Salisbury scored a 75 per cent in a Which? survey of the UK’s best towns, villages and cities that received 9,000 responses from across the country. 

The medieval city earned four-out-of-five stars for its food and drink, five-out-of-five for tourist attractions, four-out-of-five for scenery, three-out-of-five for attractiveness, four-out-of-five for shopping and three-out-of-five for peace and quiet.

Of the hundreds of cities, towns and villages listed, only 10 received a perfect score for tourist attractions. Salisbury shared this honour with the likes of Wells, Corfe Castle, Windsor, Stratford upon Avon and fellow Wiltshire community Avebury.

City Councillor Tom Corbin said: “It’s got obviously Salisbury Cathedral, its eclectic mix of shops and shop frontages, its higgledy-piggledy mix of buildings. It’s a very attractive city, and that’s why, because of the warm nature and the mix of different types of offer and appearances—that nice feel that you get—that people recommend Salisbury.”

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Cllr Paul Sample, who oversaw the return of the Salisbury Giant to the Market Square, said: “Salisbury has got absolutely everything, or it’s on our doorstep. We’ve even got the world’s finest medieval cathedral with the spire that’s world famous and the Magna Carta there. People come from all over just to see the Magna Carta, never mind the cathedral. And then we’ve got probably one of the world’s most iconic monuments a ten minutes’ drive away.

“If you don’t live in Salisbury, you’re missing out.”

Paul added that he disagreed with the result that saw Wells gain more points than Salisbury.

He said: “Salisbury and Wells are just not comparable. We are in a totally different league from Wells. That’s nonsense. They are the Beazer Homes League of towns, we are in the Premiere League.

“There are people in Wells who would be even happier if they came and lived in Salisbury. If you’re miserable in Wells, come and live in Salisbury.”