Fitzwilliam Museum
Cambridge University's art and antiquities museum, free to enter. Its neoclassical building houses ancient Egyptian artifacts, European masterpieces and East Asian ceramics.
The museum originated in a bequest from Viscount Fitzwilliam in 1816. The main building has a Greek-temple-style facade, and its entrance hall, with marble and a painted dome, is magnificent. The collection exceeds 500,000 objects. On the ground floor are ancient Egyptian stone sarcophagi and mummies, Greek and Roman sculpture, Chinese ceramics from successive dynasties, Japanese lacquerware and British pottery. The upper-floor picture gallery holds works by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and Constable, as well as Impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir and Cezanne, and precious medieval illuminated manuscripts. The permanent galleries are free, though special exhibitions charge admission. The museum is a moderate size, and two hours covers the highlights. It is on Trumpington Street, about 10 minutes' walk south along King's Parade from King's College. Another 10 minutes further south brings you to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden.
Opening hours
Tue–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 12:00–17:00; closed Mondays (check official website)
Nearby sights
- Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- Museum of Zoology, Cambridge
- Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
- The Eagle
- Corpus Clock
- River Cam Punting & Mathematical Bridge
- Queens' College, Cambridge
- Round Church, Cambridge