Yorkshire
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Yorkshire - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Brontë Parsonage Museum
Historic HomeThe most evocative of Haworth's Brontë sights is this somber Georgian (1778) house, the sisters' family home, where you can see original furniture...
The most evocative of Haworth's Brontë sights is this somber Georgian (1778) house, the sisters' family home, where you can see original furniture (some bought by Charlotte after the success of Jane Eyre), portraits, and books. The Brontës moved here when the Reverend Patrick Brontë was appointed vicar of the local church, but tragedy soon struck—his wife, Maria, and their two eldest children died within five years. The museum explores the family's tragic story, bringing it to life with a strong collection of enchanting mementos of the four children. These include tiny books they made when they were still very young; Charlotte's wedding bonnet; and the sisters' spidery, youthful graffiti on the nursery wall. Branwell, the Brontës' only brother, painted several of the portraits on display.
Church St., Haworth, Bradford, BD22 8DR, England01535-642323Sight Details
Rate Includes: £9.50, Closed Jan. -
2. Captain Cook Memorial Museum
Museum/GalleryThis museum documenting the life of the famous mariner and those who sailed with him is located in the 17th-century house where he lodged as...
This museum documenting the life of the famous mariner and those who sailed with him is located in the 17th-century house where he lodged as an apprentice seaman from 1746 to 1750. Exhibits devoted to Cook's epic expeditions display the legendary explorer's maps, diaries, and drawings.
Grape La., Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4BA, England01947-601900Sight Details
Rate Includes: £6.50, Closed Dec.–mid-Feb. and weekdays in Nov. -
3. Castle Howard
Castle/PalaceStanding in the Howardian Hills to the west of Malton, Castle Howard is an outstanding example of English baroque architecture, with a distinctive...
Standing in the Howardian Hills to the west of Malton, Castle Howard is an outstanding example of English baroque architecture, with a distinctive roofline punctuated by a magnificent central dome. It served as Brideshead, the home of the fictional Flyte family in Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh's tale of aristocratic woe, in both its 1981 TV and 2008 film adaptations. The house was the first commission for playwright-turned-architect Sir John Vanbrugh, who, assisted by Nicholas Hawksmoor, designed it for the third Earl of Carlisle, a member of the Howard family. Started in 1701, the central portion took 25 years to complete, with a Palladian wing added subsequently, but the end result was a stately home of audacious grandeur.A spectacular central hallway with soaring columns supports a hand-painted ceiling that dwarfs all visitors, and there's no shortage of splendor elsewhere: vast family portraits, intricate marble fireplaces, immense tapestries, Victorian silver on polished tables, and a great many marble busts. Outside, the neoclassical landscape of carefully arranged woods, lakes, and lawns led 18th-century bon vivant Horace Walpole to comment that a pheasant at Castle Howard lived better than a duke elsewhere. Hidden throughout the 1,000 acres of formal and woodland gardens are temples, statues, fountains, and a grand mausoleum—even a fanciful children's playground. Hourly tours of the grounds, included in the admission price, fill you in on more background and history.
View Tours and ActivitiesCastle Howard, Malton, North Yorkshire, YO60 7DA, England01653-648333Sight Details
Rate Includes: House late-Mar.–Oct. and mid-Nov.–mid-Dec. £15; gardens only £9.50; early–mid-Nov. and Jan and Feb., gardens only £6, Frequent early closures for weddings. Check website, House and gardens £18.95; gardens only £9.95, House closed early Jan.–late Mar. -
4. Georgian Theatre Royal
Arts/Performance VenueA jewel box built in 1788 and today an active community playhouse, this theater and museum is Britain's most complete Georgian playhouse still...
A jewel box built in 1788 and today an active community playhouse, this theater and museum is Britain's most complete Georgian playhouse still in its original form, retaining authentic features such as the wooden seating from which patrons watched 18th-century leading man David Garrick perform Shakespeare. You can see Britain's oldest painted scenery dating back to 1836 and try on theatrical costumes during the hourly tours, which run from Monday to Saturday between 10 and 4 mid-February through October. There's also an extensive theatrical archive that contains scripts, playbills, and images.
Victoria Rd., Richmond, , North Yorkshire, DL10 4DW, England01748-823710Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tours £5 -
5. Harewood House
GardenThe home of the Earl of Harewood, a cousin of the Queen, Harewood House (pronounced har -wood) is a spectacular 1759 neoclassical mansion designed...
The home of the Earl of Harewood, a cousin of the Queen, Harewood House (pronounced har-wood) is a spectacular 1759 neoclassical mansion designed by York architect John Carr and the period's leading interior designer, Robert Adam (the money, sad to say, came from sugar plantations and the slave trade). Highlights include important paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds, fine ceramics, and a ravishingly beautiful collection of Chippendale furniture (Chippendale was born in nearby Otley), notably the magnificent State Bed. The Old Kitchen and Below Stairs exhibition illustrates life from the servants' point of view. Capability Brown designed the handsome grounds, and Charles Barry added a lovely Italian garden with fountains in the 1840s. Children will love the bird garden with over 40 rare and endangered species and the adventure playground. The house is seven miles north of Leeds; you can take Harrogate and District Bus 36.
