The Best Museums in Cambridge to Visit

Cambridge is known for its world-famous university. With this comes a long and rich history of archaeology, scientific research and, pulling it all together, museums.

Cambridge has an array of museums – nearly all within easy reaching distance of Clayton Hotel Cambridge – that cover everything from ancient history to modern science. Whatever your tastes, Cambridge has museums that compare with the best in the country, and they’re all right on your doorstep. So, let’s take a look at the best museums in Cambridge to visit.

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

Founded back in 1728, Sedgwick Museum is the oldest of all the University of Cambridge museums and a fine one it is, too.

This museum is all about the history of the earth – literally. There are over 2 million fossils and minerals stored at the museum, and the aim is to provide insight into the deepest reaches of earth’s history. It’s close to the many hotels in Cambridge UK, and so you won’t have a long walk to get there.

The museum does a great job of showing the evolution and changes of life on earth, and it’s a beautiful place in its own right. It’s a perfect example of a ‘classic’-style museum, and it’s the kind of place you can get lost in for hours.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Rather than looking at the animal and geological past, the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology looks at human history and impact on the earth.

The museum brings together a vast collection of artefacts and pieces from around the world, giving an eye-opening glimpse into ancient cultures. You’ll see everything from South American carvings to European stone figurines and, like most, marvel at the sheer diversity of creativity and ideas on display. The MAA is just a short walk from Clayton Hotel Cambridge and more than justifies the journey.

Current showings include ‘Photographing Tutankhamun’ and a great exhibition about prehistoric life in Britain. It’s a great museum and one you have to visit during your time in Cambridge.

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Probably the biggest museum in Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Museum is almost bursting at the seams with sculptures, paintings and other historical ephemera. Close by to Clayton Hotel Cambridge, you only have a short journey to make it to the museum, so there’s no reason not to check it out.

The roots of the museum go all the way back to 1816 when Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion left all of his collected artworks and personal library to the University of Cambridge. Working from this already extensive collection, the museum today houses millions of pieces and uses them to brilliant effect.

The museum itself is a treasure – a classic example of Roman-inspired British architecture – and few museums in the country can match it for the richness of its content. Exhibitions running right now include ‘Floral Fantasies’, with various botanical artworks, pulled from the museum’s archive and ‘Sampled Lives’, which displays rare, invaluable samplers that are hundreds of years old. There much else besides, and The Fitzwilliam Museum is somewhere you want to put a whole day aside to explore properly.