. Sebagian dari bangunan-bangunan ini membentuk beberapa dari 31 College yang membentuk Cambridge University, seperti King’s College, St. John’s College, Downing College, dan lainnya. Karena reputasi akademis Cambridge University yang sangat baik dan terkenal di seluruh dunia, kota Cambridge sendiri dikenal sebagai salah satu kota pelajar di UK. Ini membuat atmosfer di Cambridge terasa sangat dinamis karena 70% penghuni kota Cambridge merupakan pelajar yang terdiri dari anak-anak hingga para orang dewasa yang sedang mengenyam pendidikan tinggi.
Landmark dari kota ini meliputi laboratorium terkenal Cavendish (tempat ditemukannya elektron, proton, dan neutron!), King’s College Chapel, Great St. Mary’s Church, Fitzwilliam Museum, dan Cambridge University Library. Kegiatan lain yang tidak boleh dilewatkan adalah punting atau menyusuri River Cam dengan kapal kecil yang didorong dengan tongkat. Selama punting, anda akan melewati beberapa college Cambridge yang paling terkenal, seperti Trinity College yang menghasilkan banyak ilmuwan besar seperti Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Niels Bohr, Lord Rayleigh, dan masih banyak lagi. Selain itu, anda juga akan melewati dua jembatan yang sangat terkenal, yaitu Mathematical Bridge dan Bridge of Sighs. Kota Cambridge sendiri memiliki fasilitas yang cukup lengkap mulai dari fasilitas olahraga seperti gymnasium dan kolam renang indoor serta fasilitas kehidupan malam dengan banyaknya pub dan bar yang tersebar di seluruh kota Cambridge.
Berikut merupakan link untuk peta Kota Cambridge yang diambil dari travel.sygic.com
For travel within Cambridge, there are several transportation choices. Do keep in mind that the city centre itself is very small, and everything in it can be reached on foot!
Bus
Buses are Cambridge’s most common form of public transportation. There are many routes and service providers, and these multitude of options can be a bit daunting for newcomers. Fortunately, Google Maps is reasonably accurate for bus schedules. You can buy a ticket by cash directly from the bus driver, but please be sure to have small change with you. If you’re going from the train station to the city centre, you can take the University ‘U’ bus, which is the cheapest bus service at £2 (single trip) or £3 (day ticket).Taxi
Taxis are naturally more expensive than a bus, but can be extremely handy if you’re in a rush or trapped in horrible weather. You should know that you cannot hail a taxi on the spot, with exceptions on a few locations such as the train station. You must book one by phone or through the taxi company’s app. The most reliable company is Panther Taxi (+44 1223 715 715).Bicycle
Why not roam around like a local? Cambridge is the UK’s cycling capital, where almost everyone rides a bike everywhere. There are bike lanes in many major roads and bike racks are never far away. You can rent a bike at one of the city’s many bike shops or use ofo, an app-based bike-sharing facility.Untuk travel dalam kota Cambridge, ada beberapa alternatif kendaraan yang bisa anda gunakan. Beberapa di antaranya adalah:
Bus
Bus merupakan salah satu kendaraan umum yang paling terkenal dan dapat diandalkan di Cambridge. Terdapat berbagai arah yang dilalui oleh bus-bus di Cambridge. Perlu diingat bahwa terdapat banyak jenis bus yang terdapat di Cambridge. Ini disebabkan oleh banyaknya rute-rute luar kota yang tidak dilayani oleh bus dalam kota Cambridge. Perusahaan bus yang melayani rute-rute dalam kota adalah Stagecoach sedangkan untuk bus luar kota, terdapat National Express, Whippet, dan Park&Ride.
- Single Rider (£2.40) : sekali perjalanan dari dan ke semua halte bus Cambridge
- Day Rider (£4.50) : 1 hari penuh perjalanan dari semua halte bus Cambridge
- Mega Rider (£11.00) : 1 minggu penuh perjalanan dari semua halte bus Cambridge
Taxi
Sepeda
- Colleges in the City Centre: King’s, Trinity, St. John’s, Trinity Hall, Gonville & Caius, Downing, Peterhouse, Pembroke, Christ’s, Corpus Christi, St. Catharine’s, Queens’, Emmanuel, Sidney Sussex, and Jesus. Not all of these colleges are open to tourist all year round. Please note that many colleges, although not all, imposes an entry fee unless you are accompanied by a Cambridge student.
- Visitor Centre: Round Church and Guildhall
- Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
- University Museum of Zoology
- Whipple Museum of the History of Science
- Senate House