Every September, buildings that are usually closed, corners of familiar landmarks that visitors rarely see and places that normally charge for admission throw open their doors for free – and Cambridge has a particularly rich selection to explore. Heritage Open Days, England’s largest community-led festival of history and culture, returns from 11–20 September, with thousands of events organised by local volunteers, museums, churches, historic buildings, community groups and other organisations.
Part of the appeal is the chance to be nosy. A grand building you have passed hundreds of times may suddenly let you inside; an archive might take you behind the scenes; a guided walk can uncover the history hiding in streets you thought you knew.
Every event is free, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can simply turn up. Some of the most unusual tours and smallest venues have limited capacity and require advance booking – and with less than two weeks to go, now is a good time to see what’s available and reserve a place.
Cambridge has one of the region’s most extensive programmes. Open Cambridge, part of the national Heritage Open Days festival, runs throughout the ten days, with more than 70 free events taking visitors inside colleges, libraries, laboratories, museums and other spaces across the city.
Bookings are already open. Here are some of the highlights.
In Cambridge, more than 70 free events offer access to some of the city’s most fascinating buildings, collections and hidden spaces, including historic colleges, libraries and research institutes.
The Open Cambridge programme ranges across history, science, architecture and art, alongside activities for families – with opportunities to explore places and collections that are rarely open to the public.
Step inside places rarely open to the public
This year’s programme includes guided tours of some of Cambridge’s most iconic landmarks, including the University’s Senate House, Cambridge University Library, and the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, where visitors can explore world-famous radio telescopes and learn about ground-breaking discoveries in astronomy.
Visitors can also discover the hidden world of mathematics with a tour of the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, featuring the Betty and Gordon Moore Library, the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences and an underground fluid dynamics laboratory researching climate change.
Explore remarkable collections
Libraries and museums across Cambridge will be opening their doors, giving visitors the chance to see treasures that are rarely on public display.
Highlights include:
- The Treasures of the Old Library at St John’s College, showcasing a millennium of manuscripts, rare books and photographs.
- The Churchill Archives Centre Open Day, featuring historic documents from more than 600 collections.
- The Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, home to internationally important manuscripts and early printed books.
- Enjoy the stunning Wren Library at Trinity College and exhibitions at Christ’s, Selwyn and Wolfson Colleges, the Radzinowicz Criminology Library and explore 500 years of science in print at the Whipple Library.
Family-friendly fun
Families can enjoy a packed programme of free activities designed to inspire curiosity, creativity and discovery across the city. Younger visitors can step into Cambridge’s past at the Museum of Cambridge Family Day, with hands-on activities and opportunities for families to explore local stories and heritage together. Storytelling sessions will bring history and imagination to life, while interactive performances of The Lorax – Reimagined invite audiences to join a playful exploration of nature, sustainability and the world around us.
Families can also get creative by designing their own quilt square as part of the Cambridge Festival Community Coding Quilt exhibition, where traditional Japanese stitching techniques meet binary code to create a unique community artwork. The exhibition offers visitors the chance to see the finished quilt and contribute to its ongoing story. The Centre for Computing History will also be will be offering free admission on 12–13 September.
Celebrate Cambridge’s communities, stories and shared heritage
Open Cambridge 2026 also shines a spotlight on the people and communities that have shaped the city, with a programme of events celebrating local history, creativity, wellbeing and social impact.
Enjoy a free Abbey and Chesterton Community Heritage Day at the Cambridge Museum of Technology, discover the inspiring work of the Samaritans’ Prison Listener scheme at HMP Littlehey, or go behind the scenes with Cambridge United Women as they prepare for the new season at Grange Road.
Explore exhibitions including Everyday Histories at the Keate Family Arts Trust and CONNECTIONS, showcasing artwork created by Rowan students alongside historic objects from the Museum of Cambridge and All Saints’ Church. History enthusiasts can learn about the working lives of women in East Cambridge, while the Festival Theatre and Cambridge Buddhist Centre Open Day offers theatre tours, meditation, yoga, live activities and refreshments as the venue celebrates its centenary. Visitors can also join a range of welcoming events hosted by the Cambridge Quakers, from a traditional roti-making workshop and a talk on prison reformer Elizabeth Fry to an opportunity to experience Quaker worship.
Discover something unexpected
Open Cambridge is also a chance to try something completely different.
Take part in free yoga taster sessions at CAMYOGA’s first Open Cambridge open day, explore the hidden creative studios of the Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts, join a guided walk around the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, or uncover the stories of American servicemen based in Cambridgeshire during the Second World War at the Cambridge American Cemetery.
History enthusiasts can also hear about the latest discoveries from excavations at Wandlebury Hillfort, while garden lovers can enjoy tours at Trinity College, Churchill College, Robinson College and Wolfson College.
The full programme launches and bookings are now and available on the Open Cambridge website. All events free but some require advance booking. We recommend booking early as many events fill up quickly each year.
What’s happening near you?
Cambridge is only part of the story. Across the East of England, hundreds more buildings, historic sites and unusual spaces will be opening their doors during Heritage Open Days.
You can browse the full programmes for [Bedfordshire], [Cambridgeshire], [Essex], [Hertfordshire], [Norfolk] and [Suffolk] to find out what’s happening near you – and it’s worth looking now, as some events and tours need to be booked in advance.
And if you’re reading from elsewhere in England, the Heritage Open Days website has listings across the country, searchable by region, county and local authority area.
This article by Zoe Smith at the University of Cambridge is republished under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Read the original here.
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