It is hard to imagine Cambridge without the university. It would be a small village, with no tourists and a quiet river, which is vastly different from what it is now. We came to the conclusion quite early, that there are two types of people in Cambridge: students and tourists; and it seems that the indigenous population has been pushed to the brink of extinction.
The University really is the focal point of the city, with its light golden stone buildings spanning eight centuries of English architecture. These buildings form the 31 or so colleges (it depends what you count as a college) in what is a pretty compact area. This means that if you do find time for a drink, then you haven’t got far to walk. Bonus.
Cambridge, the city, has many many good pubs and arguably some of the country's best during the summer. We recommend that you crawl from pub to pub along the river, local advice suggests The Mill, The Eagle and the King's Run. Words of warning, though, beware of a few bars in the city centre. Some of the locals like to attempt to prove that brawn is superior to brains. Maybe wear that sweater around your waist rather than shoulders.
As for advice on local clubs, we thought we would leave that to one of our readers. Here is his basic guide:
Life - very popular - student night on a wednesday night, but also sunday nights are very good. Cost: £3.00 before 9. Fosters £2.00 a pint, but on Sunday most of the drinks are expensive.
Fifth Avenue - 'filth' or 'cindy's' - schoolgirl night on mondays, student night on tuesday, 'rumboogie' on wednesdays - the sporty people's night. Good drinks offers.
Coco - Thursday night, rnb student night. 4 floors, exceptionally cheap entry and drinks, and free cloakroom.
Fez - student night monday - play a mix of music from 70s funk to muse, white stripes etc. Cheap cocktails before 10.30pm.
