Before I visited Cambridge, I’d prefer to jump on a plane to more foreign climes than take a train to a destination I only ever associated with the world’s greatest brainiacs – but in the last month, this charming city has stole my heart.  The expansive colleges steeped in centuries of history are just the backdrop to luscious green landscapes, quaint boutiques and  idyllic cobbled lanes, where cyclists weave through the many tourists who year-on-year contribute hundreds of millions to the city’s economy.  And it’s little wonder – named one of the “most beautiful cities in the world” by Forbes two years ago, Cambridge is a refreshing destination for anyone in search of a bit of peace and relaxation or a quaint, yet contemporary English experience that contrasts from the hustle and bustle of our capital.

How to get there

You can catch a non-stop train from King’s Cross every half-hour during off-peak hours, and it will take you roughly 50 minutes to get into Cambridge.  An off-peak return is £32.30 (while day returns start from £22.20).  Once you arrive, city centre is about 15-20 minutes away from the station by foot, so you can always walk, catch a cab (more straightforward) or get a bus (less straightforward).  The buses in Cambridge are run by a number of operators so figuring out which one to catch can be a little confusing. Just know that they don’t run as regularly as they do in London, the Citi 1, Citi 2, Citi 3, Citi7 and Citi 8 (not to be confused with the plain ol’  1, 2 and 8) gets you into city centre and the total fare is £1.50.  To catch a bus, come out of the station, take a left towards the car park and cross over to the road in front of you.  You should see a number of bus stops along the road, on your left.

What to do

If you’re only spending 24-hours in the city, start off  by marvelling at the architecture of the 30-plus colleges that make up Cambridge University.  These medieval schools date as far back as the 13th Century and are magnificent in size and structure – so make a beeline for the likes of  King’s College,  Queens’ College or Trinity and pay for a guided walked tour around their grounds (£16 for 2 hours).  Then hang out along the King’s Parade, a popular central street that offers views of  King’s College Chapel, Senate House and Great St Mary’s, and small shops on the east side, which leads to the bustling Market Square. I spent hours here as you can get  everything from tourist T-shirts and Jamaican patties to fresh herbal tea and thai food.  You should also pick up a map from the Cambridge Tourist Information Centre just a short walk away from the Market on Peas Hill to help you plan the rest of the day.

For a little more history, it’s worth visiting the Fitzwilliam museum, which holds art and antiques on behalf of the University of Cambridge and is free to visit.  Gallery-wise, you can enjoy more art at  Kettle’s Yard on Castle Street which holds a lovely collection of modern works, as well as  Byard Art on the King’s Parade.  For a more peculiar sight, feast your eyes on the Corpus Clock.  Based outside the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, it’s a freakish sculpture which features the Chronophage “time”eater – a very grim-looking grasshopper that look like it’s related to a Gremlin (!).   If you’d like more ideas of things to do in Cambridge see the “where to play section” below or visit the Lonely Planet‘s helpful guide.

Where to eat

As with any modern English city, restaurants chains and pubs abound – so you’ll stumble upon all types of cuisine options, especially if you’re on a budget.  However, my personal faves were Nanna Mexico on Regent Street (the only independent restaurant Mexican restaurant in Cambridge) and Hong Kong Fusion on St John’s Street (you can get the tastiest bubble teas here) – and both are short walks within the city centre.  And although it’s a chain, Bill’s on Green Street is a nice choice for lunch if you’ve never been (try the freshly made cinnamon donuts for dessert) and if you like your kebabs with loads of salad , you can’t go wrong with the Gardenia on Rose Crescent. This Greek outlet is hugely popular with students whose pictures adorn their wall of fame.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, get some free, homemade fudge samples – or have a go making it – at Cambridge Fudge Kitchen Shop on King’s Parade – or make haste to Hardy’s Original Sweet Shop on St John’s Street for those good old fashioned sweets you grew up with.   TripAdvisor offers a decent guide to top restaurants and and confectionery spots in Cambridge, which you can check out here.

Where to sleep

What’s unique about Cambridge is that you can rent rooms at the colleges from around £34 a night if you’re after a quirky experience  which will cast you back to your uni days (without the notorious food thieves).  I enjoyed a few nights at Bishop Bateman Court on Trinity Lane (part of Trinity Hall College), which was clean, peaceful – and my room even came with a piano!  Alternatively, if you ‘d like something more upmarket,  you might want to stay at the stylish boutique hotel right opposite BBC known as The Varsity Hotel & Spa.  I got the opportunity to spend the night there and really loved the modernised Brit-inspired interiors, the jacuzzi at the Glassworks spa next door and  the roof terrace which offers a picturesque view of the city. Breakfast in the morning was also a plus, served at the River Bar Steakhouse & Grill  on the Quayside which overlooks the river.   The Varsity also runs a rooftop cinema every Sunday until September 10th.  If you’re after a great deals on hotels, visit hotels.com.   

