The city with so much to see

York, probably the best known city in the North of England, is just an hour’s drive or a quick train journey from the East Coast.

The medieval masterpiece is superbly preserved and is home to lots of eye-catching features and some superb tourist attractions.

Just walking the streets in the shadow of the mighty York Minster is a treat and an experience not to be missed.

King George VI once said: “The history of York is the history of England,” and this sentiment will be echoed by any true-blooded Yorkshireman.

As you walk along Stonegate you are following the exact route of Roman York and apart from one or two interruptions the city has lived on since then.

York plays host to the world-famous Jorvik Viking Centre and many marvellous museums including the York Castle Museum which is in a prominent position.

The Jorvik Viking Centre enables you to travel underground to the 1,000-year-old Viking City of York.

You can step aboard a time train and travel through the bustling market, dark smoky houses and busy wharfside and experience the sights, sounds and smells as you go.

Jorvik Viking Centre was built following the resounding success of a five-year excavation project which took place on the world renowned Copper-gate site.

The settlement that was excavated was remarkably well preserved by the surrounding waterlogged soil and provided invaluable information on the Viking city of Jorvik.

Hundreds of the artefacts discovered during the excavations can now be viewed in a gallery within the centre.

Meanwhile, York is also home to The Shambles, one of the best preserved medieval streets in Europe.

The street was home to the butchers of York and takes its name from the shammels, the shelves on which butchers used to display their meat.

You can still see these shelves in front of some of the shop windows and the hooks on which the meat was hung.

Some of the buildings date back to 1350.

There have been walls around all the different versions of York since Roman times, originally they were earth banks with a timber palisade on top.

The present stone walls date from the 13th century and it is possible to walk along what remains of them.

Gateways, or ‘bars’ to give the local name, mark the only points other than the river where it was possible to enter the old city.

Each bar has its own place in history.

Kings have entered the city through Micklegate Bar and the heads of rebels were displayed there as a warning to others.

Dick Turpin spent his last night on earth in the condemned cell in York Castle, a cell which has been left much as it was in the Castle Musuem.

But it is the Minster that is York’s crowning glory and it is the largest Gothic cathedral in Europe, drawing visitors back time after time.

One visit to York is not enough.