Lincoln, England
Uphill Both Ways
"Rome wasn't built on a hill this steep either"
Official Coat of Arms
A shield depicting a gasping pedestrian clutching a shopping bag halfway up a cobbled incline, flanked by the twin towers of the Cathedral looking smugly down from on high, with a Roman centurion in the background muttering 'I told you to build it on the flat bit'. Motto beneath reads 'Sudor Ante Gloriam' (Sweat Before Glory).
TripAdvisor Review
★★★☆☆ 3/5
"The Cathedral is genuinely breathtaking, one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe, but nobody warns you that reaching it requires the cardiovascular fitness of a Sherpa. Steep Hill is aptly named and I saw a grown man cry outside a tea shop halfway up. The Christmas Market is lovely if you enjoy being wedged into a medieval alley with 40,000 other people. Three stars, bring good shoes and a will to live."— Barry Quadstrain, Peterborough
Property Listing
Charming Roman-founded city offering STUNNING cathedral views for those willing to earn them via a thigh-based initiation ritual known locally as 'Steep Hill'. Excellent transport links, a genuinely gorgeous historic quarter, and property prices that remain refreshingly down to earth, unlike everything else here.
Twinned With
Machu Picchu — Both require serious altitude training just to buy a pint of milk.
Supporting Evidence
Lincoln Cathedral was the tallest building in the world for over 200 years, largely because nobody else was mad enough to build anything taller on top of a hill like that.