"You Won't Be Bored in Ebor!" a York Travel Page by yooperprof

Change comes to all things and all places, and a city is never finished. York makes that clear more than most. For almost 2000 years, people have been creating a city here, a place that at times has been one of the most important centers of civilization in all of the British Isles. And it's still evolving today! In that way, York itself is well-represented by its most famous structure, the magnificent York Minster. It's continuously being reborn, re-imagined, re-created. So if you come to York (or any other great city) and you find streets torn up, buildings closed for renovation, and scaffolding hiding the monuments, just chill. It's the same as it ever was.

The medieval stonemason was proud of his work. He knew that he was taking part in a task that was much larger and more significant than his own palty life. It's fitting that he should be remembered on the facade of the Minster - really, he stands in for all the anonymous figures of the past.

York does have a famous wall, but it doesn't keep people out any more. Instead, York is an increasingly cosmopolitan center of education, trade, and (of course) tourism. Like all other cities in England, York has been affected tremendously by the globalization of the last 50 years. It's not as diverse here as London or Manchester, but it's certainly not as insular as it once was.