With its high standard of living, Ely is regularly praised for having one of the best qualities of life in the UK.
Sitting proudly above the Fens, it is truly one of the jewels of Cambridgeshire.
It may seem like a quiet place offering a taste of 'the good life' to outsiders, but as anyone who lives there will tell you, it can be truly bonkers experience.
We explore some Ely factoids that are guaranteed to make you smile.
The history
It's a city, but it has the feel of a market town. It got its royal charter, turning it into a city, in 1974, but the population is only about 20,000, placing it at number 9 in the UK's littlest cities league table.
The cathedral is one of the most beautiful buildings in the country, dates back to the 12th century, and sitting proudly on the flat, black landscape, it truly deserves its name The Ship of the Fens.
Everybody likes a place with a wacky name, so what's not to love about Ely? It's believed to derive from the Northumbrian word 'elge', meaning 'district of eels'.
Oliver Cromwell lived there.
Not many people know the Lord Protector lived in Ely for 10 years before marching off to take over the country, and his old home is now a museum, complete with an (allegedly) haunted bedroom.
The location
It's so pretty it's gained film star status. The city has become a prime location for movie makers. Among the famous films shot there are Al Pacino's Revolution and The King's Speech , with Colin Firth, and more recently Netflix's The Crown is filmed at Ely Cathedral.
In Ely you're always bit above everyone else. Ely is actually an island. It sits on a massive 85ft tall blob of clay, which makes it the highest tract of land in the damp old Fens.
This may also make it prone to flooding... but oh well.
THAT BRIDGE
The cathedral is gorgeous and all that but have you heard of Ely's infamous Stutney Bridge?
It's known as one of the most bashed bridges in the country and we love to hate it.
Why only this week another van got wedged after ignoring the warnings signs for the 2,000,000,000,000,000th time.
The low-level bridge is restricted to vehicles over 2.7m in height, leading to many misjudgements by drivers over the decades.
Indeed, more than 36 hours of delays have been caused by drivers hitting it in the last five years.
It's good to be known for something.
How? Clearly new signage not clear enough #ely Driver prosecuted pic.twitter.com/BaVJK33dA6
— BCH Road Policing (@roadpoliceBCH) 4 March 2019
Tea and cake and scones
If you are in the market for a restorative cup of tea and perhaps some quality time with a paperback, forget Cambridge (where you'll have to block out a lot of nasal chatter) and come to Ely.
Ely offers lovely tea and cake. Everywhere should have an afternoon tea shop like the Almonry - wolf down some of that treacle tart with homemade vanilla custard.
On a weekday, when commuters leave, you are also sure to find a seat in one of Ely's many splendid cafés.
Hey... tea and cake is never boring.
Diversity
From the inaugural Ely Folk festival to the Ely Eel festival and last year's first ever LGBT+ Pride event - Ely packs a punch for such a small city.
Hundreds of people attended the all day long celebration in Jubilee Gardens last August and proved just how inclusive and welcoming the city is.
Pride in Ely aims to celebrate people of all backgrounds, regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality or gender. The rainbow flag flew from the cathedral tower from ahead of the event.
Speaking at the time, dean of the cathedral, the Very Reverend Mark Bonney, said: "I am pleased to lend my backing to this community event because it celebrates the breadth and diversity of the community in which we all live.
"I am also very conscious that Christians have not always been perceived as being very supportive and inclusive as some of us would wish, and so I am pleased to fly this flag as a sign of the kind of inclusion that I wish to promote at the cathedral."
And let's not forget the truly bonkers eel festival... the festival pays homage to the city’s long association with the humble eel, its main export for hundreds of years in medieval times.
It's also a great excuse to see who can chuck a 'stuffed eel' the furthest.
Ely's riverside
Most riversides are a place for feeding the ducks and a brisk Sunday stroll.
Although it may be not quite as scenic as the Cam, but the Great Ouse is still pretty grand. The Boat Race was staged on it in 1944 instead of on the Thames, because of the war.
And with its mix of house boats, rowers and the odd fisherman Ely's riverside is bustling with activity most days.
But things really heat up during one of the city's biggest community events – Aquafest.
Aquafest has been run by the Hereward Rotary club since 1978.
Every summer people pile onto makeshift rafts and get soaked doing all sorts of other crazy stuff on the river.
The annual event provides a chance for local charities to raise money and any profit made by organisers goes to the next Aquafest
It's also an excuse for Ely to show its colourful side.
As these raft race floats from yesteryear prove:
