72 Hours in York City

Whether you visit York for its incredible attractions, the friendly custom, the history or just an epic pub crawl, I can almost guarantee that you'll fall in love with it. Josh and I can reach York City Centre in just over 1 hour 30 minutes by train, and have explored it for 72 hours in total over the course of two trips. You know those compulsory “what to do if you’ve only got 48 hours” books provided in hotels... well we completed ours, plus more! Now we want to tell you what worked for us and hopefully inspire your next trip to York.

However you travel into the city, you're more than likely to come across the old CITY WALLS. They are free to walk and less arduous than Dubrovnik Old Town, however you don't get quite the same view. Be sure to do it if it's on your bucket list, but if it's not, don't worry! Go through the city gates and a few streets further you'll find ST MARY'S CHURCH. Currently it is the host of the VAN GOGH: IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE which for me is something that I just could not miss, especially as it moves on after a few months. Entry slots are every hour but you have to book in advance, I did this online half an hour before we arrived for £13 each.

As I am such a fan of Van Gogh and his heart-wrenching story, I loved to be surrounded by his work and see it brought to life in animation. If you leave wanting to know more about him I would definitely recommend the graphic novel 'Vincent' by Barbara Stok - it's incredible. There is an opportunity to do some VR there marketed as 'A Day in the Life' but I can't attest to how good it was due to the fact that the price wasn't included in the ticket. The £3 per person fee goes to a homelessness charity so it goes to a good cause and I've heard it's the best thing about the exhibition.

After that we headed to THE OLD WHITE SWAN Pub & Restaurant, which serves warm pub grub in a cosy and romantic Tudor setting. We didn't think we would get a seat on a Saturday afternoon with so many people already in the beer garden outside, but luckily we got a place so don't let that fool you. The ‘Nicholson’s’ pub chain is very prevalent in York, and we’ve found that you can’t go wrong with them. On our first day we went to the supposedly haunted THE PUNCH BOWL, but that’s closed for renovations as of today. Keep an eye out for its return though!

One place we made a priority this time was THE SHAMBLES.  I was very excited to pop into some Potter-inspired shops here and buy the essential 'Dobby has no master' mug from THE SHOP THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED. Down here you will find a number of cosy, eccentric shops like THE POTIONS CAULDRON; if you pop in there and ask about discounted admissions you can even buy cheaper tickets to some local attractions like YORK DUNGEON, which is well worth doing. Also down the street you’ll probably find at least one host handing out Ghost Walk leaflets – take one! You will see a few advertised and you’ll need it to help you decide/differentiate between them later.

Now it's time to drop your bags off at your lodgings. We were based towards Tadcaster near the Racecourse, so a little bit further out from the city. This is because, having done so many trips this month I was able to get us an Executive Suite at Holiday Inn using my last remaining IHG points. The staff here were lovely and very helpful however the exterior of the hotel does need some work if it wants to match its more upmarket surroundings! 

    

  After scouting the hotel area on Google Maps, we fancied going to THE FOX AND ROMAN for dinner as the interior looked fantastic however the menu was a little bit too seafood-y for me, so we ended up at the local favourite next door, THE CROSS KEYS. Here we shared some nachos and I had a child’s main. If you’re staying a bit further out like we were, I would recommend having some cash on your person at all times just in case you need a taxi. Getting back into the city centre after dinner was a little bit stressful as one bus didn’t turn up so we nearly missed our Ghost Walk.

    After viewing their website a few days in advance and watching a snippet of this Unilad YouTube video, we decided the ORIGINAL GHOST WALK OF YORK was for us. The walks run every night without fail, you don’t have to book at all, and the prices are very fair being £5 for adults and £4 for children, students with valid cards and concessions. You will meet outside the KINGS ARMS pub at 8pm beside the River Ouse, which is rather beautiful at night. If you are wanting a drink beforehand, please bear in mind that the pub isn't technology-friendly so you will have to put away your phones and they only accept cash.

      The Ghost Walk was great, our Tour Guide being very charismatic and knowledgeable. Most things looked better in the dark, including the York Minster which is terrifyingly large. Once it’s over, you have over 365 pubs to choose where to finish your night! We began in a pub called THE GOLDEN FLEECE (which was touched upon in the Ghost Walk) but we wanted somewhere that served food late so we ended up in a Wetherspoon’s for the remainder.

      In the morning our taxi driver must have thought we were mad when we asked to go to CLIFFORD’S TOWER in the pouring rain, but that’s exactly what we did. If you’re thinking about doing this, bear in mind there’s no roof! We then walked over to YORK MINSTER to see it by day and it was just as striking. Unfortunately with it being a Sunday it didn’t look open, so I wasn’t able to explore and light a candle for a loved one, but at least we didn’t leave without seeing the exterior in all its glory.

        Close by was THE YORK ROAST CO. which is another establishment you might have seen featured in the UniLad video or in the press. They have invented delicious Yorkshire Pudding wraps with your choice of filling (you can ask to remove anything you don’t like which is always a plus for me). This is a good choice for your bellies but also for your wallet; it was probably the most affordable meal we had in the whole trip!

      Then we headed to THE HOUSE OF TREMBLING MADNESS, which is very possibly our favourite shop in the whole of York so far. We discovered it on our first trip and fell immediately in love when we learned that they stocked our beloved but elusive Thistly Cross Whiskey Cask Cider (and others in the range). They have just about any alcohol you can think of here, and you can even drink it upstairs, which we love. THE EVIL EYE down the road is another good choice if you’re into the alternative scene.

      After that we went with our discounted tickets to YORK DUNGEON. Don’t do this in a rush as it does take over an hour to complete. It’s hosted by actors whose job it is to scare and educate you on some history. I won’t give the game away but I definitely couldn’t look at times. You do get photos taken at the beginning but if you want to keep or share them on social media keep in mind that you will have to pay £15 plus. Ours were incredible so I couldn’t help myself.

   We had one more hour to kill before our train home, so we stopped nearby at the DAUGHTER CAFÉ, where they do some excellent English Breakfast tea and some light refreshments. I liked it here, it was very peaceful and you could have a good natter without having to shout over anyone.

• YORK CASTLE MUSEUM
• THE JORVIK CENTRE
• MINSTER TOUR
• YORK'S CHOCOLATE/SWEET STORY
• POP IN SOME INDEPENDENT BOOK SHOPS
• PLENTY OF SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS!