Without a doubt, the highlight of your tour will be entering the stunning King’s College Chapel. The foundation stone was laid by King Henry VI himself, and successive English kings providing more and more ambitious additions (hence the name!). The chapel is home to the largest fan vaulted ceiling in the world, its is adorned with majestic stained glass windows, and there is even a Rubens painting (once the most expensive painting ever purchased).
Peterhouse was the first College of the university, funded in 1284. The group will stop outside where you can admire the splendid College Chapel and learn more about famous students such as the poet Thomas Gray.
The tour will stop outside of Pembroke College - the third oldest College in Cambridge - where our knowledgeable student guide will tell you about its history, including details about the College's Chapel, which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. While admission is free the College doesn't admit groups larger than 6, hence we suggest that you return here after the tour with all the historical insight in mind.
First we will have a look inside the Great Court of Corpus, then our student guide will tell you about the history of this famous College.
The Mathematical Bridge is one of the most recognized bridges at Cambridge and it has a rather strange origin story. Our student guide will tell you the popular legend, then clarify what the actual origins of the bridge were.
The group will stop by the entrance to Clare College on the 'Backs' - the local name of the path leading behind the central Colleges - where you will learn about its history. Additionally at this stop, our guide will highlight the University Library just across the road.
This bridge provides a beautiful view of the River Cam. On the right hand side you will see the bridge of Clare College, the oldest bridge of Cambridge. Straight ahead there is the stunning Jerwood Library of Trinity Hall, which was designed to look like a ship! It's a must do photo stop!
Outside the Senate House our student guide will tell you all the peculiar details of the graduation ceremony in Cambridge, which have been held in Senate House for the past 300 years.
The famous neighbor and rival of Trinity College. Here you will learn about its reputation and about the special privilege the College's fellows share with the Royal Family.
The tour will finish by Trinity College where you will learn more about famous alumni such as Sir Isaac Newton and Prince Charles. You will see 'the apple tree' and hear the comically unbelievable story behind the statue of Henry VIII above the gate.
Mark was a fantastic guide. Highly engaging and informative. Obviously loved his subject matter. Gave you a real feeling for what it would be to be a student. It was great fun and I would highly recommend.
Mark is a great and funny tour guide. He knows a lot about the city and taught us a ton about Cambridge and its colleges.
We had a very enjoyable 2-hour free walking tour. Our guide, Mark, did an excellent job at conveying the history of the place, and you could sense his passion for history. Thanks for showing us around!
This is truly one of the best tours I have ever done in my life! Paul was enthusiastic, flexible, and incredibly engaging! He mixed facts from all walks of life: academics, pop culture, history! And he did it seemlessly! The 2 hours went by so quickly because of how enjoyable it was! The fact that this is a free tour is amazing!
Recommended to me by a friend of mine living in Cambridge, I spontaneously decided to join this tour after the free walking tour I had originally booked for the same time slot was cancelled due to a lack of participants. The tour took place in a relatively small group, and Mark, our tour guide, did an excellent job of making it both informative and entertaining. We spent around 2.5 hours exploring Cambridge, starting at King's College and visiting, among other places, The Backs, the Mathematical Bridge and Pembroke College, before finishing at Trinity College. Along the way, we learned a great deal about the history of the University of Cambridge, its college system, what it's like to study there, and some of the scientific discoveries made at the university. Overall, it was a fantastic experience with an excellent guide, and one that I would definitely recommend!
Mark was a great guide and tailored the tour really well to our women only group. He was very knowledgeable and had lots of interesting facts and stories.
Had a brilliant tour with Mark. Loads of information and interesting details as well as very well tailored to our interests. The tour was very entertaining and full of insights that we would have otherwise missed entirely. Would definitely recommend!
Mark was great. Informative and entertaining tour. See lots of sites around Cambridge.
great tour around the city with so much to see and learned about the people who made this university so unique. Mark was a truly exceptional guide and that made all the difference in an activity like this.
The walking tour was fantastic! Hermione, our tour guide, was knowledgeable and told us very interesting stories about the university. I would highly recommend this tour!
OMG our guide Sonia was so brilliant it brought the tour alive. The knowledge, the anecdotes and the friendliness made the experience a true joy.
