The university has announced this week that some of its most beautiful buildings will now be available for exploration online.

A selection of five colleges opened their doors to the Google Street View’s Special Collections team, with the end result now available to see on Google Maps. Iconic parts of colleges including Trinity Hall, Queens’, and Newnham have all been included in the visual tours.

St John’s College, which is available to explore, has hidden a number of ‘Easter Eggs’, referencing various famous alumni within their digital tour.

Among the items hidden are William Wordsworth’s life mask, Fred Hoyle’s telescope, and a towel in tribute to Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, a book containing the advice that you should “never go anywhere without your towel”.

Gonville and Caius College was also included. Its Master, Professor Sir Alan Fersht, said, “Gonville and Caius is one of the oldest colleges in Cambridge, and the exteriors of our beautiful Old Courts are not only open daily for visitors to admire but can already be seen on Google.

“However, as a working community of education and research, we cannot easily welcome visitors to our magnificent library and hall, which are used daily by those who live and work here.

“The new panoramic interior ‘tours’ allow virtually anyone to explore the previously hidden beauty of some of Caius’s finest architectural gems, and perhaps be inspired to visit this historic college in person.

“From its earliest days, Caius has been a place of modern learning and forward-looking ideas, and opening the College up via technology absolutely fits that tradition.”

Other parts of Cambridge have also been included, such as the University Botanic Gardens and Great St. Mary’s Church.

Many of the university’s most attractive features have historically been closed to the public, and Laurian Clemence from Google UK was keen to emphasise that “now, anyone with a desire to see the university at close range, can access it like never before.”

Cambridge is the the latest place to get the Street View treatment, with Google’s Special Collection team already having visited Dubai’s Burj Khalif, Mt Everest base camp, and even the interior of the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane.