67 Best Sights in Yorkshire, England

Standing in the Howardian Hills to the west of Malton, Castle Howard is audaciously grand, 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. More recently, it provided locations for Clyvedon, the residence of the Duke of Hastings in the Netflix show Bridgerton.

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. The central structure was started in 1701 and took 25 years to complete, with a Palladian wing added subsequently. 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, gardens, 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 are temples, statues, fountains, a grand mausoleum, and even a fanciful children's playground. There are also three cafés, two shops, and a garden center. House admission is by timed-entry only. Guided tours are available late March through October at 3:30 on Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends.

It’s hard to convey the enormous scale of this cruciform cathedral, which attracts almost as many visitors as London’s Westminster Abbey. The city’s focal point and the largest Gothic building north of the Alps is 525 feet long, 222 feet wide at its transepts, and 99 feet high in its nave. Inside, the effect created by its soaring pillars and vaulted ceilings is almost overpowering, and you need binoculars to see the details in the loftiest of its 128 dazzling stained-glass windows.

The East Window in the 14th-century nave is one of the world’s greatest examples of medieval glazing. In the north transept, the Five Sisters Windows consist of tall lancets of gray-tinged, 13th-century glass. The masterful Rose Window commemorates the 1486 marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, a union that marked the end of the Wars of the Roses and the start of the Tudor dynasty. Note, too, the enormous choir screen, which depicts stylized images of every king of England from William the Conqueror to Henry VI.

You can also explore the superb 13th-century Chapter House, the Treasury, and the Crypt. Don’t miss the Undercroft Museum, where you can see the remains of a Roman barracks, the Minster's Norman foundations, and the 10th-century Horn of Ulf carved from an elephant tusk and donated by a Viking nobleman.

Also, allow 45 minutes to climb 275 steps to the roof of the Central Tower (timed admission only), where you’re rewarded with both close-up glimpses of the cathedral's Gothic grotesques and panoramic views of the city. To experience the cathedral at its most atmospheric, however, attend one of the evensong services featuring an organ and choir.

The most evocative of Haworth's Brontë sights is the sisters' family home, a somber Georgian rectory dating from 1778 and containing 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 brings the family's story to life with enchanting mementos of the four surviving children, including tiny books they made when they were still very young, Charlotte's wedding bonnet, the sisters' spidery graffiti on the nursery wall, and portraits painted by Branwell, the Brontës' only brother. Admission is by timed-entry only, so book ahead.

Documenting the life of the famous mariner and those who sailed with him, this museum is in a 17th-century house owned by the captain to whom Cook was apprenticed and where he lodged from 1746 to 1750. Exhibits devoted to Cook's epic expeditions display the legendary explorer's maps, diaries, and drawings.

Whitby's landmark church, where Captain James Cook once worshipped, overlooks the town from atop 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 nave's interior is late-18th-century Georgian, and the unusual enclosed box pews and triple-decker pulpit were added in the 19th century, although you can still see Norman widows and stonework in the chancel and the Tudor altar. The churchyard, a setting in Dracula, is filled with the weather-beaten gravestones of 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.

You can easily spend a day at this UNESCO World Heritage site, an 822-acre complex 9 miles northwest of Knaresborough and 4 miles southwest of Ripon. It features the vast ruins of Fountains Abbey, founded in 1132 and completed in the early 1500s, as well as a deer park and a superb 18th-century water garden. The landscape—a neoclassical vision of an ordered universe, with spectacular terraces, classical temples, and a grotto—blends seamlessly with the majestic Gothic abbey, where Cistercian monks (aka White Monks owing to the color of their robes) once devoted their lives to silence, prayer, and work.

Of the abbey's 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, was in operation until 1927. Also on site is Fountains Hall, an elegant Jacobean mansion partially built with stones taken from the abbey. It contains two apartments that are available for short stays.

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. There's also an extensive theatrical archive that contains scripts, playbills, and images.

