Consider it the ultimate college town. Not only is Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), two of the US’s premier academic institutions, it also neighbours the city of Boston, with dozens of other universities in its surrounding area.

But while pockets of Cambridge are undeniably collegiate – the city of 100,000-plus has more than its fair share of vintage stores, kitschy shops and ethnic restaurants – it has a sophistication that makes it much more than a university town.