Harewood, Leeds, LS17 9LG, England0113-218–1010Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15 (£13.50 online), Closed Nov.–late Mar. -
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6. Hepworth Wakefield
Museum/GalleryThe largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom (outside London) focuses on 20th-century British art, notably sculptors Henry Moore...
The largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom (outside London) focuses on 20th-century British art, notably sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, with important works by both. The unique design of slightly skewed concrete building blocks by architect David Chipperfield is combined with the powerful permanent collection and rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists in the Calder gallery. It's in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off M1.
Gallery Walk, Wakefield, Wakefield, WF1 5AW, England01924-247360Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
7. National Railway Museum
Museum/GalleryA must for train lovers, Britain's biggest railway museum houses part of the national collection of rail vehicles. Don't miss such gleaming...
A must for train lovers, Britain's biggest railway museum houses part of the national collection of rail vehicles. Don't miss such gleaming giants of the steam era as the Mallard, holder of the world speed record for a steam engine (126 mph), and a replica of the prototype steam engine, the Rocket. Passenger cars used by Queen Victoria are on display, as is the only Japanese bullet train to be seen outside Japan, along with railway-related art, posters, and memorabilia. You can climb aboard some of the trains and occasionally take a short trip on one. There's also a little tourist train that makes the short journey to York Minster (£3).
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8. Rievaulx
Religious Building/Site/ShrineThe perfect marriage of architecture and landscape, Rievaulx (pronounced ree- voh ) Abbey sits in a dramatic setting two miles northwest of...
The perfect marriage of architecture and landscape, Rievaulx (pronounced ree-voh) Abbey sits in a dramatic setting two miles northwest of Helmsley, its soaring arches built to precisely frame the forested hillside rushing down to the River Rye. Founded in 1132 by a French Cistercian sect (there's a 13th century shrine containing the remains of the first abbot, William, at the entrance to the Chapter House), Rievalux soon became one of the most powerful monasteries in Britain. By the end of the 13th century, the abbey was massively wealthy thanks to the monks involvement in the wool trade. The evocative ruins still give a good indication of how vast it once was, from the church's huge 13th-century presbytery (one of the finest examples of Early English architecture in northern England) to the imposing refectory (dining hall). You should also get a glimpse of the 12th-century cloisters with their (reconstructed) symmetrical columns. By the time of the suppression of the monasteries in 1538 under Henry VIII, the abbey had shrunk dramatically, with only 23 monks still living there. The new owner, the Earl of Rutland, subsequently dismantled what was left of the abbey, sending off the roof leads and bells to the king and allowing villagers to cart away the abbey's stones to build their houses. What remains is a beautiful ghost of the magnificent building that once stood here. From Rievaulx Abbey it's a short climb or drive up the hill to Rievaulx Terrace, an 18th-century escarpment with a magnificent view of the abbey. At either end of the woodland walk are two mid-18th-century follies in the style of small Palladian temples.
Helmsley, North Yorkshire, YO62 5LB, England01439-798228Sight Details
Rate Includes: £9.40, Closed weekdays Nov.–Feb. -
9. Studley Royal Water Garden & Fountains Abbey
GardenYou can easily spend a day at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, an 822-acre complex made up of an 18th-century water garden and deer park; a...
You can easily spend a day at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, an 822-acre complex made up of an 18th-century water garden and deer park; a Jacobean mansion; and, on the banks of the River Skell, Fountains Abbey, the largest monastic ruins in Britain. The landscape's neoclassical vision of an ordered universe—with spectacular terraces, classical temples, and a grotto—blends with the majestic Gothic abbey founded in 1132 and completed in the early 1500s. It housed Cistercian monks, known as "White Monks" after the color of their robes, who devoted their lives to silence, prayer, and work. Of the surviving buildings, the lay brothers' echoing refectory and dormitory are the most complete. Fountains Mill, built by the monks in the 12th century to grind grain for the monastery and one of the oldest buildings on the estate, was in operation until 1927. Fountains Hall is an elegant Elizabethan mansion partially built with stones taken from the abbey. The water garden and Fountains Abbey are 9 miles northwest of Knaresborough, 4 miles southwest of Ripon.
Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY, England01765-608888Sight Details
Rate Includes: £16.80 -
10. York Minster
Religious Building/Site/ShrineThe city's focal point, this vast cathedral is the largest Gothic building north of the Alps and attracts almost as many visitors as London...
