Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

National Express buses travel to York from major cities such as London (five hours), Birmingham (three hours) and Edinburgh (six hours). A score of competing regional bus companies service local hotspots like Scarborough, Whitby and Leeds. York has always been something of a rail hub - its station was the largest in the world when it opened back in 1877. Twenty-five trains a day stop in at York en route from London (two hours), and southern connections include Peterborough, Cambridge, Bristol and Oxford via Birmingham. York is a four-hour drive from London or Edinburgh (both approximately 322km/200mi). If you are determined to fly into York, the closest airports are Manchester (a two-hour drive) and Leeds (one hour).

Getting around

York's major sights are within a mere 20-minute walk of each other, but if you're footsore you can hop on a First York local bus and buy an off-peak day pass for under 2.00. Bicycles can be hired at the train station, and you shouldn't find it too hard to hire a taxi if you have to. If you're driving, be prepared for summertime traffic congestion, pricey car parking and a medieval street plan of maze-like lanes.