York, the place of my dreams

York is a modern city but with a strong medieval influence throughout. Its main streets are full of character from this same aesthetic and they are full of independent shops, making you feel like you're back in Medieval times.

One of my favourite independent shops is a Christmas themed one, which sells all kinds of old-fashioned Christmas decorations. They sell as many Christmas Tree decorations as they do things for Nativity scenes and they even sell cuckoo clocks. Unfortunately, despite everything being lovely, the prices are not at all affordable, so only a few well-off people can afford to buy their items.

In York, there is also a lovely park along with St Mary's Abbey, where the ancient ruins have been preserved and you can go and see them for free. Here, there is also a house which is extremely pretty, and even a viewpoint, the Multanguler Tower and the Yorkshire Museum.

In this park, there are lots of squirrels who are very used to humans, as every day two older men bring them peanuts to eat, so they are not phased by human contact. I passed by a man who was feeding the squirrels and he offered me a go at feeding them too, so I did. I had never done it before, and because I like animals so much it was an unforgettable experience. Although it is really sweet to feed squirrels, you have to keep in mind that squirrels run wild in the park and therefore don't have regular veterinary check-ups. This makes it dangerous if they did bite you by accident, as you could contract a disease, including rabies.

When leaving through the gateway at the back of the garden, you can see the church attached to it, called St Olave York. Although I didn't go inside, it seems very pretty from the outside.

In front of the garden's main entrance is Pizza Express, a pizzeria located on the corner, and the outside of it doesn't look anything like a normal pizzeria. It's an old building situated in front of a bridge, which keeps in perfectly with the medieval theme of this city, despite it only being a pizza restaurant. This is why every detail makes this city so magical.

However, despite being so historic, there are also modern shops and even a shopping centre with a Primark.

The most charming city entrance in York is at the Henry VII Experience at Micklegate Bar, which is also where the majority of York Tourists take their photos of the "city entrance".

Below it, there's a street, however only people can pass through it as it is pedestrianised. There is another similar entrance located at the other end, but which is not as well-known, called the Richard III Experience at Monk Bar.

Nearby, you'll find the most famous brewery in York, called York Brewery Ltd. If you pay an entrance fee you can go inside and do some beer-tasting.

In addition to the Church which I've recommended without having visited it myself, I recommend 4 other churches which are really pretty:

* The Shrine and Parish Church of All Saints North Street

* Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate

* St Michael le Belfrey

* York Cathedral (obviously the biggest and most important one is the cathedral, which is currently under construction and renovation work).

In front of York Cathedral is Dean's Park, which also features some antique ruins.

In York Centre, there is also a really pretty merry-go-round for children, with a chocolate factory located opposite it.

Another amazing feature of York Centre is the Shambles Market, where they sell fruit, vegetables, and street food, as well as clothes and accessories such as backpacks, wallets and purses, etc. It is the only open-air market in York, and it's really interesting to note that you can buy a souvenir at a better price there than in the city's shops. This market is located really close to the famous Harry Potter-themed street, York Shambles.

Although it is a fairly short street, there are many shops from Harry Potter which makes you feel like you're inside the film, where you can find cool Harry Potter themed souvenirs of York (for fans of the films).

For child and teen fans of Viking films, I also recommend going to the JORVIK Viking Centre, which is really close to the square which opens out onto Primark.

Nearby to both of these places, you can find a typical Medieval house, Fairfax House, which shows how it would have been to live in York during the olden-days.

A few meters from here you can also find the York Castle Museum, which I didn't go inside as it was closed when I went.

Clifford's Tower is a tower which you pay to enter but from what I've heard it's not worth spending that much money on it.

I recommend going to York Cocoa House for breakfast, grab a snack or eat dessert. It's a typical chocolate factory and the best in York.

This city is one of the few that I would return to at the blink of an eye, as it completely exceeded my expectations and I'm still in love with its medieval streets that made me feel like I was inside a fairy tale.

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