7 Reasons To Visit York – A Very Pretty City in England!

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York is a beautiful city in Northern England and when I visited, despite being from the UK I was totally blown away by its history, attractions and charm. Whether you live in the UK or you’re on a trip to England, you should make the effort to visit York and add it into your England itinerary, you can even visit York as a day trip from London by train!

Reasons to Visit York!

1. York is easy to get to!

First things first, how to get to York?

York is in Northern England, just North of Leeds so it is a good few hours from London but possible to get there by public transport. I got the train there and the train station is right in the city so once you get there it’s easy to reach city centre accommodation and attractions making this one of the big reasons to visit York!

The train station is also pretty impressive in itself and is worth a visit even if you aren’t using it to arrive in the city!

To check train times and the best prices, I’d suggest using The Train Line and as mentioned you can even visit York for 1 day on a day trip from London if you’re short on time!

2. York Minster!

There are many things to do in York but the best and first attraction in York you’ll probably head to is York Minster!

It is one of the worlds most magnificent cathedrals, beautiful from the inside and out and full of history and is one of the best places to visit in York!

3. The Old City Feel!

York is quite a small city, especially compared to the likes of Leeds, Manchester and of course, London.

It was once surrounded by a wall which acted as a fort and now makes the Old City of York. A lot of the original wall- built in Roman Times is still standing, in fact, it has more miles still intact than any other city in England so following the wall round is a great way to see the city and see more history.

This history is one of the reasons why I think you should visit York!

4. The iconic English Cobblestone Streets!

Surrounding York Minster is the prettiest, small, cobblestone streets. ‘The Shambles’ is one of the best streets in York and most popular having been voted Britain’s Most Picturesque Street in 2010.

It’s currently filled with shops, pubs and restaurants and will definitely make you feel like you’re experiencing the real England!

5. Shopping in York!

York is full of shops.. most of which are along the beautiful, historic streets. There’s a good mix of high street stores and boutique shops.

Having gone in November I managed to start my Christmas shopping there!

6. Fun Activities in York!

York has some great museums to visit if the British weather isn’t on your side. Another great attraction are York Dungeons. You can take a walk through 2000 years of York’s fascinating history, complete with actors and shows this is a fully themed experience.

York is not just all about shopping and walking, you can have fun which is why this is one of my reasons to visit York!

If you fancy booking a tour in York or around York, have a look into these great options:

7. York is walkable!

Finally, a big reason why I recommend you visit York is that York isn’t a city that you should need to take taxi’s or public transport in, it’s big enough that it will take some time to explore but you can walk pretty much everywhere in a short amount of time.

And of course, there are lots of English style pubs, restaurants and café’s around to rest your feet in.

Accommodation in York

I really loved my trip to York, it’s a quintessentially English city with so much history and unlike any other city in England.

I stayed at the Royal York Hotel (now called Principle York Hotel) which is a gorgeous hotel, it’s attached to the Train station so it’s really accessible, it’s a bit on the pricey side (I worked for the hotel chain so I got a free stay!) but there are plenty of hotels in the city and a few hostels.

Have a look on Booking.com for some York Hotels here!

Make sure you book your train to York in advance to get the best price and use The Train Line to book it!