Daniel Dylan Wray

It may be a bit of a travel cliché, but in York, old and new exist in rare harmony. A cultural hub since Roman times, this city maintains a lasting historical charm, with many of our ancient ancestors’ constructions still standing strong. But if you’re after some more modern sights, there’s plenty here for the inquisitive visitor to get lost in, from sumptuous restaurants to buzzing bars and contemporary art galleries (and everything in between).There are several reasons this city is one of the most popular places for tourists to visit in the UK (not least the fact it was recently named one of the world’s friendliest cities), and we’ve tried to include as many as possible in this list right here. Ready to get out there and explore? Here’s our pick of the best things to do in York right now. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, click here.

Whitby is and always has been the perfect seaside getaway. This idyllic former fishing town on the North Yorkshire coast has maintained all of its best traditions (hello, Whitby Goth Weekend), and won’t change for no one. Spend a day or a weekend here to discover fantastic seafood, old cosy pubs, and a hell of a lot of very quirky charm.  From its spooky abbeys and its cliff-top graveyard to its cobbled streets and whale bone monuments, visiting Whitby is sort of like stepping into a gothic novel, but a really, really fun one. Stroll along the Blue Flag beach in the summer, dip into independent shops in town, and sink your teeth into a healthy portion of fish and chips. And if you’ve got the kids in tow, even better – the exhibitions and activities here are endless. Here are the best things to do in Whitby right now.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The ultimate guide to Yorkshire🌳 The best places to visit in the UK🍝 The best restaurants in the UK

There are so many beautiful spots in Yorkshire, where does one begin? It’s an age-old question, for sure, but if you’re in any way a literature fan, there’s only one place for you – and that’s Haworth, tucked away in the South Pennines. The actual Brontë sisters are from here, and the village has continued to inspire some serious literature ever since.  It’s no surprise really, as most of Haworth looks like a picture in a storybook; steam trains, rugged hills, coastal walking trails, quaint cafés, that sort of thing. So even if you hate literature with a passion, you’ll still love it here. And just in case you need any more persuading, we’ve designed the perfect day, from your morning coffee to your afternoon pint (and even your stay for the night). Here are the best things to do in Haworth.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The ultimate guide to Yorkshire🌳 The best places to visit in the UK🍝 The best restaurants in the UK

If you’re looking for a proper break from it all, we’ve got an idea. How about a weekend away in a blissful spa town, full of quaint cobbled streets, traditional baths and seriously good beer? Yes, we’re talking about Harrogate. And if it sounds like a bit of you, you’re in luck. We’ve got a full guide to the city right here.  Harrogate can get overlooked for its famous neighbours York and Leeds, but this city is a North Yorkshire gem. Life is slow here. You’re supposed to simply relax and go along for the ride. There’s kids activities and afternoon tea galore, Turkish baths and tons of historic buildings to wander past and admire. We’ve chosen the town’s most well-known things to do as well as its more unique points for our full guide. Here are the best things to do in Harrogate right now.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Leeds📍 The best things to do in York📍 The essential guide to Yorkshire

Leeds is a city that sure likes to party, and so it’s fortunate that there’s no shortage of lively, atmospheric bars to kick back and let loose in. With its easily walkable centre, this is the perfect place for a bar crawl with mates, covering significant ground without racking up an excessive taxi bill.  Even if your idea of a good night out isn’t one that’s liable to end up with a 4am kebab, there are plenty more intimate bars, too: places where craft beer or multisensory mixology takes on a sophisticated, almost reverential quality. Whether yours is an ice-cold pint, fruity mocktail or niche concoction that only certain bartenders seem to know how to make, this city is good with a shaker and definitely isn’t afraid to prove it. Feeling thirsty? Here are the best bars in Leeds according to us. RECOMMENDED: The 24 best restaurants in Leeds you need to try

Feeling hungry in West Yorkshire? Leeds will not leave your belly nor taste buds lacking. Aside from the wide array of brilliant things to do, this is a city that’s home to a properly exciting and eclectic food scene, one which is constantly evolving with its culturally diverse population. Complemented by a range of great bars and pubs, the Leeds food industry prides itself on its welcoming atmosphere, catering for the classics as well as pushing the envelope with exciting (and aesthetically pleasing) new inventions.  From quick affordable bites to budget-blowing fine -dining, Leeds really is a city that has it all. So, whether you fancy ramen and karaoke, 12-course British-fusion food or some of the tastiest Chinese dishes in the UK, here’s our round up of the very best restaurants in Leeds right now. RECOMMENDED: The best bars in Leeds

