Whitby
There are ruined abbeys, and there are picturesque ruined abbeys. And then there's Whitby Abbey, dominating the skyline above the East Cliff like a great…
Must-see attractions in Yorkshire
York
York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, and one of the world's most beautiful Gothic buildings. Seat of the archbishop of York,…
North Yorkshire
Stately homes may be two a penny in England, but you'll have to try pretty damn hard to find one as breathtakingly stately as Castle Howard, a work of…
West Yorkshire
One of England's most impressive collections of sculpture is scattered across the formidable 18th-century estate of Bretton Park, 200-odd hectares of…
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal
North Yorkshire
The alluring and strangely obsessive water gardens of the Studley Royal estate were built in the 18th century to enhance the picturesque ruins of 12th…
York
York's National Railway Museum – the biggest in the world, with more than 100 locomotives – is well presented and crammed with fascinating stuff. It is…
York
Interactive multimedia exhibits aimed at bringing history to life often achieve exactly the opposite, but the much-hyped Jorvik manages to pull it off…
North York Moors National Park
In the secluded valley of the River Rye about 3 miles west of Helmsley, amid fields and woods loud with birdsong, stand the magnificent ruins of Rievaulx…
Leeds
Leeds' most interesting museum was originally built in 1996 to house armour and weapons from the Tower of London, but subsequently expanded to cover 3000…
Sheffield
Sheffield's prodigious industrial heritage is the subject of this excellent museum, set on a human-made island in the city's oldest industrial district…
Whitby
This fascinating museum occupies the house of the ship owner with whom Cook began his seafaring career. Highlights include the attic where Cook lodged as…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
What makes Skipton Castle so fascinating is its splendid state of preservation, providing a striking contrast to the ruins you'll see elsewhere. Although…
Yorkshire
Hull's Old Town is where a grand minster and cobbled streets flush with Georgian town houses give a flashback to the prosperity the town once knew. It…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
North of Malham village, a 0.75-mile field walk beside a lovely babbling stream leads to Malham Cove, a huge rock amphitheatre lined with 80m-high…
Yorkshire
Hull's biggest tourist attraction is The Deep, Britain's most spectacular aquarium, housed in a colossal angular building that appears to lunge above the…
Yorkshire
The wealth that Britain amassed as the world's first industrial nation was directly aided by the transatlantic slave trade, and this important museum…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
Built in 1788, this is the most complete Georgian playhouse in Britain. It closed in 1848 and was used as an auction house into the early 20th century,…
North York Moors National Park
This privately owned railway runs for 18 miles through beautiful countryside from Pickering to Whitby. Lovingly restored steam locos pull period carriages…
Whitby
In 2018, a full-size replica of Captain Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour became a permanent fixture in Whitby harbour and opened to the public as a visitor…
National Coal Mining Museum for England
West Yorkshire
For close to three centuries, West and South Yorkshire were synonymous with coal production. The collieries shaped and scarred the landscape and entire…
York
This restored medieval townhouse, tucked down an alleyway, includes a permanent exhibition of life in the times of Henry VIII. It was once the home of…
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire's standing in the international arts scene got a boost in 2011 when the Yorkshire Sculpture Park was joined by this award-winning gallery…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
There can surely be no other place like this in the world: a modern walled garden furnished with Victorian-style follies, some veering into gothic horror,…
Yorkshire Dales National Park
About 1.5 miles north of Hawes is 30m-high Hardraw Force, the highest unbroken waterfall in England, but by international standards not that impressive …
York
York's most impressive semi-timbered building is still owned by the fraternity that built it almost 650 years ago and it is the oldest surviving guildhall…
York
This historic home, which once housed York Minster's medieval treasures, is an anomaly: in the 19th century it was bought by Yorkshire industrialist Frank…
York
In the grounds of the peaceful Museum Gardens, you can see the Multangular Tower, a part of the City Walls that was once the western tower of the Roman…
Whitby
A museum housing the remains of Whitby's last Victorian jet workshop lies at the bottom of the 199 steps, with original tools rescued from a derelict…
Leeds
Though not the grandest, Thornton’s Arcade was the first Victorian shopping arcade to be built in Leeds and remains one of the most interesting. Its sky…
Whitby
Whitby Sands, stretching west from the harbour mouth, offers donkey rides, ice-cream vendors and bucket-and-spade escapades, though the sand is mostly…
York
Most of York's Roman archaeology is hidden beneath the medieval city, so the superb displays in the Yorkshire Museum are invaluable if you want to get an…
York
As well as an impressive collection of Old Masters, York Art Gallery possesses works by LS Lowry, Pablo Picasso, Grayson Perry, David Hockney, and the…
Whitby
Housed inside a 1901 chapel, this small museum has created a temple to Whitby jet – one of the town’s most prized exports, a gothic icon, and a favourite…
York
This excellent museum has displays of everyday life through the centuries, with reconstructed domestic interiors, a Victorian street and a prison cell…
Whitby
The 199 steps of Church Stairs lead steeply up from the end of Church St, passing the spooky graveyard of St Mary's Church, a favourite haunt of Goth…
Leeds
Leeds' most impressive medieval structure is beautiful Kirkstall Abbey, founded in 1152 by Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. These…
Leeds
One of the world's largest textile mills has been transformed into a museum telling the story of Leeds' industrial past, both glorious and ignominious…
West Yorkshire
Saltaire, a Victorian-era landmark and Unesco World Heritage Site, was an industrial village purpose-built in 1851 by philanthropic wool baron and…
Yorkshire
One of the great glories of English religious architecture, Beverley Minster is the most impressive church in the country that is not a cathedral. The…
York
The Shambles takes its name from the Saxon word shamel, meaning 'slaughterhouse' – in 1862 there were 26 butcher shops on this street. Today the butchers…
