The York Walls

If you go to York, the most unmissable (and free) thing to do is to take a walk around the old city walls.

The city walls surround the town and allow you to see the city limits. The walls are a sort of guided tour of the town and it's different quarters since all you have to do is follow the walls. You are able to see all the different parts of the city from a higher level.

The walls link each of the 4 city gates, 2 of these are now museums. Don't hesitate to push on the gates, they are always open except in cases of bad weather. Sunday is a very popular day for people to do this walk so I would suggest going during the week if you want a quieter visit. Only one part of the walls are accessible to those with handicaps, as there are a lot of stairs.

My advice: if you don't want to walk around all the walls (which takes about 1 hour) start at the Monkbar gate. This part of the wall is the prettiest since you get an unobstructed view of the York Minster and the long terraces of cafes. This part also has a number of grassy banks. A perfect spot for a picnic!