Of all the cities in the UK we have visited over the last few years, York is the one that has surprised me most. With medieval city walls and a shopping street right out of Harry Potter, this city has so much character. If you are currently planning a trip to York and want to know exactly what you should fit into your one-day itinerary, then you have come to the right place! In this guide, I have outlined all the best things to do in York, our favourite places to eat and drink, and everything in between.
We spent two nights in York this summer after spending a week road tripping around Cornwall. While it was only a short stop off on our way back to Cambridge and then Sweden, it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. One day in York may not be enough to see everything, but you can definitely get a taste of this beautiful city and what it has to offer.
More from this trip: 7 Day Cornwall Road Trip Itinerary
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One Day in York Itinerary: Top Things to See and Do
Walk the York City Walls
Start the day by walking York City Walls. These are incredible and give a great overview of the city of York before you head inside. From the walls you get amazing views over the river, York Minster Cathedral, and begin to understand the history behind the city.
The York city walls are the longest town walls in England, built in the 13th century. By each Bar, or tower, you will find signs with information about when each part of the wall was built and what it has been used for. Alternatively, you can find a small travel guide and details about each section of the wall on this page.
The walls are a total length of 3.4km and take around 2 hours to walk. To fit the walls into your day, we found the best option to be to follow the walls to our first stop (Museum Gardens), where we took a break to explore and then got back on the walls and continued on to York Minster. We started our walk at Micklegate Bar but there is no official “starting point” for the walk so you can hop on and off where you want.
The walls are open from 8am and close at dusk – so much earlier in the winter than the summer. You can find the opening times on this page and a map of the York city walls here.
For the purpose of this one day in York itinerary I have mentioned the route we took and favourite places along the York walls in each section below.
Museum Gardens and St Mary’s Abbey
Walking from Micklegate Bar along the city walls, we hopped off at the Multangular Tower to dive into Museum Gardens. This is one of the bigger parks in the centre of York and as soon as you enter you will understand why it has been given this name. By the entrance to the gardens you are greeted by the old medieval ruin of St Leonard’s Hospital and Multangular Tower – part of the old Roman wall York once housed.
The main attraction of Museum Hardens is the ruin of St Mary’s Abbey. An old church dating back to the 11th century, the ruins are a very peaceful place to wander around. Something that is lacking in this area is information about the Abbey’s past. If you are interested in this, I recommend reading up on it before hand to make the experience even better.
Museum Gardens is open from 9am. We found the walk from Micklegate Bar to be slightly quicker than 1 hour so stopped in at Bailey’s tearoom for a coffee before visiting.
York Minster
Following Museum Gardens, we head out through the back entrance, via St Olave’s Church, and back onto the York city wall at Bootham Bar. We then followed the wall to Monk Bar where we hopped off again and head down Goodramgate towards York Minster. This was my favourite part of the York City Walls – especially the view over The National Trust Treasurer’s House and Grays Court Hotel with York Minster in the background.
York Minster is the beautiful cathedral in the centre of York. Built in the Gothic style, the stone carvings and Architecture is incredible in itself. Make sure to stop and look at the different carvings that adorn the outer walls. York Minster is currently under renovation with skilled workers recreating the stone carvings that have been damaged due to weathering. If you walk along the Queen’s Path you will find their renovation site where you can see the stone masons at work.
If you’re deciding whether to go into the cathedral or not – I definitely recommend it. This is one of the largest and most grand Gothic cathedrals in England and Northern Europe and is just as beautiful inside as it is out. To enter the cathedral, you do need to purchase a ticket. I would recommend purchasing a ticket for entry and one for climbing the tower. The climb up the tower is quite difficult so make sure you are in good health before attempting the 500 spiral stairs up. From the top of the York Minster tower the view over the city is incredible. You can see every little alleyway and street, all with beautiful coloured roofs and unique shapes.
Lunch at Phranakhon
As it was our second week in England and we had already spent quite a few days enjoying pub food, fish and chips and pasties, we wanted to try something new in York. So, we head to the Thai restaurant Phranakhon. Just a few minutes’ walk from the Shambles this Thai restaurant is the perfect cosy lunch stop. We had the lunch menu with a mix of different curries and stir fries with rice and every single dish was delicious.
The Shambles
Walking through the Shambles in York, you won’t be able to help yourself but think of Harry Potter. With unusual shops selling ghosts and wands, and medieval buildings hanging over the cobblestone road, the Shambles is believed to be the inspiration behind the magical Diagon Alley.
Spending one day in York is not complete without a visit to the Shambles. Being one of the best-preserved shopping streets in Europe it is one of York’s top landmarks. Because of this, it can get incredibly busy. We were surprised to see a queue forming outside York Ghost Merchants over 2 hours before it opened.
