Making My Good Life

York, the walled city, Roman fortress, and heart of Yorkshire. York is an ancient city with roots ranging from the Vikings to Roman Emperors. Halfway between Edinburgh and London, York is a great home base to explore northern England or to continue on and head up to Scotland. This guide will help you make the most of your time and see everything in York in just 24 hours.

My travel companions and myself traveled to York in October 2022. We had actually rented a car from Heathrow and then driven up, about 4 hours, with a break at the beautiful Chatsworth House. We arrived at night and after a quick and very tired dinner at Pizza Express, a pizza chain across the UK, we settled into our hotel for a jet lagged night. We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton York Picadilly. Since there were three of us traveling and we didn’t want to have to book two rooms, we knew we would have to stay at a chain instead of a boutique hotel as they usually offer bigger rooms. Just like with most things, American hotels are oversized but that is not the standard across most of the world! The hotel had a modern feel with an American queen sized bed and a built in day bed as the extra sleeping spot. It had a complimentary breakfast that included all the English favorites: eggs, sausage, thick bacon, and beans. We didn’t use points to book the hotel, which was $130 US dollars a night but we are Hilton members so we did get complimentary snacks and goodies. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay there and the location could not be beat. It was very central and we were able to walk everywhere we wanted. We parked in a garage for 17 pounds a day that was a six-minute walk away from the hotel. The hotel was also very close to a supermarket for us to pop into for late night snacks.

11:00am-1:30pm

Because of our jetlag, we had a late morning enjoying our breakfast and sleep. After getting ready, we headed over to York Minster. Perhaps the most recognizable attraction of the city, York Minster is the self-proclaimed center of Christianity in the north of England. It is the seat of the Archbishop of York. It also holds the heart of Yorkshire, recognized in its front window with the massive stained glass window topped with a heart shape.

The entrance fee for the Cathedral is 20 pounds with an additional fee of 10 pounds if you choose to go up to the central tower. We did not book ahead and were able to just walk straight in. There was no set tour but there was a helpful map with directions and docents in several spaces to tell you more about the rooms. We really enjoyed the meeting rooms–take a look at all the engraved faces for a laugh. All the engravings, windows, and even the memorials were beautiful and interesting. You don’t see graves of princes or a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth I everyday. In the catacombs was a museum showing other structures that used to stand on the space.

We were pleasantly surprised by the museum. It was extremely extensive and well done with videos, artifacts, and of course things to read. It takes you from Roman military outpost to the current uses. There was also a temporary exhibit for the Queen’s Jubilee. We fairly buzzed through the museum but you could definitely spend a lot of time there.

After a quick stop in the gift shop, we left the Minster and headed to our next destination.

1:30pm-2:10pm

York is extremely walkable. A river runs along one side as well as the Roman walls so the city centre is pretty compact. We headed to the Shambles. I think my research was really insufficient about what this was exactly. Basically, the Shambles is a street. It’s one of those idyllic old streets with the timber houses that look like they are about to cave in at any minutes. It was so named because it used to be where the butchers operated…enough said. I was under the impression that it was much larger than it actually is.

While it is just one street, it has lots of shops and is incredibly busy. When we went, there was a line down the road for a ghost shop. There are also chocolate shops, bakeries, and other sellers. We stopped by the Yorkshire bake shop for some pies for lunch. They were under 2 pounds apiece and are a staple of the UK. Options included steak and kidney and chicken and leek. Pro tip, ask them to be heated up or at least make sure they are hot; it makes a big difference. We also got a sausage roll to try because we had never had one and I feel like it’s almost the national snack of England. Suffice it to say I will not be trying one again. However, I am not a big fan of sausage, so take that into account.

Around the block from the Shambles is an open court with food stalls and open bench seating. There was also a market with stalls for hats, scarves, books, and other goods. I would recommend having cash just in case.