Great tour with Mark which he adapted for our all female group. His knowledge and ability to answer all our questions was very impressive. Thank you
Hermione was amazing! She was very informative and interactive, giving us a thorough overview of Cambridge. She also answered all of our questions and included numerous tidbits throughout the tour. I would recommend this tour and Hermione as a guide to all my friends!
One of the best tours I’ve ever taken! Hermione was an outstanding guide who answered all of our questions and provided many interesting stories.
Our guide Annabell was excellent. Friendly, informative and knowledgeable. You don't get to actually go in to any of the colleges, apart from Kings - you just stand outside them. That was disappointing, given the cost, and should have been made clear. However, still an enjoyable experience.
After taking a tour with our guide Sonya we will never see Cambridge through the same lens again. Could not recommend high enough. We were able to cover lots of places, learned so much about history of the land and of the university itself, and found fascinating facts about modern days affairs as well. And the visit to the King's College Chapel was absolutely breathtaking. And thanks to Sonya we now have a favorite gelato spot in Cambridge.
Excellent tour! Good sized group - not overly large. A great overview of Cambridge and superb historical context. Sonia brought the whole thing to life - so engaging, funny, down to earth but incredibly knowledgeable. Guide to the windows in Kings College Chapel was particularly good. Thoroughly recommend.
I went on Mark’s Cambridge tour with my two teenagers, and we all had a Great time! It was fascinating to learn so much from a true insider about how the University of Cambridge works, its colleges and its rich history. Mark’s sense of humour and impressive depth of knowledge made the tour both entertaining and enjoyable and informative. We had a really interesting afternoon. Thank you so much, Mark!
Mark was outstanding. He was funny, knowledgeable and engaging for the whole family (2 adults plus 2 teenage daughters). Probably the best guided tour we’ve taken anywheres. Bravo!
We did the Cambridge Footprints free walking tour with my wife and 13 year old daughter, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite the light rain, the two hours flew by thanks to our fantastic guide, Mark. His knowledge, storytelling and comedic hatred of all things Oxford University made the tour both entertaining and informative. Even our 13 year old daughter was engaged from start to finish, which says it all! I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Cambridge. And if you're lucky enough to get Mark as your guide, you're in for a real treat!
We had a fantastic tour with Mark who shared some of his vast historical knowledge of the university. We were kept thoroughly engaged with his humour. It was impressive that he remembered all of the group members' names and home locations. I would recommend without hesitation
We had a fantastic tour with Mark who shared some of his vast historical knowledge of the university. We were kept thoroughly engaged with his humour. It was impressive that he remembered all of the group members' names and home locations. I would recommend without hesitation
We booked this Cambridge walking tour last minute through Footprints Tours and could not have had a better experience! Our guide, Sonya was knowledgeable, clear speaking, interesting & humorous . She gave us a wonderful overview of the history of Cambridge and the university formation. Thoroughly recommended.
The tour was absolutely brilliant. We did the tour as a family, and my two children (7 and 10) and us found it really interesting. Our guide, Sonya, was incredibly knowledgeable and very entertaining, and we all learned a lot about the city. Really glad we booked this tour and would highly recommend it.
Our guide, Hermione, was so considerate, helpful and kind during walking tour. She explained very well about each college we visited with her personal experience and observations. Trinity College was my favorite thanks to Hermione’s explanation. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND GUIDE TOUR WITH HERMIONE!
Excellent tour by hermione, would definitely recommend
I thoroughly enjoyed this tour. I’d been to Cambridge before but just wandered around and I truly learnt so much and enjoyed this tour as it brought the city and university history to life. Sonia was an amazing guide, knowledgeable, great sense of humour and she provided real insight and stories about so many aspects of the University, the colleges and the history of Cambridge. I can’t recommend strongly enough. .
We did the free walking tour on october 14th at 11 am in Cambridge and loved it, the guide was very friendly and nice, he offered to take some pictures and told us a lot of history and stories about Cambridge. We totally recommend this tour!!
We went on a footprints walking tour with the excellent Mark Shere. How much knowledge can one man have?! Enjoyed every moment and learnt loads of interesting stuff with great humour. Highly recommended.