York may be better known for its pubs – they say you could visit a different one within the ancient city walls every day of the year – but there are plenty of new-fangled cocktail bars here too. There are underground speakeasy-style lairs. There are thronging music bars. And there are flashy spaces with record-holding gin selections. In other words: you should certainly prepare for the unexpected when it comes to York’s bar scene. There’s even an entire venue dedicated to the Stone Roses – and it’s gold, not fool’s. So without further ado, here’s our pick of the best bars in York right now. And if you’re looking for some top-notch grub to soak up the booze? Check out our pick of the best restaurants in York. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in York

Rumour has it that you could visit a different pub on every day of the year in York. While we’re not quite sure that’s true, there are certainly a lot of vibey places to drink within the ancient city walls. Clearly, if you like your boozers old-fashioned, you’re in the right place, what with all the old-world inns that line the city’s cobblestone streets. And if your tastes are a little more modern? You’ll also be pleased to know that several others have been revamped in a much more up-to-date style.  From converted toll booths and gatehouses to marshmallow-flavoured ale and kegs-turned-urinals, original features (and brews) abound at these brilliant pubs in York. Sure, you may not be able to check all of them out, but why not head on a bar crawl and see how far you get? RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best bars in York

York’s cobbled alleys are bursting with culture and history. After climbing up Clifford’s Tower or soaking up the magnificence of York Minster, visitors are likely to build up a very decent appetite. So it’s handy that the city also brims with an abundance of foodie destinations.  Its eclectic collection of restaurants ranges from infamous kitsch tearooms to Michelin-starred fine dining and beloved market stalls. Each of the city’s ‘gates’ has its own distinctive food offering. Castlegate offers a hub of touristy bistros right next to the castle. Casual lunch spots abound on Fossgate and Walmgate, while Micklegate has been revitalised as York’s most exciting area for independent food options. And for a haven away from the touristy crowds, Gillygate features a bunch of low-key but high-quality venues.  So, before concluding the day at one of the city’s buzzing bars or pubs, you have to experience at least one of York’s culinary offerings. To help you out, here’s our pick of the very best restaurants in York. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in York

It’s been a roman city, a viking stronghold and the so-called ‘Capital of the North of England’ – so no wonder York boasts so many visit-worthy historical museums. From the remains of York Castle and the mesmerising Castle Howard country estate to the more modern inventions displayed at the National Railway Museum and York Army Museum, there’s a lot to be learned here, and often in incredibly grand and/or lush surroundings. Tight on time? Happily, many of the very best museums in York lie within the city walls, meaning they’re all pretty much within walking distance of each other. If you are stressed out about packing it all in, don’t miss our guide to the perfect day in York and this run-down of the city’s best restaurants. Recommended: the best Airbnbs in YorkRecommended: the best York hotelsRecommended: Full guide to the best things to do in York

It’s been a rough few years for the world at large – but in many ways, a fantastic one for neighbourhoods. Although we haven’t been able to travel the world as freely as we once did, billions of us have been spending more time than ever closer to home. And in many of the world’s greatest cities, the result has been a full-blown neighbourhood renaissance. It’s true that much-loved local shops, restaurants, bars and creative spaces have, sadly, shuttered for good. But there’s also been a whole wave of new businesses opening, driven not just by increased footfall outside city centres, but also by the ‘great resignation’. City-dwellers have quit their corporate jobs to finally follow their joy, whether it’s opening that corner café or much-needed local LGBTQ+ bar, or just spending more time living slowly and spending more time (and money) in their local area. At the same time, local officials the world over have been re-establishing their neighbourhoods as places for people. In some cases that’s meant overhauling street space: less driving, more walking, cycling and hanging out. In others, it’s meant tackling problems like overtourism, inequality and air pollution. All of this has led to districts looking very different than they did just a few years ago – and becoming better places for locals and travellers alike. RECOMMENDED: The 33 coolest streets in the world Every year, we canvas thousands of city-dwellers around the world in our Time Out Index survey. As always, this year

There’s a symmetry to Sheffield’s industrial past and cultural present that’s more distinctive than in most cities. When Sheffield’s steel industry was at its height, the pollution generated by the factories meant that suburban developers took to the surrounding hills to create places to live, breathe and enjoy — and from there modern Sheffield slowly took shape. Those Victorian parks make it one of the UK’s greenest cities while the regeneration of its factories makes it one of the most interesting. These days, the former factories house Sheffield’s thriving arts, cultural and culinary destinations, while you can venture hillside for parks, gardens, independent shops, restaurants and bars. It’s a city that has all the usual offerings of the modern bustling metropolis but also is also filled with areas of tranquility and real beauty.  Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. Find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world.

