We will be visiting Cambridge for 3 days (4 nights) in early May. I see that many of the colleges will be closed due to exams, but that's okay. I think I can spend all my time in the various museums- Archeology and Anthropology, Zoology, Fitzwilliam, etc. as well as soaking up the architecture. Does anyone have any recommendations for walking tours to get a sense of history and the overall lay of the land? I have been looking at guide books, but I always like to poll the Fodor specialists...anything you really liked? And any CAMRA pubs not-to-be-missed? Thank you!

The punt rides thru canals running in back of some colleges are popular:

https://www.google.com/search?q=camb...iw=639&bih=613

It is hard to avoid the touts for punt trips on the Backs. They can be very agressive in my experience.

If you have the time and inclination a trip up to Ely is worth it.

I was going to recommend a pub but I see it is closed.

The Camra website has a full list of it's pubs in and around Cambridge
https://pubs.cambridge-camra.org.uk/

This article recommends five, but you need to check if they are still open. Pubs in the UK are closing at a frightening rate.
https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/wha...-pubs-12828737

Day trips are a possibility if you run out of sights in Cambridge. We took the train to Ely one day, and drove through the countryside on another day.

I was about to suggest Ely, short train ride and close in to the station.

My friend & I having tea at Topping & Co. Books in Ely:
https://www.travelgumbo.com/blog/gum...ny-booksellers

There are lots of good sights in the Cambridge area, including historic Bury St Edmunds and Lavenham in Suffolk. The second photo in Michael's post shows the Swan Hotel, a good place for afternoon tea. Lavenham is said to be the best preserved medieval town in England.

You will need a car if touring the countryside, but Cambridge and Ely are well connected to London by train. I love sitting in a riverside pub watching the amateur punters make fools of themselves. Once, to my young daughter's delight, one of the professional punters fell in, with his straw boater floating on the water!

Thank you everyone! This trip is an experiment with public transportation, so we aren't planning on a car. Ely was on my possible list. Can we just buy train tickets on the spur of the moment? We have only gone on long train trips before, London to Edinburgh, for example, where you have to buy in advance to get a great deal.

The Tourist office tour sounds good.

I am so sorry to hear about the pubs closing. We heard about CAMRA from a gentleman in Wales and have looked for them since. I am not an American bottled beer drinker, but learned to love real ale...

Yes you can just buy a ticket to Ely at the station.

As you can see from the Camra site there are still plenty of pubs with real ale in Cambridge.

PT you need this https://www.traveline.info/ all the various apps use this as the source data for their functions.

There is a large American military cemetery and memorial just outside of Cambridge:

https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memo...rican-cemetery

It's sadly true that pubs in Britain have been closing more rapidly in the past five years than for some time. But CAMRA-rated pubs - especially in affluent knowledge-economy cities with aggressive local councillors and equally aggressive civic officials - are, generally, far less prone to close than run of the mill ones.

Last call for English pubs? Hope that the Rovers in Weatherfield survives!

If you get to Bury St Edmunds (always known locally as Bury) you can tour the local Greene King Brewery. There's also a micro brewery called The Old Cannon Brewery which has a very good restaurant.
https://www.greeneking.co.uk/our-bee...urs-beer-cafe/

https://www.oldcannonbrewery.co.uk/