Guide (Mark) was very entertaining and knowledgable. He initially spent a few minutes introducing himself and getting to know all the participants and where each was from. ….with his own individual take on what we told him! Throughout the tour he was amusing and responsive to the interests of individual participants…picking up quickly that my sister and I were particularly interested in the experiences of women both currently and historically at Cambridge.. It was a brilliant walking tour and one we will remember. Thanks Mark. Maddy and Caroline (from Shropshire not the West Midlands!)
Mark our tour guide was knowledgeable, engaging and a true orator. My husband, Matt and I, from Norwich thoroughly enjoyed our two hours in his company. He ensured that he included everyone in the group and his memory for our names and where we'd come from was incredible. If only Mark had been my history teacher at school! His sense if humour and tongue in cheek humour was refreshing. We would recommend his tour to all. We wish him well! Becky and Matt :)
Mark was a phenomenal tour guide! He had so much passion for Cambridge and told many interesting stories from his personal experience. He was very witty and made the tour super fun for all. Would highly recommend this tour and Mark as a guide in particular!
Enjoyed our walking tour with Elodie! She was brilliant!
Mark our guide was brilliant. He combined an incredible amount of detailed knowledge with a wicked sense of humour. He brought the history of Cambridge to life by concentrating on the human element rather than dates. One of our highlights of our European holiday.
Mark was our guide and his tour was actually the highlight of our trip to Cambridge. Marks style is original and a total experience in itself. We learned a lot from a genuine Cambridge local and would happily take this tour again and again!!
My family and I did a walking tour of Cambridge with King’s College Chapel. Our tour guide Elodie gave us an amazing tour, she was very informative and made sure we were okay. Very friendly and attentive and has good sense of humour :)
Hermione is an excellent, knowledgeable tour guide with a warm personality. The entire tour is nice and pleasant.
Our tourguide Hermoine was lovely. She really knows the city and al the special placets and story ‘s.
I highly recommend the tour! Great walk with many interesting information of a student. We had to translate for our children (7 and 10 years old), but that didn’t bother us. Fortunately, we were a very small group of people. Our guide gave us the advice for a really good and cheap lunch spot after the tour. The tour was free and tip based. :)
Sonya was a fantastic tour guide. She was knowledgeable and interesting. I highly recommend this tour!!
Mark was a great guide around Cambridge. He shared so much history of the town, the colleges and their alumni. He was entertaining and very enthusiastic!
Sonya was an excellent tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and organised. I highly recommend this tour- it was the highlight of my day!
Our guide Mark is extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Cambridge and the university. This made the tour extremely interesting, engaging, entertaining and also humorous. I didn't know what to expect and it exceeded my expectations.
Excellent knowledgeable guide who really knew and loved Cambridge. An engaging person to both speak and listen to.
Sybil was a fantastic guide. She provided deep background on Cambridge in a very engaging way. I learned a lot that really helped me appreciate what I was seeing post tour. A great start to a visit here.
Our guide Sybal was a very interesting and engaging guide. She answered all questions and was really enthusiastic about Cambridge history and university. Would highly recommend to friends.
Our guide Sonja was brilliant. Cambridge is a very rich tapestry of history and culture and there didn't seem to be any part of it that Sonja couldn't explain and share her passion.
This is a fabulous tour and I was fortunate enough to be guided solo by an Alumni from Pembroke College. It was my guide's first tour but you would never have known it. She was a fount of knowledge on everything Cambridge and it was fascinating to walk past the different colleges and discover which famous people had studied at each college. To learn the history of Cambridge and the individual colleges was so interesting and to see the different architectures and designs was really good. Being on a spli tour I was able to ask a lot if questions about University life and it was fascinating to hear from a syudent half way through their course. The tour ended with a visit to Kings College Chapel a great way to finish off the walk. I woould highly recommend a guided walking tour and supporting an alumni, particularly one who is extremely knowlegable, is a bnus.
Paul was an absolutely amazing tour guide. Even though our group had only three people that day, he led the entire tour with incredible dedication and enthusiasm. I’ve joined quite a few guided tours before, and he is hands down the most knowledgeable guide I’ve ever met—constantly citing historical references while weaving in engaging, fun stories. Meeting Paul on our very first day in the UK was such a delight. Many thanks to the organizers, and wishing you all the very best!
Sonja, was excellent. She was interesting and informative in difficult wet and miserable weather conditions. Her knowledge of the different colleges around Cambridge was outstanding. A most enjoyable experience.
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