The Best Things To See And Do In Cambridge UK With Kids

A city with a plethora of both indoor and outdoor activities, Cambridge is great for family days out. Children will be as inspired by the famous River Cam as they are by the historical landmarks it runs past.

Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips, compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips.

Exploring any city with children in tow is an art unto itself. You may have aspirations of a quiet, civilised gallery visit or walking tour, but when you have one or more miniature people with short attention spans to attend to, adjustments need to be made. Whether you’re out for the day or just taking an hour of leisure time between shopping duties, Cambridge has plenty to offer to keep kids of all ages entertained.

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

Museum

If there’s one constant with kids throughout the generations, it’s that they love dinosaurs. Cambridge can facilitate this as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences has several complete skeletons, as well as gallery trails and even fossil handling. You can find the museum on Downing Street in the city centre, and entry is free.

River Tours

Natural Feature

Punting is one of the things Cambridge is best known for, but river tours are more family-friendly. You can book either a private punt or a shared one online, and you are even allowed to bring food and drink aboard as you are taken down the Cam by an experienced guide. Tours leave from La Mimosa Punt Station.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden

Botanical Garden

While looking at wildflowers isn’t exactly a kid-friendly activity, the historic Cambridge University Botanic Garden offers plenty of activities to keep younger guests occupied. On the first Saturday of every month, drop-in sessions on plant-growing take place, and kids can even go out hunting for bugs (don’t worry – they don’t get to keep them). The garden lies right next to the train station.

Cambridge Science Centre

Museum
The Cambridge Science Centre is a quaint, but vibrant space filled with interesting things for kids to learn about, often by playing. The stations around the room are almost all interactive, and activities include making paper cut-outs to fly in a wind machine and a voice box machine that can change the tone and pitch of your voice.

Cambridge Treasure Hunt Trail

Hiking Trail

If you’re looking to see the city and keep kids entertained, you could do a lot worse than the city’s signature treasure hunt. The 2.7km (1.7m) loop takes in all the famous sights, and solving the mission enters you into a prize draw for £100. You can even get clues by text if you get stuck. The treasure hunt office is on St Andrews Street, but you can also download the trail online and go it alone.

Jesus Green Lido

Swimming Pool

© JAMES LINSELL-CLARK / Alamy Stock Photo

If you’re in Cambridge in the summer and need to cool off and keep the kids active, Jesus Green boasts an impressive outdoor lido. Built in the 1920s, it has a longer, narrower design than most outdoor pools, and has a grassy sunbathing area as well as a sauna to keep grown-ups happy.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.