Where to play

Walking around the city is great, but hiring a bike is a must. Cycle along the various winding lanes and the  infamous Trinity Street  – www.cityhire.com has a base that’s just a short walk from the market and offers bike hire for just £7 for 4 hours, £10 a day or £12 for 24 hours.

As the River Cam runs through Cambridge, punting is the recreation of choice for locals and visitors.  There’s a few companies that offer excursions and lessons like Granta Punt & Boat, The Cambridge Chauffeur Punts or Scudamores.  Expect to pay in the region of £12 upwards for a 45-60 minute guided tour or around £18 for a lesson.  Alternatively, you can go for a punt and dining option, offered by  The Varsity.

If you’re sticking around in the evening, see  a theatre show at notable venues such as ADC theatre on Park Street which features a late-opening bar, the Cambridge Arts Theatre for more traditional productions or the Corn Exchange which also offers music and comedy. For more recommendations of things to do, check out www.visitcambridge.org. 

Do you have any tips for visiting Cambridge or have a lovely holiday experience you’d like to recommend and share with The Cultural Exposé? Email info@theculturalexpose.co.uk – we’d love to hear about it!

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The carnival weekend, running over two days, is dominated by the carnival parade, 40 sound systems and BBQs serving up charred delights. The two day event runs over Sunday – ‘Family Day’- and Monday, a more adult affair, although the fun happens throughout both. As always the parade is a fiesta of colour and dancing. Sound systems old and new  to look out for this year include:

• The Flavour Magazine soundstage – featuring tunes from the late great Bob Marley and special guest performers (Westbourne Park station –  Tavistock Road and junction with Lemington Spa Villas) 
• KCC and the Rocking Crew – for the latest US house offerings (Wornington Rd) 
• Channel One for some deep rockers reggae (Junction of Westbourne Park Rd and Leamington Villas Rd) 
• Gaz’s Rockin Blues (a stalwart since the 70s) for ska, rock and punk (Outside 103 Talbot Rd)
• Sancho Panza if you fancy funky house and disco (Corner of Kensal Rd and Alderson St) 
• The Fun Bunch – in honour of the late DJ Swing, expect some quality R&B, hip-hop, boogie and garage (Junction of Talbot Rd and Sutherland Place)
• Norman Jay’s Good Times – It returns this year, promising exactly what it says on the tin (West Row off Kensal Road) 
• Latin Rave Street Jam – always fun to get those salsa moves down with random strangers! (Outside 318 Portobello Rd) (Full list of Soundsystems can be found here…)

Buy food from the family BBQ at the side of the road and beers from anyone passing with a shopping trolley full. Although the largest street party in Europe, people have worked hard to keep carnival a local, community affair – so let’s try and keep it that way. (Words: Laura Thornley)

Check out our photogallery of Notting Hill Carnival 2011, just here…

Carnival Tips

Here’s a few tips to ensure you have a wonderful and safe time if you’re heading to the carnival over the Bank Holiday:

1)  Travel light – it gets extremely crowded along the various roads at carnival and it’s easy for pickpockets to have a field day.  Keep bags zipped up and as close to your body as possible; avoid backpacks.

2)  Carry cash – it’s rare to find a cash machine (or anyone who’ll take cards!) so it’s best to be prepared.

3)  Wear comfortable shoes – you WILL do alot of walking.

4)  Bring your own snacks and drinks –  there’s no rule that says you can’t ;-)

5)  Expect to pay up to £2 to use a toilet.

6) Carry tissues and spare loo roll as it’s likely most places will run out quickly.

7)  Catch the procession if you can, then find a decent soundsystem and spend the day there (this year we recommend King Tubby, Latin Rave Street Jam and Music is Sound-system); as mentioned, it gets ridiculously crowded (especially along the procession route), so once you’ve got your snaps of costumed revellers, chill out at one of the many soundsystems – click here to see a map of where you can find them.

8)  Watch what you eat.  You’ll pay up to a tenner for a meal and a drink (but snacks like donuts and ‘festivals’ (fried dumplings) aren’t really marked up and can be a good filler if you don’t want to spend £20 on lunch and dinner throughout the day). Also, if you’re going for jerk chicken, make sure it’s cooked thoroughly.

9) Head to Ladbroke Grove to catch the “real” carnival. Tourists rarely make it beyond the Westway, but if you do, expect to experience a more community-vibe on the route to Kensal Road (and cheaper jerk chicken!).

10) Don’t forget your whistle or horn.  You can buy them at the carnival, but it’ll cost you plenty.

