Abstract
With the advent of precision cosmology, where predictions and measurements can be carried out to a precision level of a few percent, understanding galaxy formation and evolution to the same level of detail appears to be essential for further tests of the paradigm. Here we review recent attempts at (1) understanding the 3-dimensional structure of the satellite system around M31, where half of the dwarfs appear to be orbiting in a vast and thin disc; (2) anchoring M31 very accurately using three independent methods for measuring its distance and hence the Hubble constant; and (3) establishing the variations of star-formation histories across the galaxy through the analysis of the colour-magnitude diagrams of resolved stellar populations.
