Luxury holidays in York

When to go

Other than 1 August, when Yorkshire Day celebrates all things white rose, avoid coming to York in summer, when tourists from all over the world throng its narrow streets. Go in autumn, when dark evenings lend themselves to guided ghost walks amid the bowed houses and crooked alleys – and atmospheric pubs are particularly inviting.

Getting there

• Planes

  Leeds Bradford International Airport (www.lbia.co.uk) is around an hour away from York | and carries flights from a wide variety of airports in the UK and Europe. It also offers direct flights to and from New York and Miami. There are good rail connections from the airport into York.

• Trains

  The National Express East Coast train (www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com) from London King's Cross to York takes a little over two hours. Edinburgh is two and a half hours from York by train. Northern Rail Lines (www.northernrail.org) can take you from York into the North Yorkshire Moors or into the Yorkshire Dales.

• Automobiles

  From the South | take the M1 right up to its end | and join the A1(M). Come off onto the A59 and follow signs into central York. From the North | the A1(M) leads you from Edinburgh to within a few miles of York. You won’t need to hire a car in York itself – everything’s very walkable and public transport is excellent – but if you want to get out to the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside | then wheels are essential.

• Taxis

  There are taxi ranks all over the city centre – with the largest one on St Saviourgate. Call Ace Taxis (01904 638888) or Yorcabs (01904 646424) if you want to book a cab.