If you want to visit the Shambles when it is a bit quieter – to take pictures or just experience it at a slower pace we found that visiting either early morning or just before dusk were the best times. This is before and after the shop opening hours. However, I recommend still wandering down the Shambles during the opening times and taking a look in some of the very unusual and unique shops.
Shops you might be interested in:
- York Ghost Merchants: A unique experience in a quirky little shop where you can take home your own hand made ghost.
- The Shop That Must Not Be Named: The perfect shop for all Harry Potter fans
- The Potions Cauldron: Head in for a magical beverage or book a cauldron experience
Clifford’s Tower
After the Shambles, head back to the York City Wall and walk the final stretch. You will end up near Clifford’s Tower, the largest remains of York Castle still present today. The tower sits very grandly on a hill in the middle of the city and is open to visitors daily. It is worth booking tickets in advance if you want to visit. We decided to skip entering Clifford’s tower and save it for another trip to York – instead we spent the afternoon in the National Railway Museum.
You can find more about the history of York Castle and visiting on this page.
The National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is an incredible museum located just by York Central Station. The museum has all sorts of transport on display – with over 6000 artifacts in the collection. This is definitely a spot worth adding to your itinerary if you only have one day in York. It is only open from 10 – 17 so make sure you leave a few hours in the afternoon for this visit. However, as I said before, you probably only have time for Clifford’s Tower or the National Railway Museum.
You can find more information about the museum here.
Dinner at Trinacria
For dinner we head out of the city centre to Bishopthorpe Road – the main high street on the way back to our accommodation. Here, we stumbled upon the lovely Sicilian restaurant Trinacria where we stopped for dinner. It was packed in there, with live fiddle music playing and a queue of people lining up for gelato. I recommend booking a table in advance if you want to visit. It was fully booked so we took a table outside. The food here was amazing.
A drink in York’s City Walls
After dinner, finish off the evening with a drink in one of York’s City Walls Towers. Dyls, the bar/ restaurant in the tower by Skeldergate Bridge is a quirky bar in a very unique setting.
Other things to do in York
On top of everything I have listed in this post, there are a few great day trips and experiences you can take while in York to make your stay even better! Here are a few:
- Follow the York Cat Trail: If you like cats them make sure to walk some of the York cat trail and spot some of the cats that adorn the walls of the buildings. Historically, cat statues were placed on the buildings to warn off rats and mice that might carry the plague as well as evil spirits. You can find the map of the all 22 cats on this page.
- Take a ghost tour: York is apparently one of the most haunted cities in the UK – so what better way to experience it than to take a guided ghost tour of all the most haunted spots. There are a few different ghost tours you can take depending on what level of spooky you want. The first is this walking tour of York’s dark history where your guide will show you around the city telling spooky tales of the past. The other is this comedy horror ghost bus reminiscent of the Knight Bus in Harry Potter. This is a sight-seeing bus cross ghost tour with a creepy conductor who will regale you with spooky stories.
- River cruise on the Ouse: There’s usually nothing better than seeing a city from the water so why not take this beautiful cruise along the river Ouse.
- Visit the York Dungeons: More than just a museum, this immersive experience takes you through 2,000 years of York’s history in a fun and theatrical manner. From Guy Fawkes to Dick Turpin, you can come into contact with some of York’s most famous criminals and uncover its gruesome past.
- Castle Howard: For something a bit calmer head to Castle Howard, the beautiful old manner house with over 1,000 acres of gardens and trails to explore. You might recognise this spot from films such as Victoria or the period drama Bridgerton.
- The York Hop-on-Hop-off Bus: If you don’t feel like walking then the Hop-on-Hop-off bus is a great way to see all the sights on the city in one day.
Find more information and options on GetYourGuide here.
Tours and Activities
Where to stay in York
We stayed in this three bedroom cottage just outside of the city centre and a 10-minute walk from Micklegate Bar. This area was great as it was quieter than the city centre but still had its own high street close by with great restaurants. The house was really nice and spacious, perfect for our family.
If you want to stay in the city centre a few other options are:
- Dean Court: If you are looking for a little more luxury and want to be in the centre of the city then this is the place for you. Located just opposite York Minster in a beautiful old building Dean Court has amazing views out the window and will give your day in York something special.
- The Workshop: Located just outside the city walls this modern apartment is perfect for a group of 4.
- Grays Court Hotel: If you are looking for something really special then Grays Court Hotel is the place for you. In a beautiful historic house with a garden that backs onto the York City Wall, this place is the ultimate York experience.
- The Farthings: In the same area, this beautiful boutique hotel is perfect for a couple’s getaway.
One day in York: An Itinerary Overview
York is a truly magical city with history and magic ingrained into its soul. Whether you are taking a drink in one of the wall side bars, wandering down the Shambles, or visiting the National Transport Museum, I can guarantee you will love it.
Spending more time in York? Why not take a day trip to Whitby – one of the beautiful coastal villages nearby.
