According the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Oxford house prices have shot up more than in any city in the UK in the last 12 months.

The famous university city has seen property prices balloon by 10 percent - reaching an average of £549,581, according to estate agent Zoopla.

The city has always been popular with families but the famous academic institution creates an unusually large rental market, which is drawing more and more landlord buyers.

Some 50 percent of all the city's homes are now privately let, the highest percentage in the UK.

Adrian Wraight of the Oxford branch of agency Scott Fraser says: "East Oxford is bustling with independent businesses and live music venues with the city centre in a walkable distance."

It's no surprise Oxford is so sought-after, as it is dripping with history and gorgeous architecture.

Oxford was founded in the eighth century on the banks of the Cherwell and the Thames, known locally as the Isis, and was made a city in 1542.

It is also a stone’s throw from London, being 57 miles from the capital. Visitors can enjoy Big Ben, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and more.

Almost 16 miles away is the Cotswolds, where tourists can see the rural landscape, stone-built villages, towns, stately homes and gardens featuring the local stone sat on the River Thames.

Preply named Oxford the UK’s most walkable city as there are just 1.1 miles between its five biggest tourist attractions, and you could reach all of them in just 22 minutes.

Its five most popular attractions are the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Pitt Rivers Museum, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, and Oxford University.