The family seat of the Earls of Harewood, cousins of the King, the spectacular, 1759, neoclassical Harewood House (pronounced har-wood) was created by York architect John Carr and the period's leading interior designer, Robert Adam—a project that was financed, sad to say, by money that came from sugar plantations and the slave trade. Highlights include important paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds, fine ceramics, and a magnificent State Bed and other furniture by Chippendale, who was born in nearby Otley.

In June, July, September, and October there are periodic tours of the Private Apartments, which is where the earl and countess live and where you can see a notable collection of watercolors by JMW Turner and works by modern artists like Egon Schiele. 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 estate is 7 miles north of Leeds; you can get here aboard the Harrogate District Bus 36.

These distinctive, slightly skewed concrete blocks by architect David Chipperfield form the largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom outside London. Overlooking the River Calder, they house an impressive permanent collection of important works by 20th-century British artists, notably sculptors such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth; painters that include  L. S. Lowry, Ben Nicholson, and Frank Auerbach; and photographers like Martin Parr. Rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary art are displayed in the Calder gallery. The museum is in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off the M1.

Rolling-stock must-sees at the country’s largest railway museum include passenger cars used by Queen Victoria; the Mallard, which holds the world steam-engine speed record (126 mph); and a Japanese bullet train. There’s also plenty of railroad memorabilia, art, and posters. You can climb into some trains, and short trips are occasionally offered aboard one. Kids love the road train (£3.50) that travels between the Minster and the museum. Admission is by pre-booked ticket only.

Built in the 1690s by Sir Christopher Wren with later additions and interiors by Robert Adam and others, this country house is still home to the original family and is one of Britain's finest examples of 18th-century interior decoration. Of particular note are the ornamental plasterwork, the Chippendale furniture, the domed Sculpture Hall devoted to Roman statuary, and the Tapestry Hall with priceless Gobelin tapestries. The 25 acres of gardens are justifiably famous; a double herbaceous border running down to the river separates garden "rooms," each flowering during a different season. A miniature railroad, playground, dollhouse and teddy bear exhibitions, and pedal boats amuse kids. Entry to the house is restricted to one-hour guided tours, which run from April to September.

One of the three oldest stone-built castles in England and considered to be one of Britain's finest examples of a Norman fortress, Richmond Castle sits in a commanding position 100 feet over the River Swale. If you climb the 130 steps to the top of the 12th-century great keep, you are rewarded with sweeping views over the Dales. Originally built around 1071 by the first earl of Richmond to subdue the unruly inhabitants of the North, the castle retains much of its curtain wall as well as three chapels. There's also an even earlier, two-story structure known as Scolland's Hall, which was built in the 11th century and is believed to be the oldest great hall in England. During World War I, conscientious objectors were imprisoned in the castle, and you can still see the graffiti they inscribed. A path along the river leads to the ruins of golden-stone Easby Abbey. A historical note: when Henry Tudor (son of the earl of Richmond) became Henry VII in 1485, he began calling his palace in southwest London after the site of his family seat, leading to that part of the city becoming known as Richmond.

Rievaulx (pronounced ree-voh), situated 2 miles northwest of Helmsley, is the perfect marriage of architecture and landscape, with soaring arches that 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), the abbey soon became one of the most powerful monasteries in Britain. By the end of the 13th century, it 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 check out 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 stones to build their houses. What remains is a beautiful shell 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.

The original 7th-century church on the site was destroyed by the Vikings, though its Saxon crypt (AD 672), the oldest structure in any English cathedral, remains. The Romanesque transepts of the current cathedral date from the 12th century, while the west front (circa 1220) is an outstanding example of Early English Gothic. The nave was rebuilt in 1500 in a Perpendicular Gothic style. Note the carving of a rabbit going down a hole in the finely carved choir stalls—it may well have inspired Lewis Carroll, whose father was a canon here.

