24 hours in York - best things to do?

I went there for the first time for a few days at the end of last year.

Top of my list for the best time spent was the railway museum ... absolutely terrific.

Jorvik, there was some rebuilding or such, (due to the floods the previous year?) - what there was a total waste of time (IMO, of course).

York is very compact, don't see the point of the bus. Get a map from the tourist centre.

Katy

There are walking tours.
YORK
Free guided walking tours of the city. Leaving from Exhibition Square at -
Nov - March - 10:15 & 13:15
April - Oct - 10:15 & 14:15
June - Aug - 10:15, 14:15 & 18:15

In addition to the daily tours we offer ‘pre-booked’ group tours to suit your needs. To book contact us on 01904 550098 (24 hr answer phone) or preferably write to us at:
AVG Information Desk, 1 Museum Street, York, YO1 7DT or email [email protected].
http://www.visityork.org/thedms.aspx?dms=3&venue=1500114&AskRedirect=true
Map reference: SE 601521  Lat: 53.96148 Long: -1.08547
On Foot:
Tours start outside the York Art Gallery, just outside the city walls.

No question , York is best done with shoe leather , and The National Railway Museum is an absolute must , along with the Minster .

Minster (climb the tower if you can if the day is clear), the Railway Museum, walk the walls, buy the 'Snickleways' book and follow all the tiny back alleys, discover exactly where Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate is! Tea and fairly expensive but good food at Betty's - there are two, the big one on Coney Street, or better, and the one I prefer, 'Little Betty's' on Stonegate (near the Minster) and nearby for beer 'The House of Trembling Madness' if you can get in (it's not very big and popular), Clifford's Tower, and if you can get in, the Merchant Adventurers Hall. Plenty of pubs, choose one and dive in! Couple of good ones on the riverside and if it's a pleasant enough day to sit outside, a people watching experience. For a sobering and slightly weird experience visit York's Nuclear Bunker (English Heritage).

That should keep you going for a day! Have a great trip!

Ian

Betty's

https://www.bettys.co.uk/cafe-tea-rooms/locations/york

York is a tremendous walking city. Get out and walk the walls. The York Brewery was established in 1996. They make some beers that are more in the American style. Their tour is lots of fun. The building is neat. The people a joy. Betty's teahouse is very popular, but a cool experience.. Don't miss The House of the Trembling Madness, the best pub experience in York. downstairs is a bottle shop with more beers than you can imagine, and many good US beers. Upstairs the pub is neat, food pretty good, but the pub itself is awesome, it's located on Stonegate. For food we like Café Concero and the Maltings pub. York is one of those cities that is not touted as highly as some others, but when you leave it is the one that stays in your heart. Enjoy! Hank novato, Ca

We had a short visit to York last May. We climbed the Minster tower, walked the city walls (complete circuit), and went to the Railway Museum--which was our favorite. It is right by the station, so you could do this before your departure, although you would have to stash your luggage at the Left Luggage office.

We took one of the free walking tours that met just outside one of the gates and loved it. The guide was so knowledgeable and helped us to appreciate the long history in York. I would also recommend walking the walls (or as much as you have time for), and visiting the York history museum.

As for eating, we very much enjoyed Little Italy when we were there about 3 years go.

I haven't been to York yet but want to do the walking tour of cat statues-I think it starts at a gift shop of glass items and I think you can read about it on Tripadvisor

Walk...a wonderful city to visit. As mentioned, the National Railway Museum is a must visit when in York. My favorite is the Mallard. It's a steam locomotive and holds the world record speed of 126 mph.

Love York! It's a walking city as others have noted. What I did with an overnight trip:
York Minster
Walked walls between Gilly Gate and Monk Bar
Stopped in shops along the way to little Betty's
Stopped at Saint Mary's Abbey ruins
Went to railway muesum
Took an evening ghost tour

The Minster was fantastic. If there's something drawing you--like viking history--then I say go with your interests. Brutal honesty: I work in transportation and trains are great, and yes, I understand it's an impressive collection, but I was not as excited about the train museum as others on this board. If you miss the railway museum, it's not the end of the world.

I was just reading over these great suggestions and wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to post.

What a great thread. I am so excited to see the cats.....We are going to do the Cat walking tour. THANK YOU to the OP for asking this question.

IMHO The Minster, The National Railway Museum and the Castle Museum.. And tea at Betty's naturally.

Our favorites were the York History Museum, Railroad Musem, walking all over and not to be missed... a ghost walk. We enjoyed the ghost walk so much we did a total of 3 (all different). We were there for 4 nights and hated to leave.

We did the self-guided Cat walking tour in York a couple years ago. With only the Minster on our must-see list, it was a fun way to get delightfully lost in a fascinating town. There was a major horse racing event in town the weekend we were there with lots of people dressed to the nines and a lot of partying going on. We were told by a fellow on the train that York is a popular bachelor/bachelorette party town, too. York should check all your boxes for history, beer, people-watching and good food. Jenny

We climbed the tower, walked the walls, and just wandered through the city. In hindsight, we should have done the walking tour and the rail museum. It was VERY windy and cold in June, so please check the weather.

Might be a bit off from what you're expecting, but look into a bus tour to Ampleforth Abbey. North of York, 500 years old, beautiful village, too and -- sounds like you'd like this - the monks make their own fantastic beer!!!

I also disagree with the comments on Betty's. Yes it's nice. But it's crowded, full of American tourists, and there are some fantastic local tea/cofffee shops that are close by and might use the business since they're not yet in travel books! The local arts cinema has a fantastic deck overlooking the river, and great food. You might catch an interesting art flick there, too! The last time I was there a new place had just opened across from the government tourist office (near the castle gardens entrance). It was in an antique store - wonderful vibe!

Susan
American living in Waterville, Ireland
visited York 8 times in the past 3 years

sandy.b do you remember how cold "very cold" was? You are probably like me-don't expect cold weather in June!

Walk the walls, the Minster, the museum that encompasses the ruins of St Mary's Abbey, and the free town walk. Fit in evensong too if you have time.

It only takes a few minutes to read the plaque on Clifford's Tower, about the Massacre of 1190 - a less known bit of history. We couldn't climb for the view because it was locked.

Some days in the third week in June this year in York were 32+C / 90+ F.

By contrast some days in the fourth week were 13C / 55 F.

You can't tell which you might get or any point in between.

The OP was in April, but may be tracking still. We found Betty's Tea Room had two locations. The main one with modern decor and large dining room was on a busy corner on a main street and full of tourists. We skipped that and went to the other location on a smaller street towards the minster that was in an old, small shop and was much more interesting. I mention it because everyone we asked was directing us towards the former.

Thanks for the tip on the smaller Betty's Tea Room location. That sounds more to my liking. Yes, I'm tracking responses to this until I get to York in August!

Kathy, here is link to the Bettys we liked: Bettys on Stonegate
Its around the corner and up the street from the larger one. All of the York you want to see is walkable, so nothing is very far from anything else.

Oh, and you can see one of the cats across the street from front windows.