What’s On in Cambridge

Live Events Calendar from a Cambridge Photographer’s Perspective

Cambridge runs on its calendar. The exhibitions, museum openings, college events, evensong services, Botanic Garden walks and chamber concerts that fill the city week to week aren’t just things to do — they’re the moments that turn an ordinary visit into something memorable, and the moments worth photographing.

This page lists what’s happening in Cambridge right now, drawn directly from the official University of Cambridge events calendar and refreshed every six hours. Below the live listings you’ll find a Cambridge-based photographer’s perspective on which events are worth your camera time, and how to book a private guided photography tour to make the most of them.

Capture What’s On — Privately Guided Photography Tours from £160 / hour Whatever’s happening in Cambridge this week, the right local guide turns it into the photographs you’ll keep. Tours are private (just you, your party and your guide), photography-led, and bookable for any time of day or year. From £160 per hour — minimum two-hour booking. See all tour options →


This Week’s Events in Cambridge

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Showing events from 27 Jun 2026 to 28 Jun 2026.

  1. The Guildhall

    The mission, if you choose to accept, is to find 9 quirky spots in the city centre and pick up clues along the way. When all the spots…

  2. David Parr House

    What you’ll do Be introduced to the cyanotype process, an early photographic printing technique known for its distinctive blue tones Learn how to prepare and coat paper with…

  3. The Guildhall

    A walking tour with something for everyone. You'll hear about a family that owed everything to a grasshopper, an architect who turned his hand to lamp-post design, a…

  4. The Robert Cripps Gallery, Magdalene College

    There is an ineffable, beyond-language quality to colour that cannot be easily pinned down. Notes on Colour is an exhibition which brings together the work of three contemporary…

  5. West Road Concert Hall

    Farrenc Overture no 2 Barber Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 (Pathétique) Played by City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra with Mabelle Park (violin) Conducotr Robert Hodge

  6. Little St Mary's Church

    Programme: Gerald Finzi Welcome, sweet and sacred feast Hubert Parry My soul, there is a country Judith Weir A wreath Vaughan Williams Five mystical songs Hubert Parry At…

  7. The Guildhall

    The mission, if you choose to accept, is to find 9 quirky spots in the city centre and pick up clues along the way. When all the spots…

  8. The Guildhall

    A walking tour with something for everyone. You'll hear about a family that owed everything to a grasshopper, an architect who turned his hand to lamp-post design, a…

Listings courtesy of the University of Cambridge What's On calendar.


A Cambridge Guide’s Pick of the Best Recurring Events

Live listings change weekly. These don’t — they come around every year, and they’re consistently the dates that produce the best photographs in Cambridge.

Evensong at King’s College Chapel (term-time only)

The single most photographed interior in Cambridge, lit during evensong by candles and stained-glass evening light. Free to attend. Photography rules vary depending on the service and the time of year — every cambridge.tours client is briefed in advance, and tours are planned around the best light. Evensong runs during University term only; check the King’s College website for the current term schedule before you travel.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden — through the seasons

A year-round programme of guided walks, family events and seasonal openings on a 40-acre site that most visitors never see. The systematic beds in late spring, the autumn glasshouses and the winter snowdrop walks are three of the most photogenic moments in the Cambridge calendar — and the Garden is one of our most-requested tour destinations for visitors who want photographs that go beyond the standard college frontage.

Open Cambridge — second weekend in September

A free annual weekend of behind-the-scenes access to colleges, archives, libraries and buildings normally closed to visitors. cambridge.tours runs private photography tours timed to Open Cambridge weekend every year. Weekend slots fill from July onwards — book early.

Mill Road Winter Fair — early December

The neighbourhood Cambridge that tourists rarely see. Street food, music, parade floats, lanterns and a community that turns out in force. A different Cambridge from the colleges, and a brilliant brief for a documentary-style photography walk.

May Bumps — June (despite the name)

College rowing crews racing on the Cam — fast, dramatic, deeply Cambridge. Best photographed from the towpath on the second or third day of racing, when the racing has settled into its rhythm and the action is at its peak. Long lenses help. Guided photography tours timed to May Bumps include access advice and the best vantage points along the river.

Cambridge Folk Festival — late July / early August

A four-day festival on the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall, three miles south-east of the centre. Not part of our standard tour route — but worth a mention if you’re combining a Cambridge photography trip with the festival weekend. We can build a Cambridge-centre tour around your festival days.

Cambridge Literary Festival — November and April

Two annual programmes of author talks, panel events and readings across multiple Cambridge venues. Strong for portrait photography opportunities and atmospheric venue interiors.

Plan a Photography Tour Around What’s On

Cambridge.tours runs private guided photography tours led by Jean-Luc Benazet, a Cambridge-based photographer with years of experience finding the angles, the light and the access that most visitors never see. Tours are designed around what you want to photograph and when you can travel — including event-led tours timed to evensong, exhibitions, festival weekends or seasonal moments at the Botanic Garden.

Tour rates start at £160 per hour with a minimum booking of two hours. All tours are private — just you, your party and your guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

The live events listings refresh from the official University of Cambridge calendar every six hours. The Photographer’s Pick section of recurring events is reviewed and updated quarterly.

The live feed pulls directly from the University of Cambridge’s official What’s On calendar — the same source the colleges, museums and the University Botanic Garden use to publish their public events.

There is overlap, but the University of Cambridge feed includes many events that general tourist information channels don’t surface — including academic talks, smaller museum openings, and college-specific events.

Yes. Private guided photography tours are available any day of the year and can be timed around events, exhibitions, evensong services or seasonal moments at the Botanic Garden. Tours start at £160 per hour with a minimum booking of two hours.

Photography rules vary by college and by event. Some events allow personal photography freely, others restrict it, and a few prohibit it entirely. Every cambridge.tours client is briefed before their tour on what’s permitted where, based on current college access policies.

Cambridge.tours runs private guided photography tours where you do the photography with expert guidance. For event coverage where you want a photographer to shoot for you, see our sister site Cambridge Photographers.