Introduction:
If you like history, architecture, shopping and ghosts then York is an ideal place to spend a few days. It has everything within the historical town walls and lots of places to stay, eat and drink, and so much to do you’ll need two holidays there, not just one. Here are 10 interesting things to see and do in York.
- Walk the city walls and see the town gates. They’re medieval and the paths along them were added in Victorian times. It will take about 2 hours to walk round the walls from where you get a bird’s eye view of the city. Click here for pictures.
- York Minster is beautiful and has a crypt and a tower to climb, a recent sculpture of our late Queen and lots of memorials to admire.
- If you like the London Transport Museum you will love York Railway Museum which is huge and an opportunity to see Laddie, the stuffed dog in the glass case, who used to stand on Platform 7 and 8 at Wimbledon Station. When he was alive he and his owner collected money for widows and orphans of late railway workers. After he died his body was stuffed and he was put in a glass case which had a slot for people to put their coins into. He was taken to York in about 1990. Click here to see him.
- The Chocolate Story in York is a chance to learn all about the development of the manufacture of chocolate in the city, and the Rowntree and Terry families who made it. Free samples of chocolate are included in the entrance fee.
- The Shambles is a medieval street where the buildings on each side are leaving towards each other. It is cobbled and atmospheric and full of gift shops.
- The Hop On Hop Off Bus tour takes you around all the tourist sites and has a commentary telling you all about the buildings you can see from the bus. Tickets last for 24 or 48 hours and you can get on or off as often as you like.
- The York Pass is expensive but as long as you visit 4 or 5 museums a day for 3 days it is worth every penny. They include The Castle Museum, the Yorvik Viking Centre and the Yorkshire Museum.
- Your visit to York isn’t complete until you’ve been shopping in the rain and had tea and cake at Betty’s Tea Shop. The staff are friendly and the building is beautiful.
- Days out from York can include walking in the Yorkshire Dales, visiting Harrogate to see the Pump Room Museum and going to the coast to breathe in the sea air at Scarborough.
- York is full of places to stay, such as the Holgate Bridge bed and breakfast, which is good value and just a 10 minute walk from the railway station.
And finally:
Like all historic places, York is haunted, and the Tourist Information Centre can provide information on lots of ghost walks at night to go on, as well as other guided walks during the day. Have fun and send me a postcard.
See the menu on the left for more ideas about places to go.