A stolen weekend in York resulted in one of the most perfect city breaks I’ve ever had. Chosen last minute because there was no time to go abroad, I thought it would be a nice destination to visit at best and, at worst, a place where we could simply relax in one of the many hotels in York city centre (read more here). My expectations were proved completely wrong when I found a city full of intriguing history, a happening nightlife and that rarest of things in Britain, an atmospheric and unique town centre.
After arriving late on the Friday night, we really started the weekend on Saturday morning when we enjoyed a hearty full English breakfast at our hotel. From here, it was easy to walk to the city centre. Probably because we felt it was the most important thing to do, we then headed straight to York Minster. Who knew that in this far northern city of England we’d find the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe? We climbed up 275 steps to enjoy beautiful views of the city and the surrounding countryside.
Shopping, Cake and Coffee
We spent all morning in the cathedral and once we were satisfied we’d done it justice, we headed to the cafes and delis of central York to get some lunch. We ate a fine meal at Café No 8, a bistro on Gillygate. Having walked past many shops we swore we’d go back to, we whiled the afternoon away by making our way through the cobbled streets of York’s centre. There was a good choice of independent, boutique-type stores and a great opportunity to buy some gifts for the kids. We even managed to find a couple of excellent places to stop for coffee and cake along the way.
By late afternoon, we decided we could see one more attraction before going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner, so we spent an hour wandering around Barley Hall. We just stumbled across this medieval townhouse which, having been hidden behind an office block until the 1980s, has now been restored to its past glory.
After dinner at one of York’s many fine eateries, the Biltmore Bar and Grill, we enjoyed an evening sipping wine in one of the city’s riverfront bars.
Green City Life
On Sunday morning we needed fresh air and exercise to revive ourselves from the night before. Our hotel owner pointed us in the direction of the Yorkshire Museum, which is surrounded by ten acres of botanical gardens. After revitalising ourselves in these fabulous gardens we were ready for one last major attraction after lunch.
Trains or Vikings
After deliberating between the National Railway Museum and the Jorvik Viking Centre, we finally plumped for the Railway Museum, which has the added bonus of free entry. The museum made trains far more interesting that I ever thought possible and we promised ourselves we’d do Jorvik on our next visit.
And a next visit there’ll surely be, as we found York to be a friendly, fascinating and funky city. Excellent food, lovingly maintained historic buildings and great exhibitions all resulted in York becoming one of my top city destinations, not just in the UK, but the whole of Europe and maybe even the world.
Image by jack_spellingbacon
