York as a daytrip from London?

I visited York as a day trip. It is very doable, although you will likely wish that you had more time. I had time to take a walking tour, visit the cathedral, stop for cream tea at Betty’s Tea Room, and wander around the Shambles. Some day I will visit again for a longer stay.

I think it's doable and if you want to visit there, you should—it's a wonderful city! You are right in that it is a long train ride, but you should still have plenty of time to see the highlights of York, including York Minster, which is a must-see, in my opinion. :-)

I would try to get an early start if possible. The LNER leaves from Kings Cross for York at very early hours and has a direct route there. York itself is very walkable and you should have no problems getting around.

I've done this once and it's very do-able, tho it's a long day. If you have time, I would suggest an overnight. I agree with the suggestion to get as early a train as is comfortable for you.

Possible, but York deserves more time, in my opinion. Do you have a free weekend? If you just wanted to stroll around the Shambles and walls, stop in at the Cathedral and get a taste of the city, a day trip might be fine.

People have different reasons for visiting a location. Take a look at the options in York and see what interests you. https://visityork.org

If you rule York out, have you visited Winchester as a day trip from London? About an hour by train. To me, Winchester often seems overlooked as a great day trip. https://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/business-directory/category/things-to-do

If you haven't done Cambridge, that's an easy trip.

Don't do it, York is amazing and deserves three days there. There is a lot to see. The Minster (Cathedral) alone takes about 3-4 hours to do the wonderful tour.
Also, walk the ancient walls, visit some of the great museums there and the National Railway Museum is fantastic.

I did this back in the days when Disraeli was Prime Minister. Okay, maybe not that far back, but I enjoyed the day. I also knew I'd eventually go back and spend a few days. (I did.)

The day I visited it was very cold and I bought a sweatshirt to stay warm. It worked. When I got back to my hotel, I took off the sweater and looked at the label....."Made in the USA."

I told you it was a long time ago.

I'm planning on doing a day trip to York from London in a few weeks. I've got tickets that arrive in York at 11:30 a.m. and leave York at 7:15 p.m. I've been once before in 2011 with my son as a stop on the way to Edinburgh and am looking forward to going once again. This time, I'll be with a friend who has never been there before. In the little over seven hours that we have there, I think we can go to York Minster (not going to climb to the top this time, bad knee), the train museum, Shambles, walk along the river and just basically soak in the atmosphere. I think you should give it a try.

As others have said, this is doable but it’ll be a long day and not do justice to a beautiful city.

If you do go for it, I’d get an early train aiming to get there by about 10am

We spent some time in York last year, and a highlight was a free walking tour by the Association of Voluntary Guides to the City of York. Check out their website: https://avgyork.co.uk/

They do two tours a day, and they really are free (no tip expected!), and the guides are knowledgeable. I think our tour ran about 2 1/2 hours; we loved every minute of it, and learned so much about York and its history.

Our guesthouse host recommended this tour our first full day in York, and we are so glad he did. Should we ever return, we'll take it again!

I agree with Jane about the tour. I think that should be your first priority in York. If you can get to York fairly early in the morning, you could see the Minster before the 1:30 tour. The meeting place for the tour is not far from the Minster. I also agree that Cambridge is a great day trip from London.

I’m going to echo ORDtraveler and suggest Winchester. It’s really lovely and much closer. The cathedral is mind-blowing, the town is delightful, and I also agree that it is underrated as a day trip from London.

That said, York is totally doable… but you’ll be seeing the highlights only.

Another vote for Winchester if you decide not to go to York.

As a Yorkshireman........head north ,worth every minute.
York is a fine fine spot..be a revelation after being in the snotty south.

Juice, we did York as a long day trip and absolutely loved it. Yes, we need and want to return to see more, but felt like we were able to get a wonderful taste of that beautiful city. I agree with getting a very early train out. Non stop was enjoyable seeing the countryside. Then we took a train back at 6ish, getting into London a bit after 8. We were tired, but it was a good tired! I hope you have a great time!