One of Britain's most complete medieval castles, built by the Normans in 1090 and largely unaltered since the 17th century, still has its original kitchen, great hall, and main bedroom. Following the Battle of Marston Moor during the Civil War, it was the only remaining Royalist stronghold in the north of England, yielding in 1645 but only after a three-year siege. So sturdy was the squat little fortification with its rounded battlements (in some places the walls are 12 feet thick) that Oliver Cromwell ordered the removal of the castle roofs. Thanks to a special Act of Parliament, the castle's owner, Lady Anne Clifford, was eventually allowed to replace the roofs but only with the stipulation that they not be strong enough to withstand cannon fire. The Act was repealed in the 1970s to permit repairs at long last. A yew tree planted in the central Tudor courtyard more than 300 years ago by Lady Anne herself to mark the castle's recovery from its Civil War damage is still flourishing.

This outdoor exhibition space near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The galleries in the park, garden, and three indoor spaces 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 has a café, a self-service restaurant, a table-service 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.

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 25-minute 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 (and a few sea shanties). Note that sometimes tours don't run in bad weather.

The ruins of this 12th-century Augustinian priory sit on a grassy embankment over a great curve of the River Wharfe. Area views of the Wharfedale scenery 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.

If you have the time, pack a lunch and walk for 2¾ miles or so from Haworth along the "Bronte trail" across the moors to the lovely, isolated waterfall that has been renamed in honor of the sisters. It was one of their favorite haunts, which they wrote about in poems and letters, with Charlotte calling it "a perfect torrent racing over the rocks, white and beautiful!” in an 1854 diary entry.

East of Granary Wharf, the Calls, now the heart of Leeds's gay nightlife, has old riverfront warehouses converted into snazzy bars and restaurants that enliven the cobbled streets. The best have pleasant terraces overlooking the river.

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 view an exhibition covering 400 years of fashion, as well as visit the cell where Dick Turpin, the 18th-century highwayman and folk hero, spent the night before his execution.

Almost 3 miles of 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 1,900 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. You can now walk along a narrow paved path at the top and enjoy outstanding views. 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 fired 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. The whole circuit takes about two hours.

This rather battered-looking keep atop a steep grassy mound is the largest remnant of York Castle, one of medieval England's greatest fortresses and the administrative center of the northern part of the country. The squat stone tower, used as a treasury and later as a prison, dates from the mid-13th century. The timber 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 escape 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. Following a major conservation project, walkways now open up rooms hidden since a fire in 1684, and there's a viewing platform that offers still more wonderful vistas.

This reproduction of an archaeological dig in and beneath an old church is a great way to spark an interest in history and archaeology in young people. A venture by the people behind the Jorvik Viking Centre, DIG is supervised by knowledgeable experts. Kids dig in the dirt to "find" Roman or Viking artifacts, and everyone heads to the lab afterwards to learn what previous archaeological finds discovered on the site have revealed about former inhabitants.

A scenic one-hour ride on this preserved heritage railway from Skipton to Ilkley stops off at the station in Bolton Abbey. If you really enjoy your ride, you can even take a two-hour course on how to drive a steam train. Hours vary greatly, especially in spring and fall, so it's best to call ahead.

Under different ownership than Whitby's 40%-scale model of Captain Cook's ship, this full-size version features 30-foot-tall masts. Kids can visit a re-creation of the captain's cabin and plot his journey on a magnetic map or learn how to tie nautical knots. Other exhibits convey what the ship's medical, sanitation, sail-making, and disciplinary facilities would have been like. There's also a restaurant (not authentic) on-board.

This elegant, beautifully decorated Georgian town house, with its crystal chandeliers, silk damask wallpaper, and one of the country's finest collections of 18th-century furniture, provides a glimpse of how polite 18th-century society lived, with particular attention to their tastes in architecture, interior decoration, food, and furnishings. Entrance on Fridays is restricted to guided tours at 11 and 2.

This tour for "boils and ghouls" takes a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach to the haunted locations, employing props, illusion, jokes, and audience participation. The tours start at 7:30 pm nightly in the Shambles.

This moorland village, 8 miles southwest of Whitby, has a charming 1865 train station that was the location for Hogsmeade Station, where students bound for Hogwarts disembarked, in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. While there, hop on the 18-mile-long North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which travels between Grosmont and Pickering, passing through picturesque towns and moorland. The route of the steam-powered trains extends to Whitby three times a day.