Blue Bell

Top choice in York


This is what a proper English pub looks like – a tiny, 200-year-old wood-panelled room with a smouldering fireplace, decor untouched since 1903, a pile of ancient board games in the corner, friendly and efficient bar staff, and weekly cask-ale specials chalked on a board. Bliss, with froth on top – if you can get in (it's often full). Cash only.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby York attractions

1. Merchant Adventurers' Hall

0.05 MILES

York's most impressive semi-timbered building is still owned by the fraternity that built it almost 650 years ago and it is the oldest surviving guildhall…

2. The Shambles

0.06 MILES

The Shambles takes its name from the Saxon word shamel, meaning 'slaughterhouse' – in 1862 there were 26 butcher shops on this street. Today the butchers…

3. Jorvik Viking Centre

0.09 MILES

Interactive multimedia exhibits aimed at bringing history to life often achieve exactly the opposite, but the much-hyped Jorvik manages to pull it off…

4. Dig

0.1 MILES

Under the same management as Jorvik and housed in an atmospheric old church, Dig gives you the chance to be an 'archaeological detective', unearthing the…

5. York Dungeon

0.17 MILES

Two thousand years of York’s gory history are acted out at this Northern version of the London Dungeon, which added new attractions during a 2016 revamp…

6. Church of the Holy Trinity

0.17 MILES

Tucked away behind an inconspicuous gate and seemingly cut off from the rest of the town, the Church of the Holy Trinity is a fantastically atmospheric…

7. Clifford's Tower

0.2 MILES

There's precious little left of York Castle except for this evocative stone tower, a highly unusual four-lobed design built into the castle's keep after…

8. Barley Hall

0.21 MILES

This restored medieval townhouse, tucked down an alleyway, includes a permanent exhibition of life in the times of Henry VIII. It was once the home of…