Cambridge, the student city par excellence and with a university that is more than 800 years old, is a destination to visit at any time of the year, for its history and cultural heritage. But at Christmas time, the impressive and charming buildings are joined by the glamor of lights, decorations and music.
The different faculties of the university, the colleges, are without a doubt the number one attraction of the city. Historical monuments, they bring together teaching, culture, history and art. During the school year, the visitor can watch students bustling in and out of classrooms and libraries. In some colleges it is allowed to enter to contemplate the interior patios, beautiful gardens overlooking the windows of the classrooms and teachers' offices. If you're lucky, you can peek inside the wood-paneled dining rooms, many of which feel like you're in a Harry Potter movie. In other colleges there are organized tourist visits.
University buildings are beautiful at any time, but at Christmas even more so. Elegantly decorated and illuminated, they host multiple cultural and religious activities that allow you to meditate and reach retreat in the cradle of some of the great geniuses of world science or literature. We must not forget that personalities such as Virginia Woolf, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking and Sylvia Plath, among many others, studied within those walls.
Colleges have their own chapels and many hold choral concerts at this time. Highlights include the Christmas concert at King's College Chapel, a medieval chapel with the largest fan vault in the world. Regardless of one's religious faith, it is worth imbibing the atmosphere of spirituality and harmony that is breathed.
Light shows are also abundant, offered in numerous places. One of the most notable is located in the university's botanical gardens, an impressive place that multiplies its appeal with winter lighting.
For those who prefer something more worldly and noisy, there is the street and the British-style party. Every year, the so-called North Pole opens its doors with a large ice rink, traveling stalls, fairground attractions and fun for everyone. It is located in Parker's Piece, the impressive green quadrangle that is the gateway to the historic city.
Street markets, like the one that unfolds in Market Square every day, offer products from all over the world, but especially artisanal elaborations from the country, such as cheeses - undervalued outside its borders, apart from Stilton or Cheddar -, liqueurs and pies. , the typical salty empanadas filled with all kinds of ingredients.
During the Christmas season, you can't miss the sweet and spicy mince pies, and the puddings, which combine the richness of nuts with the aroma of liqueurs. All restaurants and pubs offer Christmas menus, with traditional roast, Brussels sprouts (yes, they are considered a Christmas delicatessen there), potatoes and traditional sauces. And anyone who wants to make the entire batch can book an afternoon tea at one of the tea houses. A whole ceremony that includes, in addition to tea to taste, small sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, pastries and a lot of aristocratic atmosphere.
This atmosphere can be felt in any of the historic mansions that are spread throughout the British territory, witnesses of times of imperial greatness and now safeguarded thanks to tourism. Some of these mansions around Cambridge are Wimpole and Anglesey Abbey, which, at Christmas, in addition to the beautiful light show, has the addition of a themed visit with new decorations each year. This time the central theme is the world of stories, and the visitor can admire, among others, the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz and Andersen's Little Mermaid.
Another Christmas tradition consists of going to the theater to enjoy one of the many shows on offer, with family or friends. Particularly popular there is pantomime, a comic theater where costumes, games with misunderstandings and the call for audience participation are the basis of everything. But you can also enjoy classical ballet, family theater, monologues and all kinds of music.
Going shopping and enjoying the beauty of the window decorations, even if you don't buy anything, are also part of the moment. One of the main streets for shopping is Green Street, in addition to Trinity Street. Cambridge's university tradition means it has multiple shops that are a delight for their specificity and history. From historic bookstores to map stores or establishments specializing exclusively in the uniforms of university rowing teams...
And if you are tired, you can relax with a classic activity to see the city from another perspective and enjoy the back and hidden parts of the colleges: sailing along the River Cam with the small traditional boats, the punt. They are punts that currently measure between six and seven meters, with a width of one to two meters, and pushed by an oarsman, in the Venetian style. From there you can admire Saint John's College with its Bridge of Sighs, the Wren Library at Trinity College and the Mathematicians' Bridge, which is said to have been built by Newton without using nuts or bolts.
