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Faculty of Classics

 

Food & Drink near the Conference

An evening meal on Friday and lunch on both Saturday and Sunday will both be provided free of charge for delegates, as well as refreshments during breaks. Beyond this, there are several cafes and restaurants in close proximity to the conference site, as well as city centre locations a 10 minute walk away (on average).

The Buttery – Serving a range of hot and cold drinks, snacks, and light meals.

The ARC Cafe – As above with The Buttery, the ARC Café also serves hot meals.

The Iris Cafe – Not technically on the Sidgwick site, the Iris café is across the road opposite the conference site in Newnham College, but is open to the public and other colleges’ members. Spacious with plenty of seating, the café serves hot and cold drinks, cakes, and light meals.

Close to the Conference

Approximately a three minute walk from the Sidgwick site on Newnham road there are a handful of pubs and restaurants, listed below.

The Granta – Pub with views over the Mill Pond

Millworks – Brasserie with views over the Mill Pond

Sala Thong – Thai cuisine

The Rice Boat – Keralan cuisine

 

Food & Drink in the City

Below are just a few suggestions around the city, but there are many more cafes, restaurants, and pubs to discover.

Trinity Cambridge – Fine dining and seafood.

The Ivy Cambridge – Part of The Ivy group, serving a range of British food and cocktails.

Bread & Meat – An independent small eatery in the centre of the city.

Fitzbillies – Iconic Cambridge tearoom with two locations, serving their signature Chelsea bun as well as brunch and lunch.

Aromi – Two locations across the centre serving authentic Sicilian snacks.

The Pint Shop – A pub and restaurant with a huge range of beers and gins.

Mercado Central – Fine Spanish dining.

The Clarendon Arms – Very popular pub and restaurant.

The Punter – Cosy Cambridge pub serving pub food classics.

Tawa Kitchen – Contemporary Indian cuisine conveniently located close to the train station.

 

Museums

The University of Cambridge Museums is a partnership of museums exceptional in their quality, curation, and range. We hope you will visit the Faculty of Classics’ own museum, the Museum of Classical Archaeology, which houses an impressive collection of casts of ancient sculpture, and will feature a special CA 2023 Photography Exhibition during the conference.

Museum of Classical Archaeology – One of the largest cast collections in the world.

The Fitzwilliam Museum – Cambridge’s flagship museum, housing over 500,000 works of art and artefacts from antiquity to today. You can sign up for our Friday celebration event at the Fitzwilliam Museum, which is free for delegates but there are limited tickets. You can reserve your place through the in-person conference registration portal.

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology – Two million years of human history told in a million artefacts.

The Botanic Gardens – Home to 8,000 species of plant with greenhouses and an arboretum.

Kettle’s Yard – Set in the house of a former director of the Tate, Kettle’s Yard is Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art collection.

Museum of Zoology – Thousands of specimens of the entire animal kingdom, including many specimens of now-extinct creatures.

 

Sightseeing

The Conference has organised tours of Cambridge that are a little different – Uncomfortable Cambridge are an academic tour guide group exploring the city’s usually unexamined past and generating stimulating conversations around the legacies of empire. If you would be interested in taking a tour with Uncomfortable Cambridge please email ca2023@classics.cam.ac.uk stating your preferred day and morning or afternoon.

 

Punting

Taking a punt down the Cam, whether by yourself or with a guide, is a quintessential Cambridge activity. There are many punt tours and hire places to choose from, below is a small selection of operators.

Scudamore’s

Cambridge Punt Company

Scholars Punting Co

Latest news

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The Faculty and the Fitzwilliam Museum and are seeking to appoint a Senior Curator of Mediterranean Antiquities. The post-holder will be the curatorial and research lead for the Fitzwilliam's substantial collection of Mediterranean antiquities, and will also be a senior member of the Faculty of Classics: 20% of the role...

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The Faculty is delighted to report that Jonathan Steward has been awarded the Ralegh Radford Rome Award, BSR, for Lent Term 2026.

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We are very sad to pass on the news of the death of Pat Story on 25th March, after a short illness. Pat has been the single most important figure in classics education for the last 50 years and her passing marks the end of an era. There will be a celebration of her life in Hughes Hall at 2pm on Saturday 17 May. All are...

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The Faculty is pleased to announce that the UKRI funded VIEWS project has launched this year’s visiting fellowship competition, with a new virtual fellowship aimed at tackling inequalities in academia alongside the usual competition. For more information see here . The deadline for both competitions is Friday 23rd May 2025...