68 Best Sights in Yorkshire, England

Dating from 1897, these Moorish-inspired, fully restored Turkish baths look virtually the same as they would have to the many Victorians who visited them. After changing into your bathing suit, relax on luxurious lounge chairs in the stunning mosaic-tile warming room. Move on to the increasingly hot sauna rooms, and then soak up eucalyptus mist in the steam room before braving the icy plunge pool. You can also book a massage or facial. Open hours are divided into single-sex and mixed sessions, so book in advance. Guided tours are given Wednesdays at 9 am.

Southwest of the town center, these 17 acres of formal gardens include a children's boating lake, tennis courts, skate park, adventure playground, paddling pool, and a little café.

Sort of the cheese equivalent of a winery tour, this museum in a working dairy documents how the famed local cheese—so beloved by the popular animated characters Wallace and Gromit—developed over time. You can watch production (best seen between 10 am and 4 pm on weekdays) from the viewing gallery and then taste (and buy) over 20 varieties of the output in the excellent cheese shop. A restaurant serves plenty of samples—try Wensleydale smoked with ginger or with apple pie.

Set high on the East Cliff, the strikingly Gothic ruins of this once grand church are visible even from moorland hills miles away. The abbey, one of the very few founded by a woman (St. Hild in AD 657), was populated by a mixed community of monks and nuns. After the Vikings sacked it in the 9th century, it was refounded by the Benedictines in the 11th century and later enlarged (the headland is dominated by the shell of the abbey's 13th-century church), continuing to flourish until it was destroyed by Henry VIII. The excellent visitor center has exhibits on St. Hild and Dracula author Bram Stoker, Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the site, and interactive displays about the medieval abbey.

Exhibits in this quirky museum range from local geology and natural history to archaeology, whaling, and trade routes in Asia, plus an exceptional collection of marine fossils. It's notable for its old-school displays that use handwritten cards.

This history-themed attraction takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to exploring the more violent and gory aspects of York's history. Lurid lighting, lots of fake blood, special effects, and costumed actors enliven episodes from the careers of infamous residents like highwayman Dick Turpin, revolutionary Guy Fawkes, Viking king Eric Bloodaxe, the Lost Roman Legion, and more, all to a soundtrack of wailing, screaming, and agonized moaning. As you might imagine, it's popular with kids, though not suitable for those under 8. Admission is by pre-booked timeslot only.

Located on a 22-acre former World War II Bomber Command base, this independent museum showcases more than 60 historic vehicles and aircraft, many of which are still in working condition and are certain to delight aviation enthusiasts. Planes range from early-20th-century biplanes and gliders, such as the Eastchurch Kitten (the only surviving one in the world), to Spitfires, other World War II–era planes including a German Messerschmitt, and contemporary fighter jets like the Mirage 4. There are also exhibits devoted to military vehicles, aircraft weaponry, and Royal Air Force uniforms. The museum is home to a memorial and gardens commemorating British and Allied service members who lost their lives in conflict.

The ecological and archaeological history of the county is the focus of this museum in an early-19th-century Greek Revival–style building with massive Doric columns. Themed galleries focus mostly on Roman, Anglian, Viking, and medieval periods, with nearly 1 million objects, including the 15th-century Middleham Jewel, a pendant gleaming with a large sapphire; a Paleolithic hand axe; and an extremely rare copperplate helmet, a 1,200-year-old Viking artifact. The oldest working observatory in Yorkshire (from 1833) is in the gardens. Another exhibition documents Yorkshire during the Jurassic period.