Day trip of the day - York

I'm being asked a lot about day trips at the moment, so I'll try and put together a mini-series of day trip of the day posts*, starting with York.

Now, York is really on the far edge of day-trip-able, and if at all possible I'd recommend taking a weekend or longer, and spending some time outside the city - maybe take the bus over to Whitby or up to Durham - but if, as is the case with the friend I'm planning this with, you're only in the UK for a total of five days, a day trip can be done and is worthwhile - it's a fantastic city.

Trains run from London direct to York in a shade over two hours, and you can get tickets around the £25 return mark by booking ahead and being flexible about when you travel. (My friend and I are on the 9am train, as that's cheaper than earlier trains that could be used by business travellers with morning meetings, for example) Buying a ticket on the day, however, will set you back over £100, so book ahead.

£25 for nearly ten hours of York - that's a bargain, and enough time to walk the city walls, visit York Minster, the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe (entry costs between £4 adults/£3 students and £9/£7.50 depending on which areas you want access to,) and find somewhere fabulous to eat, before joining one of the ghost walks.

If you get a really early train, you could maybe also squeeze in a trip to the JORVIK Viking Centre (entry £8/£7.50, call 01904 615505 to pre-book and skip the queue) or if Viking's aren't your thing, consider the National Rail Museum (free), Yorkshire Castle Museum, with it's recreated Victorian street (£7.50/£6.50), or the Yorkshire Museum and Gardens, (Museum £5/£4, garden's free).

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* aimed towards my students, who are for the most part newly arrived in the UK for the first time, so if you're a local reader, I apologise if what I'm about to write seems obvious to you.