York Vacations, England, UK

Exploring York's historic city centre is like taking a trip back in time. The city's rich cultural heritage dates back to Roman times, but the flavour of Viking Jorvik is still alive at the outstanding Jorvik Viking Centre, and the medieval architecture of the city is outstanding.

York is dominated by the imposing bulk of York Minster with its superb stained glass windows, but spare some time to explore one of York's other fine medieval churches, and wander the narrow streets of The Shambles area. Don't leave York without taking a walk on the city walls that were first erected by the Roman legions. Along the walls you can visit the medieval gateways to the city.

A word about York street names. You will notice that many streets end in the suffix "gate", such as Stonegate, Coppergate, and Skeldergate. This does NOT mean that the "gate" in question was a part of the old York city walls.

Instead, the "gate" in this case comes from the Viking "gata", meaning simply "street". The actual city gates are called "Bars", such as Micklegate Bar and Walmgate Bar.

Source: britainexpress.com

Things To Do and See in York

York Minster, York
Dating back to medieval times, this splendid Church of England

cathedral features magnificent 14th- and 15th-century stained glass,

stonework and elaborate tombs.
Attraction type: Architectural building; Historic site; Religious site

National Railway Museum, York
A must-see for railroad buffs, this museum celebrates railways

from the 1820s to the present day.
Attraction type: Transportation museum

Jorvik Viking Centre, York
Museum features the many valuable archaeological finds from the city

of Jorvik, renamed by the Vikings when they took possession of the

area during the 9th century.
Attraction type: Historic village; History museum

Yorkshire Museum, York
Home to some of the richest archaeological finds in Europe, this museum

chronicles more than 1,000 years of Yorkshire's heritage from elegant

Roman jewelry and mosaics to Viking treasures and Anglo-Saxon silver.
Attraction type: History museum

York City Walls, York
Three miles of encircling medieval walls around the city of York,

which have been maintained and restored over the centuries and

still contain many remnants of the original Roman wall structure.
Attraction type: Historic site; Ancient ruins; Landmark/point of interest

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