The city's focal point, this vast cathedral is the largest Gothic building north of the Alps and attracts almost as many visitors as London's Westminster Abbey. Inside, the effect created by its soaring pillars and lofty vaulted ceilings is almost overpowering. Binoculars may be helpful for viewing the loftiest of the 128 dazzling stained-glass windows. While mere numbers can't convey the scale of the building, the central towers are 200 feet high while the Minster itself is 519 feet long, 249 feet across its transepts, and 90 feet from floor to roof. Among the especially notable contributions to the building's uplifting splendor is the ornamentation of the 14th-century nave: the east window, one of the greatest pieces of medieval glazing in the world; the north transept's Five Sisters windows, five tall lancets of gray-tinged 13th-century glass; the enormous choir screen depicting stylized images of every king of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI; and the masterful tracery of the Rose Window, with elements commemorating the 1486 marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, a union which ended the Wars of the Roses and started the Tudor dynasty. Don't miss the exquisite 13th-century Chapter House, with its superb medieval ribbed wooden roof and fine traceried stained-glass windows; the Treasury; the Crypt; and the interactive Revealing York Minster exhibition in the undercroft, where you can see the remains of a Roman barracks, the Minster's Norman foundations, stained glass, and the 10th-century Horn of Ulf carved from an elephant tusk and donated by a Viking nobleman. After exploring the cathedral at ground level, climb the 275 winding steps to the roof of the great Central Tower, which offers both close-up glimpses of the cathedral's detailed carvings and panoramic views of the city. Allow 45 minutes for the Tower tour, which is by timed admission only. Don't miss the newly restored great east window, Britain's largest expanse of medieval stained glass with its 311 stained-glass panels dating back to the 15th century. To experience the cathedral at its most atmospheric, attend one of the evensong services with organ and choir.
View Tours and ActivitiesMinster Yard, York, York, YO1 7HH, England01904-557200Sight Details
Rate Includes: Minster £11.50, Minster and Tower £16.50 -
11. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Museum/GalleryThis outdoor gallery near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees...
This outdoor gallery near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The park, garden, and Underground Gallery—three galleries cut into a hillside—are filled with a carefully curated collection that includes works by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as modern sculptors like Antony Gormley, Anthony Caro, and David Nash. A visitor center offers a restaurant, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and information about the ecology and history of the estate. You can get here easily from Leeds by train or car.
West Bretton, Wakefield, Wakefield, WF4 4LG, England01924-832631Sight Details
Rate Includes: Museum free, parking £3.50 per hr -
12. Bark Endeavour
Other AttractionThis scaled-down replica of Captain Cook's ship was built by local craftspeople using original drawings and specifications, and it includes...
This scaled-down replica of Captain Cook's ship was built by local craftspeople using original drawings and specifications, and it includes hardwood decks, detailed rigging, and carved timber moldings. The ship runs half-hour tours of Whitby harbor and excursions along North Yorkshire's Jurassic coast as far as Sandsend, accompanied by commentary on Cook's life and Whitby sights. Note that sometimes tours don't run in bad weather.
Fish Quay, Pier Rd., Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO21 3PU, England01723-364100Sight Details
Rate Includes: From £5 -
13. Bempton Cliffs
Bempton | Nature Preserve/Wildlife RefugeA coastal path over the cliff tops ends at this seabird reserve, where some 250,000 birds, including a colony of approximately 1,000 rare puffins...
A coastal path over the cliff tops ends at this seabird reserve, where some 250,000 birds, including a colony of approximately 1,000 rare puffins, nest on the 400-foot cliffs between May and July. The reserve, off B1229, is open at all times, with a nearby visitor center providing cliff-edge but safe viewing platforms. Rent binoculars for a closer view of the puffins, shags, kittiwakes, fulmars, gannets, guillemots, and razorbills that make the cliffs their home.
Bempton Cliffs Visitor Centre, Cliff La., Bempton, Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Y015 1JF, England01262-422212Sight Details
Rate Includes: £3.50, £5 -
14. Bolton Abbey
RuinsSome of the loveliest Wharfedale scenery comes into view near Bolton Priory, the ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory that sit on a grassy...
Some of the loveliest Wharfedale scenery comes into view near Bolton Priory, the ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory that sit on a grassy embankment over a great curve of the River Wharfe. The view inspired J.M.W. Turner to create a number of watercolors of the priory ruins and nearby sites. Close to Bolton Priory and surrounded by romantic woodland scenery, the River Wharfe plunges between a narrow chasm in the rocks (called the Strid) before reaching Barden Tower, a ruined medieval hunting lodge that can be visited just as easily as Bolton Priory. Both are part of the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate owned by the dukes of Devonshire. The priory is just a short walk or drive from the village of Bolton Abbey. You can also visit the priory church. Guides are available weekdays from March to October.
