York · Things to do

The quatrefoil keep on its mound, all that is left of York Castle, with a walkway inside it now and a view over the rooftops. English Heritage.

Reconstructed Victorian streets and a debtors' prison in the old gaol buildings across the green from Clifford's Tower.

The named alleys threading between the medieval streets. There is a small local book about them and it is the best way to see the city.

The Yorkshire tea rooms, in the centre of York and running since 1919. There is usually a queue down the pavement and no way to skip it.

Ten acres of botanic garden inside the walls, wrapped round the ruins of St Mary's Abbey and the Roman Multangular Tower. Free.