Walking in York

As mentioned earlier, there is a free 2 hour walking tour given at 10:15 AM and 2:15 PM (the afternoon tour through the end of October). The guides are volunteers and are very good. I enjoyed the one I took many years ago......http://directoryofyork.net/blog/2010/01/11/association-of-voluntary-guides-to-the-city-of-york-north-yorkshire-uk/

Jack, as the others have mentioned, York is very "walkable". I'd highly recommend the Walking Tour, which departs from the T.I. The Railway Museum is also excellent, as is a walk through "The Shambles" (which used to be the area for Butcher shops as I recall). The York Minster is wonderful (climb to the roof on the circular stairway for some great views). As you're only going to be there for the day, you may not be able to attend an Evensong service. I also enjoyed the Hop On / Hop Off Bus tour, as it provided a good "overview" of the city. Happy travels!

How are you getting to York? If by car, then park outside the city in the free park and ride lots. Take a free bus to the city, tour and take a free bus back. Parking in York on the street is . . . difficult to say the least. Parking in a lot can be 20 to 40 Pounds per day. Once inside York, walking is preferred. Get a good map and decide where and what to see. If on the correct day, they have an interesting market. I do not remember what day market day is.

We are taking the train into York. What I am hearing from you is that you CAN walk the city and see the sites? Thanks for any feedback.

Jack, York is very walkable. From the station into the town center is about a 5 minute walk. Just exist the station and turn left. Almost all the sites are confined to the compact city center, which is only several hundred yards on any side. A few sites are elsewhere. E.g., the National Railway Museum, apparently the world's largest, but it is still within easy walking distance. I've taken the hop-on-off bus. It is not necessary and I don't know that I'd recommend taking an hour or so for the ride if you are only spending one day in York. Because the city center is a twisty-turny maze of medieval streets riding the bus does not help you get oriented. Grab a good map of the city center instead. I tend to use the tower on the Minster as a landmark because it is almost always visible.

Yep, York is very walkable. In fact, walking is preferred. A good map would be helpful, as suggested above.

You might want to look into the free guided walking tour of the city. Takes you around the wall and other major sites, finishes at the cathedral. York is a vey walkable city, as noted in the other replys. My wife and I were there a couple of years ago and did the guide tour and wlked all over the city. We are fit and in our 50s. Take a tea break at Bettys! Tom

You will definitely enjoy walking the wall and through the shambles. The minster is excellent too........................ If you have time after that you can expand into the Georgian areas or stroll along the Ouse (sounds like ooze) River. It's an area that has had some pretty big floods over the years. I found a plaque showing the levels of some historic floods that was interesting (at least to me).

From the train station to the central park of York is about a 5-8 minuet walk. If it a wonderful city to wander!!! The Shambles are a great place to just amble from store to store- many of them are small craftsmen's places. The market is also fun. If you get a chance, have dinner or lunch at Gert and Henery's. It is in a half-timber house near the edge of the market and the Shambles. Great traditional British food.

As I recall, the hop on/hop off doesn't (can't?) enter the town center anyway, which is where you really want to spend your time. Only the excellent railroad museum is what I would call outside the immediate walking area, and even that was only a 20 minute leisurely stroll from our B&B. I doubt you'll need to use a bus, particularly if you're only seeing enough sites to fill one day.

Tea at Betty's.

Skip Yorvik! Walk the Wall. See the Minster. See the Train Museum if you like machinery. See the Shambles if you like Harry Potter. No need to use a bus. It is easy to walk about York.

Amen to skipping Yorvik!

Walking in York is easy and fascinating. Use the Minster Tower at one end, and the Castle at the other as your markers. When you are within the walls, you will find frequent signposts pointing to these two locations. If you stay within (and on) the walls you can't get lost. Shables and York Minster are the "must see"s, but anywhere in the town center is fascinating. Many interesting tea rooms and restaurants. Up to you whether you do any of the Museums- the Castle or the Railway Museum. There is a market right off of the Shambles. its all flat, so no mountains to climb. Do walk along the walls you get some wonderful views of the town

I have to disagree with those that recommend skipping the Jorvic museum. It is a bit kitschkie, but it is fun. It is the history of York (pre-viking, Viking, Romans, etc) done in a disney-esque style. You "ride" through the staged animatronic scenes. We enjoyed it .

Yes, for sure you need to go to Bett's Tea Room...fantastic.

Did not go to Jorvik but I say yes to Yorkshire Museum and no to York Castle Museum. If you were driving there is a parking lot near the Yorkshire Museum that is reasonably priced. The free walking tour that starts across the street from the TI is very good.. Clifford's Tower and York Minster tower provide good overall views.

Also visit the Multiangular Tower which is a Roman ruin and the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey. Both are just on the other side of Bootham Bar which is only a few hundred feet from Yorkminster. The best section of the walls is the section from Bootham Bar to Monkgate. If your time is limited, I would skip climbing Yorkminster Tower-it takes quite a bit of time and the view isn't work the effort IMHO. However, the crypt is fascinating. We visited York in June and hope to revisit again.......We enjoyed Jorvik. I think the money they make there is used to fund archeological digs around York-not positive about that since we did Jorvik in 2002. For a pre-trip read, you or your wife might enjoy The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb-a medieval murder mystery set in York.

I skipped Yorvik when I was there, now I'm thinking I'll visit on the next trip. Over the years my thinking has changed. I used to see my top sites and skip stuff I was iffy on. Mostly because it meant saving a few dollars. Now, if it's something I'm remotely interested in, I'll visit while I'm in the area. That still leaves a lot of things that don't interest me off the table.

The center of York is tiny - it's a medieval walled city, after all. You can walk from one side to the other in half an hour, less if you walk briskly, and it's almost impossible to get lost, because even if you can't spot a signpost, eventually you run into the city wall or look up and get your bearings using the Minster. If I only had one day, I'd do the Minster, the Yorkshire Museum, Barley House (a reconstructed medieval house on one of York's pedestrian paths), and then just wander around for whatever time you have left. As for Jorvik, I'm not sure it would make my "I only have one day" list, but I enjoyed it. It becomes much less "cheesy" when you realize the animatronic village is an accurate reconstruction based on what was excavated there, on the spot where it actually would have been. And then when you get into the museum, you can see the actual artifacts dug up during the excavations (including the famous Lloyds Bank Turd - I'm serious, look it up and marvel at how something so ordinary can be such a big deal) and get an even better understanding of archaeology and history from really well-done interactive exhibits. I was really impressed, actually.

I went with my mom last month, who is not a big walker, and we had limited time due to getting lost driving up. The hop-on/off bus tour would have been perfect for a non-walker, but I agree with the other posters who say that York is VERY easy to walk, and the charm is in gazing up at the lovely preserved buildings. Some notes: a.)We bought our city map for one pound at the ice-cream shop by Clifford's tower and it was a great souvenier. b.)Jorvik was fun and pretty educational, but my clothes and hair smelled awful for the rest of the day! It is very realistically scented. c.) We went to evensong at York Cathedral for free and got to see the beautiful building used in it's intended capacity.

Don't miss the Train museum- central but a bit off main drag possible to miss