Hotels in York

York keeps its medieval shape better than any English city: the full circuit of city walls is walkable in a couple of hours, the Shambles' overhanging timber shopfronts really are that crooked, and the Minster's Great East Window is the country's largest expanse of medieval stained glass. The National Railway Museum is free and genuinely great even if trains aren't your thing.

It's a small city that fills up fast — race days and summer weekends pack the snickelways, and the Shambles by midday is a slow shuffle past fudge shops. The main sights sit inside the walls, with the railway museum just outside them by the station. Staying inside the walls near the Minster means evening streets to yourself; the station side suits early trains and the museum.