Sign in with Facebook"York, Jorvik, Eboracum..." York by Sjalen
York Travel Guide: 1,617 reviews and 3,908 photos
One of the most well-known cities in England and worth a long visit! Most people whizz through it as they think it is a small and compact city and whilst this is true geographically, there is so much to see here that you need at least three days to do it justice. Most people know of its huge "cathedral" - the York Minster - which is the biggest Gothic church building north of the Alps. What fewer know is that the city was founded by the Romans who made it one of their centres, calling it Eboracum (that's why you find many company names with "Ebor" in York) and stationing its 9th legion here. Then came the Vikings, who called it Jorvik and who had a great influence on the language in the region as still today the streets are known as gates just like in Scandinavia. After this, the city has had an interesting development both in the Wars of the Roses when Richard III used it as his Capital of the North, and in the English Civil War, and the countryside is full of famous battlefields from various centuries such as Stamford Bridge, Towton and Marston Moor.
Today, around 120.000 people live here, many of them students at the increasingly popular university in Heslington just outside the centre. The students are not always popular with the locals who these days struggle to find work in anything but tourism. Local York people not working with visitors work at the railway as York is one of Britain's railway centres, being along the main line London to Edinburgh and with smaller criss-crossing lines to Manchester and Hull. The train-making itself has sadly disappeared but railway infrastructure companies still employ many as does the chocolate factory Nestlé-Rowntrees still (founded by Rowntree but bought out by Nestlé), although by the anonymous look of the factory, it is maybe just a matter of time before it has to close the way Terry's have had to when production was moved (ironically for me to Sweden and Belgium). Chocolate making has been so important that there used to be a sign by the railway saying "Welcome to York where men are hunky and chocolate chunky" :-))) I can only agree since this is where I met my husband. These days, tourism has taken over much of the business and at times, the city centre sadly feels a bit like Disneyland, but who am I to complain. I was once a tourist here and liked it so much that I settled to dig deeper into one of the most interesting places in England.
- Pros:historic, picturesque, good shopping
- Cons:council ruining old city parts, Micklegate drunkenness, "Disneyland" city centre feel
- In a nutshell:The history of England
Reviews (53)
Lady Row
Things to Do
(23)
Goodramgate has a funny name which some people say comes from King Guthrum (Guthrumgate is the older name of the street)... more travel advice
Bettys Tea Rooms
Tourist Traps
(3)
Betty's is an institution in York (and Harrogate), but few locals actually come here unless they are students whose... more travel advice
St William's College
Things to Do
(23)
St William's is one of the most beautiful buildings I know in York, and one you should particularly visit if you are... more travel advice
Fairfax House
Things to Do
(23)
Fairfax House was designed by York man John Carr for Viscount Fairfax who must have had lots of guests entertained in... more travel advice
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Shopping (2)
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Off The Beaten Path (5)
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Nightlife (3)
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York Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "York - potential capital of the north"
- "The Old Capital of the North"
- "York"
- "Eboracum"
- "York - a standout amongst the pretenders"
- "History and shopping."
- "YORK - 2000 YEARS OF HISTORY"
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Sjalen Used To Live Here!
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National/State Park
TrainsLatest York hotel reviews
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- 367 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 16, 2013 - Travelodge York Central
- 379 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013 - The Queens Hotel
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Latest: May 14, 2013 - The Hazelwood
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Latest: Apr 16, 2013 - Ashley Guest House
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Latest: May 6, 2013 - Clifton Bridge Hotel
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Latest: Apr 8, 2013 - The Groves
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Latest: May 7, 2013 - Judge's Lodging
- 199 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 11, 2013 - Carlton House Hotel
- 523 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - Park View Guest House
- 44 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 10, 2013 - Premier Inn York City (Blossom St South)
- 549 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013 - Churchill Hotel
- 624 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013 - Romley House
- 95 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 2, 2013 - Premier Inn York Clifton
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Comments (20)
Thanks for the ratings on York. I really appreciate it! Somehow I went down 590 rankings last week. I think someone high up hates me.....
Though I'm not a big fan of standing in lines, we did once queue for hours (with our then-small children) to get into the Jorvik Viking Centre, which was fascinating. Also enjoyed the Railway Museum. Is there a good bicycle rental place in York?
Good tip but we missed it due to lack of time. greetings from barbs
Quality pages with relevant photos.
Very helpful page--I'm thinking of adding York to my next UK trip itinerary!
nice page, hester has lovely city walls too
Jättefin sidan :)
Lovely page on a lovely city!!! Liked the tips and pics too!! Very interestingly written!! Fond memories of my trip!!!
Lovely impression of a very special city!
Trying to find a cheap hotel for my husbands Birthday in York