Castles, ancient city walls, the famous minster and tales of ghosts from times gone – if English history makes your imagination run wild you can’t miss on a trip to York.



One of England’s most famous and historically rich cities, York is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

Standing inside ancient city walls, which you can still walk around today, and lined with old cobbled streets, when you walk around York you can’t but help let your imagination run wild with the untold tales of the past.

Although some of the city now lies outside of the city walls, once you walk through the stone arches your senses will come alive imagining what York could have been like hundreds of years ago.

York has plenty of tourist attractions within its walls. If you happen to be visiting York a number of festivals and ceremonies. This includes one particular tradition at Christmas of opening the city to “beggars, whores and other unthrifty folk” for Christmas... by Kate Wiley

York is a city in the north of England, on the River Ouse, near its confluence with the River Foss. In 1991 the city had a population of 123,126, its geographic coordinates are 53°57' North, 1°05' West.

York is the traditional county town of Yorkshire - which takes its name. Now it is a part of a unitary authority named City of York which is surrounded by North Yorkshire.

York Minister

York is dubbed the "eternal city" and is renowned for its history which is preserved in the city's buildings. Since Roman times, York has been the main city in the north of England. For the Romans it was a major military base, named Eboracum or Eburacum, after the Brythonic Efrawg. Emperor Septimius Severus died there in 211 AD, and Constantius Chlorus, the father of Constantine I, died there in 306.
On March 16, 1190 a mob of townsfolk massacred the Jews of York. The Jews were driven to the fortified Clifford's Tower where they committed mass suicide rather than die at the hands of their attackers. It is said that the stone walls of the tower turned red with their blood.

The Anglo-Saxons called the city Eoferwic or Eoforwic. The Vikings called the city Jorvik. In modern Welsh it is known as Efrog, in Irish Gaelic as Eabhrac, and in Scottish Gaelic as Iorc.

York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in England, and dominates the city's skyline, while surrounding York's centre are the city walls, built by Henry III in 1220.

York is very popular with tourists. One popular attraction is the Shambles, an old street with overhanging timber-built shops, now occupied by souvenir shops as opposed to butchers. York is also home to numerous Ghost Walks where tourists can learn about York's folklore.

York is also noted for its wealth of pubs. The York area is said to contain one pub for every day of the year, although this is now a little exaggerated. It is said, with perhaps a touch of poetic licence, that there is no point within the city walls where one can stand and not be able to see at least one pub and at least one church.

York has one football team in the English league: York City. Since the 1960s, it has also boasted one of the country's leading universities: the University of York. The York area is served by a local newspaper, the Yorkshire Evening Press.

Places of interest
Archaeological Resource Centre, York
Bar Convent Museum
Barley Hall
Clifford's Tower
Jorvik, The Viking City
Micklegate Bar Museum
National Railway Museum
National Centre for Early Music
Treasurer's House
York Castle Museum
York City Art Gallery
The York Dungeons
York Minster
Yorkshire Museum

Part of this article is from Wikipedia.
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