Not to miss

King's College Chapel

In a city crammed with show-stopping architecture, this is the show-stealer. Chances are you will already have seen it on a thousand postcards, tea towels and choral CDs before you catch your first glimpse of the grandiose realty of King's College Chapel , but still it awes. It's one of the most extraordinary examples of Gothic architecture in Britain, and was begun in 1446 as an act of piety by Henry VI and finished by his son Henry VIII around 1516.

While you can enjoy stunning front and back views of the chapel from King's Pde and the river, the real drama is within. Mouths drop open upon first glimpse of the inspirational fan vaulted ceiling, its intricate tracery soaring upwards before exploding into a series of stone fireworks. This vast 80m-long canopy is the work of John Wastell and is the largest expanse of fan vaulting in the world.

The chapel's length is also remarkably light, its sides flanked by lofty stained-glass windows that retain their original glass, rare survivors of the excesses of the Civil War in this region. It's said that these windows were ordered to be spared by Cromwell himself, who knew of their beauty from his own studies in Cambridge.

The antechapel and the choir are divided by a superbly carved wooden screen, designed and executed by Peter Stockton for Henry VIII. The screen bears his master's initials entwined with those of Anne Boleyn. Look closely and you may find an angry human face - possibly Stockton's - amid the elaborate jungle of mythical beasts and symbolic flowers. Above is the magnificent bat-wing organ, originally constructed in 1686 though much altered since.

The thickly carved wooden stalls just beyond the screen are a stage for the chapel's world-famous choir, whose Festival of the Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve are beamed all over the globe. And even the most pagan heavy-metal fan will get shivers down the spine during Evensong, in which the sound waves almost seem to mirror and mingle with the extraordinary ceiling.

Beyond the dark-wood choir, light suffuses the high altar, which is framed by Rubens' masterpiece Adoration of the Magi (1634) and the magnificent east window. An eye-opening Chapel Exhibition is in the side chapels left of the altar, and charts the stages and methods of building set against its historical panorama.

Audio tours of the chapel are available for around 2, and guided tours can be arranged at the tourist office.

Great St Mary's Church

This university church, built between 1478 and 1519 in the late-Gothic perpendicular style, has a feeling of space and light inside thanks to its clerestory, wide arch and woodcarving. The traditional termly university sermons are preached here. To get your bearings, climb the 123 steps of the tower for a good view of the city.

The building across King's Pde, on the right-hand side of the square, is the Senate House, designed in 1730 by James Gibbs. It's the most beautiful example of pure classical architecture in the city; graduations are held here.

Trinity College

Henry VIII founded Trinity College in 1546, but it was left to Dr Nevile, Master of Trinity (1593-1615) during Elizabeth's reign, to fulfil his wishes, as Henry died six weeks after founding the college. Walk through the impressive brick gateway (1535) to see the statue of Henry that adorns it. His left hand holds a golden orb, while his right grips a table leg.

As you enter the Great Court, scholastic humour (the table leg was put there by students who removed the golden sceptre years ago) gives way to a gaping sense of awe, for it is the largest of its kind in the world. The place is dripping with history: to the right of the entrance is a small tree, planted in the 1950s and reputed to be a descendant of the apple tree made famous by Trinity alumnus Sir Isaac Newton. The square is also the scene of the run made famous by the film Chariots of Fire - 350m in 43 seconds (the time it takes the clock to strike 12). Although plenty of students have a go, Harold Abrahams (the hero of the film) never actually attempted it, and his fictional run wasn't even filmed here. If you fancy your chances, remember that you'll need Olympian speed to even come close to making it in time.