York

For rich Medieval and Victorian history,
travel to England’s York

Few cities in Great Britain are as rich in history as York, which is about a 200-mile travel north of London. It is still encircled by its 13th- and 14th-century city walls.

York’s crowning achievement is its minster or cathedral, which makes the city an ecclesiastical center equaled only by Canterbury. As for its history, there was a Roman York (Hadrian came this way), then a Saxon York, a Danish York, a Norman York (William the Conqueror slept here), a medieval York, a Georgian York, and a Victorian York (the center of a flourishing rail business). A large amount of 18th-century York remains for visitors to explore today, including Richard Boyle's restored Assembly Rooms.

You may want to visit the Shambles; once the meat-butchering center of York, it dates from before the Norman Conquest. The messy business is gone now, but the ancient street survives, filled today with jewelry stores, cafes, and buildings huddled so closely together that you can outstretch your arms and touch the houses on both sides of the street.

© 2009, Wiley Publishing, Inc.