So last week I got the chance to visit a lovely city based in the north of England called York.
The trip was a gift for my birthday so I was well looking forward to it.
I knew briefly about York from friends who had been before and with a bit of google research I quickly got the jist that it was a small city with a lot of character.
Little did I know just how much I would come to love the place! With an endless array of pubs and restaurants as well a variety of things to see, it’s understandable to see why people rave about York so much.
So without waffling on much longer, here’s my brief guide of York.
Where to stay
So the hotel I stayed in was the Novotel York Centre, which was around a 12 minute walk from the town centre itself.
The hotel was just like most big hotel chains; central, good wifi, clean rooms and a decent breakfast selection.
It also had a pool area, although its not something I used. Apart from all that I haven’t any complaints about the place and I would definitely stay there again.
There are obviously more places to stay and there are an array of hotels and apartments to choose from, just check out Booking.com and Air BnB.
Where to eat
Okay now we’re getting to the most important part of any city guide…… FOOD.
Overall my experience with food in York was fantastic. There are plenty of choices to choose from no matter what your taste is.
First on the food agenda was a light snack before dinner, so of course I opted for the obligatory ‘Pizza and Beer’. I found the perfect spot called The Block, which done exactly what it said on the tin.
An exceptionally large slice of ham and mushroom pizza with a freshly pulled pint of Lager, I know I’m hungry even writing about it.
Who doesn’t love steak
Next on the agenda was steak! After a bit of research from the missus we found a cracking place called Cut and Craft. So we went from pizza and beer to steak and beer, I know, very original.
To be honest I usually don’t go for steak places but this one had great reviews and they do a steak for £10 so I had to try it out.
The place did NOT dissapoint, with chicken wings to start followed shortly by a perfectly cooked steak with chips and peppercorn sauce.
Another cracking spot was The Botanist.
I called in here for a drink firstly as I heard about the cocktails which came out like potions with smoke coming from them, while also being served in a flower pot. There was a live band playing and the place was packed, definitely worth a visit and the reviews back it up!
Things to do
If your anything like me then you will love learning about the history of places and digging a bit deeper when it comes to a visit. Usually If i am anywhere for a few days then I like to get walking tours.
I was only in York for a night so most of my time was spent eating, drinking and getting good photographs (obviously).
Chocolate capital of the world
That’s why I opted for the Chocolate Story tour which had very good reviews on TripAdvisor.
The tour was packed with information on the history of York’s impact on the chocolate industry, and how some very famous bars came from the region; Kit-Kat and Terry’s chocolate orange to name a few.
You even got to design your own white choclate lolly at the end as well as trying out other unique chocoltes along the way.
Loads of chocolate and plenty of history, whats not to love!
Just keep walking
York is the type of city where you don’t actually need to be doing a lot of activities to keep yourself busy. The city itself is beautiful to look at and explore and its unique architecture and layout will keep you occupied for days!
The City is surrounded by ancient castle walls which stretch for miles, allowing you to casually stroll while taking in the scenery.
A famous part of the city is the Shambles, which is something straight out of a Harry Potter film. A narrow stretch of street filled with quintessential shops selling all sorts.
It gets quite busy and can be annoying when trying to get a nice photo but if your patient then you can capture some cracking content.
Hipsters Paradise
I never even knew York had a sort of thing like Spark.
An area made out of old shipping containers which has a mixture of shops, pubs and food joints. Proper hipster material but it is very well done and sells steins of lager (take my money).
If you like a chilled vibe where you have a choice of food and drink at your disposal then look no further than Spark.
What are you waiting for?
Now that you know York like the back of your hand you can do the sensible thing and visit it as soon as possible.
I can’t recommend the place highly enough, I was expecting it to be good but not that good.
I will most definitely be visiting again and now you know a small part about it you should to.