3:00pm-5:00pm

After lunch we returned to the hotel to regroup. We took off some layers and grabbed our umbrellas. We next planned to walk the Roman walls. The walls, while being a historical feature, are also still a walkway. We passed quite a few people using the walls to get across town while carrying their groceries and just going on with their days.

We did not go to the start of the walls or the centre that probably explained more about them. Instead, we purchased an app that offers walking tours across the world. The app was $8 and we all downloaded it then used one login so we just had to pay once. The tour we used, York Walking Tour, had 24 stops. You can either turn on location services so it automatically connects or you can do it manually. We chose manually since we actually did the tour backwards and did not go to every stop. We just popped in our airpods and away we went.

Our first stop was Cliffords Tower, it was actually right behind our hotel. From there was the old prison, where we started to walk along the walls. As we walked ,we listened to our tour and took in the beautiful fall trees. As the walkway nears the minster it offers really pretty views and also it was kind of fun to look into people’s backyards. There are several gates along the way that are what you see pictured above. One even has a coffeeshop that you can stop at!

If you are terrified of heights I would warn that some sections are pretty high and do not have rails. Also the width of the walkways varies so it can be a tight squeeze if someone is passing. The gates do have staircases that were a little claustrophobic as well. It did end up raining on us a bit and the walkways were a little slick, so just be careful!

Once we got off the walls, we continued the walking tour path and went into a beautiful park that housed several museums as well as some ruins that looked like they could have been the scene of a gothic mystery.

Leaving the park, we walked past St. Helen’s Square, the Govenors Old Mansion, and then past recognizable shops like H&M and Primark. We then returned to our hotel for a rest and a drink before our dinner reservation.

7:00pm-9:00pm

For dinner, we went to The Ivy St. Helen’s Square. The Ivy is an upscale chain across England. There are several notable locations particularly in London. I have always wanted to go because the aesthetic is very maximalist; it’s all mirrors, good lighting, beautiful prints, and gold. I don’t really think we have a comparable American chain. The benefit to going to The Ivy not in London is the price difference. Across the board, restaurants and stores will be more expensive in London than if you travel across the country.

Also to note if you go to The Ivy is that you should probably reserve ahead of time. We booked 3 weeks ahead of time for a 7pm dinner slot. Dress code is something to also be aware of, as it is slightly more upscale, and they don’t necessarily allow tennis shoes.

I’m a chronic planner and of course looked at the menu ahead of time. I settled on the Flat Iron Chicken with polenta. It was cheesy, juicy, and very flavorful. My companions had the Sea Bass and the Peppercorn beef. We all agreed my dish was delicious. For a starter we shared scallops, which of course were to die for.

I highly recommend The Ivy. It was delicious with generous portions. I also love something that feels slightly glamorous. With that glamor does come a price tag so just be aware. If you want to experience The Ivy but want a lower price tag, they do an afternoon tea beginning at 4.

Thoughts

Overall we really liked York. It was a nice entry point and manageable small city if you’re not a fan of big cities. I feel like we did all the necessary attractions but if we ever go back there are still things that would be fun to do.

If I were to go back, I would venture out into Yorkshire a little more. There’s the Dales, which is essentially a national park which I’m sure has beautiful walking trails. Yorkshire also has a literary history including the Bronte sisters. You could walk along the dales where Heathcliff heard Catherine, if you also wanted to be a tortured romantic. The Bronte sister’s childhood home is a national site you can visit. The top attraction I would want to see is castle ?. I’m a sucker for a beautiful house. I’ve seen several films it was in, including ?

Things in the city proper that we did not do was the Viking Center and several other museums. I think we got the essence of the city and while I love museums, you can only do so many before your head feels like it will explode. Museum fatigue is real! Going to every museum also would have added to our expenses. There is a city pass but in 24 hours, you could never do everything to fully get your money’s worth.

Wow, that’s a lot for it only being 24 hours. I hope this helps you make the most of your time and of York!