The city's skyline is dominated by several college buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, and the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital.

[11] Archaeological evidence of occupation through the Iron Age is a settlement on Castle Hill from the 1st century BC, perhaps relating to wider cultural changes occurring in southeastern Britain linked to the arrival of the Belgae.

[12] The principal Roman site is a small fort (castrum) Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier British village.

The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present Mount Pleasant, continuing across Huntingdon Road into Clare Street.

[33] Following further depopulation after a second national epidemic in 1361, a letter from the Bishop of Ely suggested that two parishes in Cambridge be merged as there were not enough people to fill even one church.

[34] In 1382, a revised town charter effected a "diminution of the liberties that the community had enjoyed", due to Cambridge's participation in the Peasants' Revolt.

[36] Following repeated outbreaks of pestilence throughout the 16th century,[37] sanitation and fresh water were brought to Cambridge by the construction of Hobson's Conduit in the early 1600s.

[45] The biggest impact has been on the area north of the river, which are now the estates of East Chesterton, King's Hedges, and Arbury where Archbishop Rowan Williams lived and worked as an assistant priest in the early 1980s.

[66] A layer of phosphatic nodules (coprolites) under the marl was mined in the 19th century for fertiliser; this became a major industry in the county, and its profits yielded buildings such as the Corn Exchange, Fulbourn Hospital, and St. John's Chapel until the Quarries Act 1894 and competition from America ended production.

The entire city centre, as well as parts of Chesterton, Petersfield, West Cambridge, Newnham, and Abbey, are covered by an Air Quality Management Area, implemented to counter high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere.

Cambridge also often records the annual highest national temperature in any given year – 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) in July 2008 at NIAB[83] and 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) in August 2007 at the Botanic Garden[84] are two recent examples.

The town's river link to the surrounding agricultural land, and good road connections to London in the south meant Cambridge has historically served as an important regional trading post.

[128] For example, 2000 firkins of butter were brought up the river every Monday from the agricultural lands to the northeast, particularly Norfolk, to be unloaded in the town for road transportation to London.

[129] Cambridge today has a diverse economy with strength in sectors such as research and development, software consultancy, high value engineering, creative industries, pharmaceuticals and tourism.

[130] Described as one of the "most beautiful cities in the world" by Forbes in 2010,[131] with the view from The Backs being selected as one of the 10 greatest in England by National Trust chair Simon Jenkins.

Cambridge City Airport has no scheduled services and is used mainly by charter and training flights[138] and by Marshall Aerospace for aircraft maintenance.

London Stansted Airport, about 30 miles (48 km) south via the M11 or direct rail, offers a broad range of international destinations.

[149] Since 2011, the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway has carried bus services into the centre of Cambridge from St Ives, Huntingdon and other towns and villages along the routes, operated by Stagecoach in the Fens and Whippet.

It would have connected the historic city centre and the existing busway route with the mainline railway stations, Cambridge Science Park and Haverhill.

Cambridge played a unique role in the invention of modern football: the game's first set of rules were drawn up by members of the university in 1848.

Formed in 1908 as Cambridge Town, the club were Southern Premier League champions in 1962–63, the highest they have finished in the English football pyramid.

Parts of the Cam are used for recreational punting, a type of boating in which the craft is propelled by pushing against the river bed with a quant pole.

[176] Home and training ground to many influential traceurs, Cambridge is well known for its vibrant, and at times high-profile, parkour and freerunning scene.

[190] The City Council renovated the building in the 1980s, turning it into a full-time arts venue, hosting theatre, dance and music performances.

[194] Housed in a former sewage pumping station, the Cambridge Museum of Technology has a collection of large exhibits related to the city's industrial heritage.

Singers Matthew Bellamy,[201] of the rock band Muse, Tom Robinson,[202] Olivia Newton-John[203] and Charli XCX were born in the city.

[225][226][227][228][229][230][231][232][233] The city has been the setting for all or part of several novels, including Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, Rose Macaulay's They Were Defeated,[234] Kate Atkinson's Case Histories,[235] Rebecca Stott's Ghostwalk[236] and Robert Harris' Enigma,[237][238] while Susanna Gregory wrote a series of novels set in 14th century Cambridge.

Located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Addenbrooke's is one of the largest hospitals in the United Kingdom and is a designated regional trauma centre.

[250] The city has no power stations, though a five-metre wind turbine, part of a Cambridge Regional College development, can be seen in King's Hedges.

Electricity connections to the national grid rendered the small 7.26 megawatt (MW) coal fired power station redundant.