Head into Shakespeare’s in Sheffield on a Thursday afternoon and you’ll be greeted with a scene fairly typical of a traditional boozer. Solitary blokes reading their paper and nursing a pint, real-ale aficionados scribbling away in little notebooks, someone sitting quietly munching on a pork pie and crisps in the corner. But return just hours later and the steady thump of techno will be sending bouncing ripples into those glasses of foamy beer.  Slamming dance music and real-ale pubs may not be things you would necessarily associate with one another, but on the first Thursday of every month you’ll find the GROUNDWORK crew in the upstairs function room merging these two worlds with great success. ‘The combination of club tunes and the warmth of a real-ale pub, drinking good beer at a reasonable price and finishing by midnight seems to satisfy people,’ says Alex Hatch, who runs GROUNDWORK with Isaac Crookes, Jamie Roberts and Oliver Heaviside.  Photograph: Groundwork They bring their own PA system, with subwoofers that Roberts built himself, and turn the 100-capacity function room that’s normally used for pub quizzes and open-mic nights into a sweaty, bouncing, vibrating, early-doors party. As evidenced by the huge success of Annie Mac’s Before Midnight club night, there’s clearly an appetite for an alternative for those who want to avoid ‘going the full slog till 6am’, as Hatch describes it.  However, while Mac’s night may be geared more towards to ravers-turned-knackered pa

Sheffield provided the backdrop to a lot of lyrics for Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and the secret tunnels and rivers that run underneath the city centre were no different. On the tune ‘Wickerman’, Cocker even recalled his own time spent wading through the mysterious passages. The song acts as an underground journey through Sheffield, the Yorkshire city that exists ‘below other people’s ordinary lives’. He sang: ‘Underneath the city through the dirty brickwork conduits / Connecting white witches on the Moor with pre-Raphaelites down in Broomhall / Beneath the old Trebor factory that burnt down in the early seventies / leaving an antiquated sweet-shop smell and caverns of nougat and caramel.’ Sound intriguing? As it happens, that magical underground world Cocker described around twenty years ago is now opening up for guided tours via the Sheaf and Porters River Trust. Built during the mid-nineteenth century, the tours will take visitors around the city’s vast network of Victorian tunnels – including a huge brick-vaulted space referred to as the Megatron.  Ready to fish out your waterproofs and wellies? This could be the ideal chance to learn more about the history of the place (as well as retrace Cocker’s footsteps, of course). Tickets for the trips are on sale here. Like your subterranean attractions? Take a virtual tour of the Paris Catacombs’ burial chambers.

On Thursday Sheffield music venue the Leadmill revealed some unexpected news. ‘Today we have received some devastating news,’ it announced. ‘In one year’s time, our landlord is evicting us and forcing us to close.’ This was met with widespread shock. Artists including The Pogues, Billy Bragg, Self Esteem, Sleaford Mods and Tim Burgess all voiced support, as did other venues like Leeds’s Brudenell Social Club and Manchester’s Gorilla, while local MPs Paul Blomfield and Louise Haigh also expressed the need to fight and save it. Now the landlords, Electric Group, have issued a statement saying the building will still be used as a venue, but the Leadmill as it exists – its name, its staff, its independence – may all go. So, what does Sheffield stand to lose? The fact you have such a wide-reaching number of voices showing support for the Leadmill is indicative of its impact and legacy. It has been running for 42 years, initially opening in 1980 in a derelict flour mill and was as much a social and community centre as it was a radical performing arts space. The venue quickly became home to a burgeoning scene, with bands such as Pulp, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA and Artery all playing some of the earliest shows. From there it had a 40-year run as one of the most important pit stops on the UK touring circuit, playing host to countless bands that would go on to be huge (Oasis, The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Kings of Leon, you name it). But it was also a home for acts that woul

With constantly-changing border restrictions and testing requirements now getting in the way of most foreign travel, demand for holidays within the UK has soared. And that means that prices have too. In fact, anyone on a budget may struggle to find accommodation at a decent rate. Enter ‘Be Our Guest’ – the latest in a series of initiatives led by UK cities aiming to lure back visitors this summer. A joint venture by Visit Leeds and the Leeds Hotels and Venues Association, it means travellers can claim free third night for every two they book at any of 12 top hotels in the city. That would give you that little bit longer to taste your way around Leeds’s thriving food and drink scene, to soak up some culture at its array of excellent museums and galleries, or indeed tick off all the other ace things the city has to offer. And not only that – the first 100 bookings will get to experience a ‘taste of Leeds’ thanks to a hamper filled with local produce. Lovely stuff. Sound good? You can find out more about the ‘Be Our Guest’ scheme here. And if you’re looking for more great deals? Manchester is offering free hotel nights too.