YORK TOP TEN

A city of history, a city to explore and a city where you never want to leave - York!

I have visited York before but it was when I was much younger. The things I remember the most about York are the York minster (I frequently call it the Notre Dame because it reminds me of my one of my favourite places on this Earth). 

The York Dungeons when you are a small child is never a good idea - I have been scarred for life.

I also remember walking the wall which to a child seemed like a very long walk indeed.

Being one of my mums favourite places, that was our latest trip away and I do not regret that decision at all.

York is a beautiful city that I adored every minute in. If you like the historic culture of cities then this place is definitely for you. Not only the historic side to it all but they have wonderful cafes, festivals and events plus a designer outlet not too far from the city centre. But don't you worry if there is too much to look in to and research before you go, as I am about to reveal my top ten favourite things to do in York! 

1. York Minster

Getting to see the most beautiful Minster (in my opinion) in England is always a highlight to my trip. The York minster has so much history to it that you will be wandering around for hours trying to find out more. From fires that have caused reconstruction, to the interesting statues you can find (see if you can find the cat and the mouse hiding in the back of the Minster) and the teletubbie hiding on the ceiling.

York Minster

The Minster has recently also opened an underground Roman museum area. Back when the Minster's foundations were starting to sink, they had to do some work to avoid the entire structure from collapsing. In doing so however they discovered the Minster was sitting right on top of an old Roman Barracks and there were still buildings and mosaics laying to be discovered. You can now go and discover all of this for yourself in the underground Roman museum found within the undercroft. 

2. Clifford's Tower

This one is a small one that costs just £5 to get in to but there are a lot of steps and a bit of height involved so if you're afraid of getting up high then maybe you should keep your feet on the ground. Clifford's Tower is an old castle on a small hill that was used periodically throughout the years. In 1190 when there was a lot of persecution against the Jews in York, 150 Jews locked themselves inside the Tower to save themselves. As they were surrounded and had no way of escape, instead of giving up their beliefs and handing themselves over to the town, they set fire to the Tower and died as Jews inside. 

There's not much of the interior left of the Tower now, in fact the roof doesn't even exist anymore. But the structure from the outside looks astounding as ever and once you have climbed to the top you are awarded with a pretty nice view around the area.

3. York Castle Museum

 Right beside Clifford's Tower you will be able to visit the York Castle Museum. The Museum has so much history to it that you could easily be in there for hours upon end. The museum is a little confusing as when you first enter you can find the ticket desk, cafe and gift shop. From there you have to go the left to visit the first half of the museum, before coming back to the cafe to then go to the right and find the other half of the museum.
Wandering through however there is everything under the sun - you wander through some old bedrooms of different era's and class. Then you can visit the Toys where you feel old about yourself and realise that there are toys you played with as a child in a museum. Then wander through the wonderful world of fashion from different times all the way up to the present. 

You can also find the swinging sixties exhibit, the streets of the 19th century and the old jails cells with their inhabitants around to tell you their story.
The museum is a definite must see because there is something for everyone.

4. York Chocolate Story

York (for those of you who don't know) is full of a rich history - rich and delicious. Chocolate factories were set up all over York, including Rowntree, Tuke, Craven and Terry which led to a revolution of chocolate for the country. You can go through the history of the chocolate of York dating all the way back to the time when the Mayans would drink the cacao beans with some chilli flakes.
The best part naturally of this tour is getting to do lots of tasting. You can taste chocolate from the very first recipe of a sellable chocolate bar, the mayans cacao drink and the wonderful quality streets we know and love today. At the end we even got to make our own chocolate lollipop and watch a demonstration by chocolatiers (and of course taste what they made afterwards as well).
The Chocolate Story also has their own little cafe and shop where you can then buy even more chocolate deliciousness to take away with you.

