Yes I said it – I truly believe York is indeed the UK’s top family destination, even though this city which is deeply steeped in unique history often fights it out with Manchester as the UK’s second most visited after London! In terms of what York has to offer by way of family fun, I honestly don’t think it gets any better.
So here’s the thing, right? You can enjoy a lot of which York has to offer together as a family or each of you can split up and enjoy it individually, each engaging in your own flavour of what you’d call fun of course.
For the sightseers, this ancient cathedral city’s pre-Roman times history offers a lot to just soak in and if you have an eye for ancient architecture, it seldom gets better than this with the city housing some of Europe’s best-preserved selection of historical structures and buildings. I mean where do you think the United States city of New York got its name?
Beyond the awe-inspiring evidence of what was clearly an inspired architectural revolution of sorts, when it comes to immersing oneself in some of the activities York has to offer, you probably won’t have enough time to get a good taste of everything if your stay in town isn’t at least for four to five nights. I mean there are some festivals which go on for a full 10 nights, like the York Festival of Food and Drink, so something like that alone is an event which can have the entire family occupied for the entire duration of a typical stay in York.
If you’re looking for more information about where to go and what to do on a trip to York, follow this link to read an ultimate guide.
The adults can perhaps enjoy the drinks programme in addition to all the food tastings and demonstrations, while the kids can get their hands dirty with plenty of hands-on cooking for children.
There are many more events and festivals to get completely lost in, such as catching the Mystery Plays if you’re lucky enough to be in town on one of the years in which they’re doing the rounds, but the Viking Festival is a total must – that’s pretty much the purest reflection of what the history of York is all about.
There are plenty of walking and ghost tours in the offing as well, making for some fun for the whole family to enjoy together, otherwise, you can also take a boat up the River Ouse and even catch a movie at City Screen, the modern cinema in the centre of York, just off Coney Street. You can catch an amazing view of the river in the resident cafe’s balcony which overlooks the Ouse.
For all kinds of shopping preferences, Browns makes for a good quality department store, while Gillygate and Low Petergate provides a nice mix of high street stores, galleries and small shops.
As far as the gastronomic delights of the city go, let’s just say the food-based events and festivals are really just a reflection of what the city ordinarily has to offer, which is a whole lot of fantastic variety!