Nanda & Nathan The Travellers: 2 Days in York, UK

April 7-8, 2015 ---- York is one of the major tourist destinations in the United Kingdom because it offers many historic attractions and cultural experiences. The city was founded by the Romans in 71 AD and was the capital of the North of Britannia. Once the Romans left in the 400s, the Saxons ruled the city and built the first Minster. Later the Vikings captured the city and renamed it "Jorvik" and made it a major port of the Viking trading routes in Northern Europe. After the last Viking king died, York was under the control of the Normans, and there were many political events that happened here through out the history.

Nathan and I planned to stop and spend a couple of nights in York while on our way to Edinburgh, Scotland. The small city was really worth a visit, and we learned a lot about lives of people in Northern England. Nathan also found Yorkshire tea to be one of his favorites, and I really enjoyed the Castle Museum and walking on the City Walls.

Accommodation: We stayed at Bootham City Centre Guest House and were very pleased with the clean and comfortable room, the friendly host, and the delicious homemade breakfast. I can say that this is the best Bed&Breakfast I have every stayed in!!! It's located in a quiet neighborhood and only about 10-15 minutes walk from the city center.

Transportation: We took a train from London King's Cross to York and it was about 2 hours. You can buy the train ticket online: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and pick it up from a machine located at a train station. York Railway Station is right outside the City Walls, so you can get to the city center in about 5 minutes on foot. There are some public buses running around, but York City is really walkable, so we didn't have to take any bus.

Food and Restaurants: There are a lot of restaurants in York. We couldn't really do much culinary exploration because we were traveling on a budget, but we got to taste some good food and drinks. In the morning our host at the B&B cooked us delicious, healthy breakfast. At lunch we got a meal deal from Tesco supermarket for £3 (sandwich +chips or fruit + water or soda). We spent more money on dinner at a restaurant and British pub.

Attractions: There is a lot to see and do in York. We didn't get the York Pass for attractions because we had only one and a half days to spend in the city, so we just went for what we were most interested in. The Pass would be very worthwhile if you wanted to do everything that is included in it. The Castle Museum and Yorkshire Museum have a combo ticket for £12.

Our Trip Itinerary:

Day 1

To see: St. Mary's Abbey -- Museum Garden -- River Ouse --York City -- The Shambles

To enter: York Minster -- Yorkshire Museum

To eat: The Blue Bell -- a very nice small British pub where locals like to hang out and have some beer. Barbakan -- serving traditional Polish food. Everything tastes so good here!

Day 2

To see: Walk on the City Walls and get the best view around the city.

To enter: Clifford's Tower -- York Castle Museum -- National Railway Museum (free)

To eat: York Brewery -- try some local beer here! The York Roast Co. -- get the famous Yorkshire Puddings!

Our Favorite Sites: Actually we enjoyed pretty much everything in York. :-) The top 3 are:

1. York Minster --This is an absolute must-see! It's the largest medieval Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe. It was built in 1220 and on top of the Roman fort. My favorite part is the wooden Quire and Organ. Another part not to be missed is the Undercroft and Treasury. Entrance fee is £10, and if you want to climb the Tower, it's £15 total.

2. York Castle Museum -- This is my favorite museum ever! I generally like museum about ordinary people lifestyle, and this museum gave me all. In the museum, I felt like I traveled back in time to Victorian Britain, touched people's life at that era, and walked back to the present time passing two World Wars and the 60s and the Beatles. Great museum!

3. City Walls -- This is a great place to see all of York. There are 3 walls surrounding the city, and we walked on only two of them because we didn't have a good map and were lost a bit.

Our Disappointment: These places are NOT bad, but they were just a little below our expectations.

1. Yorkshire Museum -- We expected it to be bigger and have more exhibits, but it turned out it had only an exhibit about York during the Roman and the Viking time that was interesting. It seemed like a great place for kids though...

2. National Railway Museum -- It's the world's largest collection of trains. However, the way the exhibits set out wasn't as interesting as the Railway Museum in Sacramento, California. It just has a lot of stuff, but not presenting them well or interesting enough. The coolest part is the Royal coaches.