The Fitzwilliam Museum
About
The University of Cambridge's main art and antiquities museum, founded in 1816 and housed in a grand neoclassical building on Trumpington Street, with free entry to permanent collections that run from Egyptian sarcophagi and Greek and Roman antiquities through medieval illuminated manuscripts to Titian, Rubens, Turner, and a strong holding of French Impressionists. It is consistently ranked among the best university museums in the world and rarely feels as crowded as its collection deserves, since most visitors head straight for the colleges and miss it. Temporary exhibitions are sometimes ticketed; the permanent collection is always free.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Egyptian antiquities including coffins and mummies
- ✓Titian, Rubens, Turner and a strong French Impressionist collection
- ✓Medieval illuminated manuscripts
- ✓Free entry to the entire permanent collection
Tips
- →Entry is free; a donation box is at the entrance if you want to contribute.
- →Last entry is 20 minutes before closing; check the current exhibition programme before visiting since it is often the strongest reason to go back.
- →Combine with Fitzbillies, a few doors down on Trumpington Street, for tea afterwards.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
King's College Chapel
Henry VI's fan-vaulted chapel, the defining image of Cambridge, with a Rubens altarpiece and daily term-time evensong. Book ahead; hours vary.
Kettle's Yard
A modernist house-turned-gallery near Magdalene Bridge, the Edes' home filled with twentieth-century art. Free entry, closed Mondays.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Forty acres of university botanic garden near the railway station: systematic beds, glasshouses, a winter garden. Ticketed, open year-round.