Held annually in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, the Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the most famous in the world. Listen to the best traditional UK folk to North American country, blues, roots and jazz on three stages.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
The Cambridge Midsummer Fair has been held on Midsummer Common since the early 13th century. Starting with a Mayor's Procession, the fair features the usual rides, a comedy marquee and live music as well as a number of market stalls.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
Strawberry Fair, held at Midsummer Common and now into its third decade, is a major musical celebration on the Cambridge calendar. Lasting eleven hours it's a full day's entertainment and then some, and it's free.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
The Cambridge Bonfire Night at Midsummer Common has been run for more than 20 years by the city council. It claims to be the biggest free firework display in East Anglia, attracting around 30,000 spectators every year.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
The Mill Road Winter Fair celebrates the quirky community spirit and multiculturalism that make this road in Cambridge so special. Restaurants along the street prepare special foods from different cultures, while locals show off their musical and artistic talents.
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Dec 2013 (annual)
As the name suggests, The Big Weekend is a full-fat three days of non-stop entertainment. Held at Parker's Piece, the programme is bursting at the seams with live music, marquees, funfair rides and fireworks and regularly attracts thousands of visitors.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
The Cambridge Beer festival is one of the oldest in Britain, attracting crowds of over 32,000 visitors. Hundreds of different ales and beers, ciders and meads are all available for sampling.
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May 2013 (annual)
Cambridge Film Festival shows new features, shorts, documentaries, silent films and 70mm screenings at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse and other city venues. Other events on the agenda include lectures, several masterclasses and a children's section.
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Sep 2013 (annual)
Discover rocks, fossils and minerals from around the world and explore more than 550 million years of the Earth's history at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge.
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Weekdays only
Cambridge returns to a more traditional and healthy way of shopping with fresh local produce sold directly from the producers. Stalls in Market Square sell fresh bread, fruit, vegetables, plants, cakes, meat, poultry and a selection of organic produce every Sunday. Local producers are on hand to tell you exactly how the goods were produced and what went into them.
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Sun only
Budding botanists and green-fingered gurus should descend on Cambridge's Corn Exchange for Gardeners' Question Time - The Live Tour. In its inaugural year, the tour sees the experts from the BBC4 show tackle listeners' most taxing gardening gripes.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
The Corn Exchange is a major cultural venue in Cambridge's historic city centre that hosts a regular programme of concerts, comedy, dance, theatre and other performing arts events by renowned and up-and-coming artists.
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Daily
Dragon-boat racing is an ancient Chinese tradtion, where large teams of rowers compete on vessels each with its own drummers. A fun, friendly event, this festival on the River Cam welcomes participants of any level and supports East Anglia's Children's Hospices.
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Sep 2013 (annual)
After the success of its inaugural year, Cambridge's Sculpture Promenade returns to the grounds of the Fitzwilliam Museum. A free installation of contemporary sculpture, it showcases works by some of the most talented artists working today.
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Mar 2013 - Jan 2014 (annual)
The permanent collections of Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge span both civilisations and millennia. They consist of more than half a million objects of national and international importance.
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Daily; not Mon
The Duxford Autumn Air Show at the Imperial War Museum Duxford hosts vintage bombers and fighters, modern aircraft and spectacular aerobatics to keep the whole family enthralled. Fun fairs, tank rides and bungee trampolines provide on-the-ground entertainment.
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Oct 2011 (annual)
Duxford is Europe's premier aviation museum - as well as having one of the finest collections of tanks, military vehicles and naval exhibits in the country. This famous heritage site began as an airfield in the First World War and also played a vital role in the Second World War, firstly as an RAF fighter station and later as an American fighter base.
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Daily
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College Chapel was first given on Christmas Eve 1918 and has been broadcast worldwide since 1928. No Christmas is complete without the dulcet tones of Once In Royal David's City.
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Dec 2013 (annual)
A highlight of any visit to Cambridge is magnificent King's College Chapel, the most famous building in this historic town. Imposing from the outside, inside the fan-vaulted ceiling, stone carving and stained glass are a sight to behold.
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Daily
From bright oil paintings of fen landscapes to ornate jewellery, Cambridgeshire's artists are making some fantastically creative works. See them for yourself when over 200 artists open up their workspaces and display their pieces during the Cambridge Open Studios.
