From living in York for the best part of nearly 3 years now as a student, I can tell you I can't agree more with this study! York is a beautiful city as it is, so when it comes to Christmas and everywhere is covered in lights and Christmas trees and the markets are up, it really is stunning. There are so many festivities to enjoy in the city this year, and it seems that more and more things are popping up every year now! After there being some snow this year in York as well, it's made it feel extra Christmassy and winter Wonderland-like!
This post involves allll things festive in York to show off just how wonderfully joyful it really is in York this Christmas, just to prove that it really is "the most festive city in the UK"!!
St Nicholas Christmas Fair
One
of the best things about York at Christmas is by far the Christmas
markets, known as St. Nicholas Christmas Fair. They host a whole array
of stalls selling local food and produce including: Christmas gifts, cheeses,
meats and pastries, wreaths, paintings, brownies and Christmas
decorations. There are also numerous food stalls as well, including the
Shambles Kitchen German sausages which are a MUST have at the markets,
as well as the infamous 'York Roast co.' wraps now selling Christmas
dinner wraps! The markets are not one to miss in York and are lovely to
walk around in the day or in the evening.
Thor's Tipi
Something
for everyone to enjoy at the markets is 'Thor's Tipi', known for its
mulled wine and Bailey's hot chocolates! It's best to go in the day if
you get the chance as you're more likely to get a spot by the toasty
fire! There are often queues when it gets later, but it's definitely
worth queueing to get into to keep you warm in between shopping and
eating.
Coppergate Centre
Another lovely spot for shopping is Coppergate. As you can see from the photos above, it is another area of York decorated beautifully with lights and baubles. There are also more stalls in Coppergate to wander round, and Fenwick have a festive gift shop open selling Christmas decorations, cards and gifts!
York is a city full of quaint historic streets, and Stonegate is one of those not to be missed when you're Christmas shopping. This year it has been decked out with more lights and hosts its very own Christmas shop. 'Kathe Wohlfahrt' hosts all kinds of Christmas decorations, but it isn't the cheapest. I still highly recommend it however as it is a magical shop to wander round to keep you out of the cold!
Snowing down the Shambles
The
Shambles is the most famous street in York and was awarded the most
photographed street in Europe! This year throughout December, every
Thursday evening between 5 and 7pm, it has 'snowed' down the Shambles.
Fake snow has been blown down the cobbled street making for some cold,
but festive late night shopping!
Festive fairy lights
The
festive fairy lights never end in York with St Helen's square boasting a
rather big tree, covered in lights! York's historic walls that go
around the city centre are broken up with arch ways known as 'bars'.
Each of these bars is beautifully decorated with streams of lights
making your entrance into the centre a Christmas delight.
This
Christmas, a new attraction has opened in York, which as you can see
from the photos above is pretty stunning! 'Christmas at York Museum
Gardens' takes you through a magical light display in the Museum Gardens
in the city centre, showing off magnificent light shows and features all
around the gardens. I visited this with my Mum only the other night and
thought it was a great attraction to be added to the Christmas spirit of
York this year!
Snow in York
Christmas
in York was completed for me when it snowed a couple of weeks ago! The
city became a Winter Wonderland for a day and made the city feel all the
more festive! My university campus, York St. John, looked especially pretty coated in
the snow with the sun shining down on it!
If you get the chance to visit York this Christmas, then I hope you enjoy all of the festivities on offer! I haven't listed absolutely everything going on in the city for Christmas, so make sure to look at the 'Visit York' website to see all of the details, whether you're visiting this year or are interested for next year!
I can't recommend York enough at Christmas time, and truly think it is a magical and beautiful city to visit to get into the festive spirit! If you can't visit this year then there is always next year and I know for sure that even when I finish uni and don't live in York any more, I will still always come up for a weekend to enjoy the Christmassy feels!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
