"York's Beauty" a York Travel Page by tvor

York is a very old city, nearly as old as London if not about the same age. It too was a Roman bastion, later occupied by Saxons and Vikings and Danes. Here's a good page that has a comprehensive history of the city http://www.york.gov.uk/heritage/heritage/history.html

My first visit to York was a stop on the bus tour in 1993, where we had a walking tour and an hour or two to explore. My second was in September 2000. 8 of us hired a minibus and drove over from Manchester for the afternoon and my third and most likely not last visit was in July 2004.

York's city center is probably one of the most beautiful and well preserved i've seen. Some of the narrow streets are pedestrian only.

The only problem with York is that it's also a very touristed city and very crowded especially in the summer. It's still worth a visit, for the history, architecture and shopping. The York Minster looming over the city is very striking outside and inside. The "Shambles", a little street where the butcher shops used to be, is lined with leaning and crooked houses dating back from the 14 to 17th centuries.

There are open top busses that can tour you around York but the city center is compact enough that you will see it far better on foot. The busses can't get down the narrow streets anyway so you'd have to hop off and explore that way. There are lots of little alleys and small side lanes with surprises to be discovered off the beaten track. The old city walls are largely intact as well so you could also walk around the city perimeter on them. The nicest walk is the stretch of wall from Monk Gate around behind the Minster with lovely gardens and the looming towers of the structure making for a really great photo or two.

There are some really good museums to investigate and lots of shops. Compare prices though, since York caters to the tourist industry, prices can be a bit high, especially on the Shambles.

York might be touristy, but it's beautiful and historic and really shouldn't be missed.