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Jul 2013; Weekends only (annual)
The arrival of Christmas in Cambridge is heralded every year when the city turns on its impressive display of Christmas lights. Events take place throughout the city, all leading up to the big switch-on once night falls.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
As a renowned centre of learning and literature, Cambridge is an appropriate setting for this festival dedicated to all things Shakespeare. Taking place every summer, it celebrates the Bard's brilliance with performances of some of his most famous works.
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Jul - Aug 2013 (annual)
Scudamore's Punting Company's Christmas & New Year Ghost Tour combines a spine-chilling, candle-lit punting tour with a spooky guided walk through Cambridge. It starts at the Mill Lane station and finishes at Market Square. Booking is recommended.
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Dec 2013 - Jan 2014 (annual)
Held in the heart of the city, the biannual Cambridge Word Fest is warmly received in this illustrious literary landscape. Attracting well-known contemporary writers and artists, its programme of readings, talks and workshops caters to all ages.
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Apr 2013 (various dates)
Join hundreds of women on a 10-mile sponsored night walk from Shelford Rugby Club around Cambridge in aid of the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity. It's a good way to get fit, catch up with friends and support a great cause!
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May 2013 (annual)
Science is cool at the annual Cambridge Science Festival. Topical discussions from climate change to terrorism hold everyone's interest, plus there are hands-on experiments, demonstrations and exhibitions too. Over 100 events take place in venues across the city.
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Mar 2013 (annual)
The Cambridge Summer Music Festival presents an impressive programme of classical music at the city's beautiful churches, chapels and art galleries. Performers range from chamber orchestras to opera, choir and chamber singers.
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Jul - Aug 2013 (annual)
The Cast Gallery at the Museum of Classical Archaeology in Cambridge University has the finest collection of plaster casts of Roman and Greek sculpture in the world. One of the only surviving museums of its kind, the collection comprises more than 600 exhibits, housed in the Classics Faculty.
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Weekdays only
Discover Cambridge's dark and troubled past on the city's annual Halloween Punting & Walking Ghost Tours. The Jack O'Lantern-lit punt trip along The Backs is followed by a scary guided walk around the city's most haunted places.
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Oct 2013; not Mon or Tue (annual)
Few pastimes are as romantic as punting along a beautiful river, and where better to glide along with a glass of champagne in one hand and your lover in another than the River Cam along the Cambridge Backs?
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Daily
The QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket, the home of English racing, is a must for any horse-racing fan. Only Epsom can match its claim to stage two Classic races in the course of one meeting.
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May 2013 (annual)
Brighten up dull autumn days with a visit to the Crafts and Gifts fair at Chilford Hall. With over 70 exhibitors in attendance, pictures, glass, clothing, toys, ceramics and hand-crafted furniture are among the items available.
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Oct 2013 (annual)
With the approach of winter, arts and craft enthusiasts have an extra incentive to attend the Chilford Autumn Quilt Festival at Chilford Hall. Dedicated entirely to quilts, visitors can learn all about this comforting and cosy accessory to the home.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
The Cambridge Glass Fair is held at Chilford Hall Vineyard. More than 100 exhibitors from across Europe showcase glass collections from Georgian to Art Deco, Art Nouveau and contemporary work.
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Sep 2013 (annual)
The Newmarket July Festival combines classic horse racing with an English garden party, complete with fancy frocks and plenty of Pimm's. The Falmouth Race Day is held on Wednesday, Thursday is Lanson Ladies' Day and Friday is Darley July Cup Day.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Celebrate Christmas in traditional style with Christmas in the Stable Courtyard at Wimpole Hall. This special event includes live Christmas carols played by a brass band as well as mulled wine, roast chestnuts and Santa's grotto.
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Dec 2013; Weekends only (annual)
Etheldreda (d 679), daughter of Anna, king of East Anglia, restored an old church in Ely and built a monastery on the site where Ely Cathedral now lies. After a restoration in 970, it became England's second richest abbey.
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Daily
Competition is fierce at the World Pea Shooting Championships on Witcham's village green, where contestants shoot a pea through a tube, 12 feet towards a 12-inch target. Laser-guided shooters are not unknown, taking the sport into the 21st century.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Built in 1643, Wimpole Hall has been altered a number of times by subsequent owners to become the largest country house in Cambridgeshire. Various architects have participated in its construction, the most notable being Soane; examples of his style include the Bathhouse, Book Room and the striking Yellow Drawing Room.
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Daily; not Mon or Fri
Tucked away in the Cambridgeshire countryside, the Secret Garden Party boasts an eclectic line-up in an idyllic, green setting. Live music and a cavalcade of festival fun entertain an up-for-it crowd.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
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