York, UK. What is there to do?!

[jahlive905]

I've seen a fair few yorkies (not the chocolate bar) on this forum and wanted to get their advice. I'm visiting York for the weekend (not taking the bike *sadface*) but have you got any tips on what to go and see? Cool bars? The best food to eat?

 

[vernon]

Trip Advisor is a good place to start.

Here's a few places to get you going.
The National Railway Museum - if you go make sure that you visit both sites. There's a tunnel/subway linking the main part to the site over the road.
Theres a great bar on the station - to the left of the main exit as you leave. I can't remember its name.
Cliffords Tower - site of a seige.
A couple of good eateries opposite Cliffords Tower

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The National Railway Museum - if you go make sure that you visit both sites. There's a tunnel/subway linking the main part to the site over the road.

Absolutely fantastic place to go to, I walk around like a little kid with my mouth open, how they designed & built these wonderful machines so many years ago & best of all it's FREE entry, although leave the car somewhere else as it's £10 to park.

 

[Large]

York Minster, of course. And just walking around the centre of the city is an experience it itself, thanks to the ancient buildings.

 

[vernon]

Absolutely fantastic place to go to, I walk around like a little kid with my mouth open, how they designed & built these wonderful machines so many years ago & best of all it's FREE entry, although leave the car somewhere else as it's £10 to park.

There's a car park just before the museum whose cahrges are lower than the one opposite the museum though to be fair car parking in York is not cheap anywhere.

York Minster, of course. And just walking around the centre of the city is an experience it itself, thanks to the ancient buildings.

York Minster now has an admission charge of £10 - £15 if you want to go up the tower. Worth it if you've never been before but galling if you want another dose of awe and wonder after visiting it when admission was free/by donation.

Look up the Shambles - there's some good bars lurking there too.

 

[Joffey]

What kind of thing are you in to? Real ale, history, sight seeing, trendy bars, shopping etc?

 

[phil_hg_uk]

You could visit the Cold War Bunker -> http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/york-cold-war-bunker/

 

[Roadhump]

York is a wonderful city where you can;
Walk the walls
Visit the Minster
Watch some of the excellent street entertainers
Take a river cruise on the Ouse
Enjoy eating / drinking at one of the riverside bars / eateries
Visit the Kings Arms (I think that's what it is called) and see the marks where the flood water reached on various occasions when the Ouse burst its banks
Visit a few of the many other excellent pubs (I was once told there are 365 - 1 for every day of the year - but perhaps my plonker was being pulled), I seem to recall one called the Hole in the Wall which is quite olde worlde and does great food
Visit the railway museum, as others have said, it is amazing.
You could try the Jorvik Centre - never done so myself as it has always been chocca and seems very pricey

Haven't been there for 6 years, must get back soon.

 

[Joffey]

You could visit the Cold War Bunker -> http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/york-cold-war-bunker/

I went there a few years ago - it was very interesting.

Bars: The Grand, Pivni, Evil Eye, House of Trembling Madness, The Hop
Shops: Shambles - very quaint & Whipmawhopmagate :-D
Walks: City walls, Ghost walk, Museum Gardens, River walk to Millennium Bridge
Food: Star in the City, Blue Bicycle, El Goucho, Betty's (if you like that kinda thing)
Museums: Jorvik Centre, National Railway Museum (free), Art Gallery, Chocolate Experience
Cycling stuff: Your Bike Shed, Bic y mas (both fantastic bike cafes)
River stuff: Hire a boat, big river cruises, enjoy a pint by the river (Kings Head, Plonkers, The Lowther, Vodka Revs)
Cinema: City Screen (they have an outside terrace bar too)

Little bit further out of town is Bishopthorpe Road - some fantastic cafes and a great bike shop

Apart from the above best thing to do is get there early and have a good mooch around all the shops and go down all the side streets. Don't forget Clifton Moor and Monks Cross for shopping, also the Designer Outlet which is pretty decent - got Paul Smith, Hugo Boss etc rather than just full of GAP etc. Oh, for the best fish and chips go on the A64 towards Scarborough and visit Thompsons!

 

[Globalti]

Believe it or not, the Chocolate Story is actually very good. There's an excellent AV presentation on one floor, which gives a very good explantion of how the Quakers got into chocolate manufacture in York and Bourneville. Then on the next floor you see how chocolates are made and you get to make some yourself. Thoroughly educational, entertaining and fun. Oh, and you get to take home as much chocolate as you can stuff in your pockets!

http://yorkschocolatestory.com/

Dont bother driving in to the city, use the Park 'n Ride, which is excellent.

 

[Slioch]

There's loads of good stuff in York. A lot of places are clearly aimed squarely at the tourists and do very average food at high prices, and York is really popular with hen/stag parties at the weekend, so avoid any places with them in like the plague. Some of the local students can be a bit manky too and are worth avoiding (although this is probably just a personal prejudice) .

Things to do...
Railway Museum
Walk the city walls
The Minster (it's a ripoff to get in, but the architecture is magnificent).
Walk south along the river, cross at the Millenium Bridge, and come back up the other side.
Do a Ghost Walk in the evening - there's several to choose from.

Bars...
House of the Trembling Madness in Stonegate.
Three Legged Mare in High Petergate (bit of a spit & sawdust place, but excellent ales).
The Judges Lodgings in Lendal.
Lucia Wine Bar off Grape Lane is a good place to hang out & drink coffee outside under those patio heater thingies.

Eating...
Rustique in Castlegate (excellent French rural food, with a reasonably priced set menu - god, I sound like a right numpty!)
Ye Olde Starre Inne in Stonegate is a really old atmospheric pub that does great "normal" pub food.

Hope you enjoy!

 

[Levo-Lon]

You will love York..a weekend is plenty of time.
id give yorvic a miss but up to you.

the shambles ,minster and the wall are a must

 

[ComedyPilot]

Dunno if you like live music, but Fibbers/Duchess/Roman Baths all have plenty of live bands most nights of the week. The former 2 for dedicated music venues, the latter more of a pub/covers band place.

 

[Tin Pot]

Believe it or not, the Chocolate Story is actually very good. There's an excellent AV presentation on one floor, which gives a very good explantion of how the Quakers got into chocolate manufacture in York and Bourneville. Then on the next floor you see how chocolates are made and you get to make some yourself. Thoroughly educational, entertaining and fun. Oh, and you get to take home as much chocolate as you can stuff in your pockets!

http://yorkschocolatestory.com/

Dont bother driving in to the city, use the Park 'n Ride, which is excellent.

I went to the Cadbury world near Birmingham, if it's like that then it is very interesting and you get the whole grown up "real" Charlie and Chocolate Factory feeling.

 

[marknotgeorge]

The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington (20 mins up the A64 towards Hull) is worth a trip if you like that sort of thing.