Bolton Abbey, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6EX, England01756-718000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Parking £8, Parking £10 -
15. Brontë Waterfall
Body Of Water/WaterfallIf you have the time, pack a lunch and walk for 2¾ miles or so from Haworth along a field path, lane, and moorland track to the lovely, isolated...
If you have the time, pack a lunch and walk for 2¾ miles or so from Haworth along a field path, lane, and moorland track to the lovely, isolated waterfall that has, inevitably, been renamed in honor of the sisters. It was one of their favorite haunts, which they wrote about in poems and letters.
Haworth, Bradford, England -
16. Castle Museum
Museum/GalleryIn an 18th-century building whose elegance belies its former role as a debtors' prison, this quirky museum includes a replica York street that...
In an 18th-century building whose elegance belies its former role as a debtors' prison, this quirky museum includes a replica York street that re-creates the Victorian shopping experience, notable domestic interiors, more than 100 historic patchwork quilts, a toy gallery, and Christmas cards sent during World War I. You can also visit the cell where Dick Turpin, the 18th-century highwayman and folk hero, spent the night before his execution.
Eye of York, York, York, YO1 9RY, England01904-687687Sight Details
Rate Includes: £10.90 -
17. Church of St. Mary the Virgin
Religious Building/Site/ShrineWhitby's landmark church overlooks the town from the top of East Cliff, with the striking ruins of Whitby Abbey looming beyond. Bram Stoker...
Whitby's landmark church overlooks the town from the top of East Cliff, with the striking ruins of Whitby Abbey looming beyond. Bram Stoker lived in Whitby briefly and later said the image of pallbearers carrying coffins up the 199 stone steps that lead to the church inspired him to write Dracula. The oldest parts of St. Mary's (the quire and nave) are Norman, dating back to 1100, while the tower and transepts were added in the 12th and 13th centuries. The distinctive interior, notable for its enclosed box pews and triple-decker pulpit, is late-18th-century Georgian and most everything else you see today is the result of 19th- and 20th-century renovations. The churchyard, a setting in Dracula, is filled with the weather-beaten gravestones of former mariners and fishermen. Rather than walking, you can drive to the hilltop and park in the abbey's lot for a small fee. Otherwise, you can take the hourly Esk Valley Bus 97.
Abbey Plain, East Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4JR, England01947-603421Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free; £1 suggested donation -
18. City of York Walls
Historic District/SiteAlmost 3 miles of original medieval town walls remain around York, more than any other city in England. In the 9th century, invading Vikings...
Almost 3 miles of original medieval town walls remain around York, more than any other city in England. In the 9th century, invading Vikings buried the original Roman defensive walls, built some 1900 years ago, under earthen ramparts topped with wooden stakes. These in turn were replaced by the current stone walls in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the mid-19th century the walls, which had fallen into disrepair, were restored and maintained for public access, and you can now walk along a narrow paved path at the top and enjoy outstanding views (the whole circuit takes about two hours). In spring, the remains of the Viking embankment at the base are alive with daffodils. The walls are crossed periodically by York's distinctive "bars," or fortified gates: the portcullis on Monk's Bar on Goodramgate is still in working order, and Walmgate Bar in the east is the only gate in England with an intact barbican, although one scarred by the cannonballs during the Civil War. Bootham Bar in Exhibition Square was the defensive bastion for the north road, and Micklegate Bar, in the city's southwest corner, was traditionally the monarch's entrance. To access the path and lookout towers, find a staircase at one of the many breaks in the walls.
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19. City Sightseeing
Tour–SightThis tour company runs frequent hop-on, hop-off bus tours of York that stop at the Castle Museum, the Merchants Adventurers' Hall, Clifford...
This tour company runs frequent hop-on, hop-off bus tours of York that stop at the Castle Museum, the Merchants Adventurers' Hall, Clifford’s Tower, the Jorvik Viking Centre, and the Museum Gardens, among other attractions. Tickets are valid for three months.
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20. Clifford's Tower
Notable BuildingThis rather battered-looking keep at the top of a steep mound is all that remains of the old York castle, one of the greatest fortresses of...
This rather battered-looking keep at the top of a steep mound is all that remains of the old York castle, one of the greatest fortresses of medieval England. Sitting on a grassy mound, this squat stone tower dates from the mid-13th century. The Norman tower that preceded it, built in 1068 by William the Conqueror, was destroyed in 1190 when more than 150 Jews locked themselves inside to protect themselves from a violent mob. Trapped with no food or water, they committed mass suicide by setting their own prison aflame. From the top of the tower you have good views of the city. Plans are currently underway to reveal parts of the structure that have been hidden for decades and to create a new viewing platform, but the Tower will still be open to visitors during the renovation.
View Tours and ActivitiesTower St., York, York, YO1 9SA, England01904-646940Sight Details
Rate Includes: £5.70
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