5. Fudge House

 Whilst we are on the subject of sweets - let me tell you about this little place called the Fudge House. Now I know what you are going to say. But Caitlin, we have one in Edinburgh! Although this is true, the Fudge House as I know it was not originally in Edinburgh - the first time I ever had it was down in York. Even when my parents would go to York on holiday without us that would be our treat that they brought back. The staff are always so friendly and just want to feed you - I mean literally. You can go in and ask for a taste of pretty much every flavour and they will give it to you. The fudge is amazing and there are so many different flavours that you never know what to choose and therefore do end up trying every flavour. If you are ever around the Lower Petergate then you must go in even just to say hi and watch as they make some of the best fudge around.

6.Walking the Wall

If like me, you sometimes just want to wander and explore then you will love walking along the wall in York. Originally this wall was built as part of the Roman fortress in 71 AD and is the most miles of an intact wall of any city in England.
The wall is a great way to get around the entire main area of the city centre and just be able to walk along a part of history.

7. York Museum

Another museum you say? There are loads of museums around the town and this one is another one I would visit. Although smaller than the York Castle Museum the museum is found in the York Gardens where you can stroll and find other old buildings.
In this museum you will find some amazing exhibits on the extinction of animals, of course Roman pieces and even the Norse folk (that was my favourite part). It's definitely worth a visit even if all you do is roam around the gardens for a little while.

8. Jorvik Viking Centre

Now for this one you might want to think about booking ahead. We did not expect it to be massively busy and of course when we turned up there was a 40 minute queue to get in to the attraction. Who knew the Vikings had such a big following?
The experience is really great from start to finish. At first you walk in to a room with a glass floor where you are told about the excavation that is beneath your feet. After this you head on over to the ride entrance where you get to choose your language and set off through an animatronic adventure to learn about the people of old times.
Further on from this when you exit, you can see all of the artefacts from the excavation including some human remains of which one of the animatronics was based on. Well worth the visit but if you're only around for a short time, it may be an idea to book in advance.

9.Treasurer's House

The Treasurers House was one of those places that I had never really done before so I was quite excited to go and see it. It was great to wander around the old house that was bought and preserved in 1897 by Frank Green until 1930. He redecorated so many times trying to keep in style with different time periods that the whole house now looks like it doesn't quite belong anywhere.
It is a great old building though with a great story hidden in the cellar of some old Roman ghost's.

10. City Bus Tour

Now I know this is the most touristy thing that I could have suggested but I had never done one of the red bus tours before so I was excited. After wandering around every day it was great to get to just sit on a bus and let someone take me to the different sites of the city and at the same time tell me all about what I was seeing. Not only that but having a bus ticket meant that we could get on and off of the bus all day as we pleased. It was something that has made me want to do this back in Edinburgh one day just to see what I can learn about my own city.

There is my top ten places and things to do in York! Now dont get me wrong, these are not the only things to do in York - believe me I could write a top 20 list but you would probably have given up reading by number 12. So here's a quick list of some of my other favourite places if you want to go and check them out yourself.

Barley Hall
Merchants Hall
The Shambles
Roman Bath
Boat Tours
Fairfax House
Cold War Bunker
Richard III and Henry IV Exprience
York Brewery

And one last little tip before I go - if you want to do a lot of these experiences then I would suggest investigating in to the York Pass! This wonderful little card is a life (and money saver) for your historical journey through the city.

The York Pass does 1, 2 or 3 days costing £38, £50 or £65. There is a massive list (including all the attractions listed above) that you can get in for as part of the pass plus you get extra discounts in stores at the outlet, ice cream stores, cafes and restaurants and more. Also if you want to go on the city bus tour and a boat tour but never want to pay the extra money for it, you will get a ticket to go on both of these with your York Pass included in your York Pass at no extra cost.

We got the 3 day pass which at the time had a 10% discount deal online. It cost us £58 for the 3 day pass and out of everything we did it would have cost us roughly £110 to have done it all by paying individually.

If you want to go to York (and I think you should) then definitely have a look in to some of the places in my top ten because they are all worth a visit.