The Varsity

Head up Thompsons Lane and you'll find yourself at a proper grown-up establishment that's done what too many Cambridge hotels fail to do—made somewhere genuinely worth visiting even if you're not staying over. The Varsity's rooftop bar is the draw here, with views across the Cam that justify the trek out towards the station, and a drinks programme that takes itself seriously without getting precious about it. It's become the sort of place where you'll bump into Cambridge types who aren't tourists, which says everything.