11) Get to Westbourne Park station earlier than later when you’re leaving.   Unfortunately, this is the station near the “backend” of the carnival – but there’s a terrible bottleneck which is being manned by police and it’ll take you ages to get through.  If you’re leaving late, it’s worth walking back to Notting Hill Gate/Ladbroke Grove.

If you have any more tips, feel free to share them via Twitter or on our Facebook page – otherwise, have a good one! 

For more info, visit www.thenottinghillcarnival.com

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First up is the Dub Pistols, who will be performing old and new music live. Also taking care of the music side of things are We Were Evergreen and The Bikini Beach Band – masters of surf noir pop covers. Or if it’s a rave you’re after, then how about a glo-in-the-dark neon 90s ping pong rave? (I’m sold already).  There will also be tunes spun featuring Fleetmac Wood – a mashup of Fleetwood Mac re-edits.  Finally, expect locally produced food and booze, plus prizes for best fancy dress. You couldn’t ask for much more, right? (Words: Laura Thornley) 

For more info, visit www.wearetbc.com/bookstock

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London to Paris, Paris to London. All for £69 with Eurostar.

 A casual Skype chat turned into booking-a-holiday-chat. I was delighted, but fearful. With little cash, could I still have a decent holiday in expensive Paris?

 I relied on Travelzoo’s weekly top twenty email to find me a hotel deal. As much as we wanted cheap, we didn’t want scummy. When Hotel Gat Folies popped up, I was relieved.  It was in a cool area called Opera, way less than half its usual price, far enough from the tourist traps, but close enough to still feel involved.

Free champagne and chocolates every night were thrown in for free too.  Isn’t that a wonderful way to start an evening?

 The all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet conveniently doubled up as lunch.  Bon appetite – yes indeed.  We dined on eggs (anyway you liked), toasted sandwiches, Madeira cake, fruit salad and cereal.  We sneakily stuffed croissants with jambon et fromage and let the warm Parisian day melt the cheese.

We shared our feast at the top of the Le Sacré Coeur (The Sacred Heart)  and joined the crowds to marvel at the view.  Free entertainment was provided by an amazing Ghanaian footballer, who climbed up a very tall street lamp to show off his amazing skills.

Being cheap wasn’t depressing; it was all wonderfully fantastic.

 Transport options were limited to legs and bikes. Walking meant we spent most of our time wondering where we were.  We found gems like Derrière (French for bottom or backside) on Rue des Gravilliers, a beautiful, alternative restaurant beyond our budget. But we oooo’d and aaaah’d, went in for a chat and I left knowing I’d be back.  I figure you can still appreciate the good things without having to have it.

The temporary beach created down by the Seine was a treat.  It gave us the opportunity to stop and watch Paris go by and remind ourselves we were actually here.  In Montmartre, an artist told us about the Paris he knew as he helped us find the man in wall – Marcel Ayme.

We peeped inside vintage shops, resisted buying souvenirs and took a few too many pictures at the love wall where “I love you” is written in hundreds of different languages – nice.

To see the great sights you don’t have to get your wallet out.  Just stroll.  We passed under the Arc de Triomphe and did a happy dance at The Louvre – just to lighten things up. The Eiffel Tower looked better from a distance with a chocolate crepe in hand.  Nutella – not champagne –  seems to be the national treasure so we fitted in fine.  

When we weren’t walking, we cycled. 1 euro for 24 hours. Once you master the system and realise you’re allowed to cycle on the pavements – you can’t help but go downhill and shout whooooopeeee. The bikes come in handy at 2am. We had a magical ride through the streets, weaving in between cars as part of a cycling convoy of newly found friends.  Oberkampf street was the street with some groove.  Some shop windows and doors were left wide open and good tunes hit you as you walked past.  Next stop –  Chez Moune nightclub in Pigalle. Monday to Friday is female only.  At the weekends it’s free for all.  The vibe’s decent and the drink prices remained a mystery, as the cheap bottles of supermarket plonk we’d sipped back at the hotel still danced merrily through our veins.

Our last meal was in sophisticated-looking MacDonalds (What we ate was determined by how much money we had left in our purse). Staring out into the streets we munched on French fries, never wishing we could be anywhere else.

My friend Carolina spent about £55 over 3 days.  I squandered a little more as I couldn’t leave Paris without buying a vintage French frock.  I found a pretty one for a whole 10 Euros (about £8).  I love it now and when someone asks “where did you get that dress from” I smugly reply “oh it’s just a cheap thing from Paris.”

They say money can’t buy you happiness and it certainly didn’t when Carolina and I invaded Paris. But with lack of funds we still managed to create a happy bubble we now seriously miss. (Words: Ena Miller) 

Do you have a lovely holiday experience you’d like to recommend and share with The Cultural Exposé? Email info@theculturalexpose.co.uk – we’d love to hear about it! 

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