26 Best Sights in Yorkshire, England

Whitby's landmark church, where Captain James Cook once worshipped, overlooks the town from the top of East Cliff, with the striking ruins of Whitby Abbey looming beyond. Bram Stoker lived in Whitby briefly and later said the image of pallbearers carrying coffins up the 199 stone steps that lead to the church inspired him to write Dracula. The oldest parts of St. Mary's (the quire and nave) are Norman, dating back to 1100, while the tower and transepts were added in the 12th and 13th centuries. The nave's interior is late 18th-century Georgian while the unusual enclosed box pews and triple-decker pulpit were added in the 19th century, although you can still see Norman widows and stonework in the chancel and the Tudor altar. The churchyard, a setting in Dracula, is filled with the weather-beaten gravestones of former mariners and fishermen. Rather than walking, you can drive to the hilltop and park in the abbey's lot for a small fee. Otherwise, you can take the hourly Esk Valley Bus 97.

A must for train lovers, Britain's biggest railway museum houses part of the national collection of rail vehicles. Don't miss such gleaming giants of the steam era as the Mallard, holder of the world speed record for a steam engine (126 mph), and a replica of the prototype steam engine, the Rocket. Passenger cars used by Queen Victoria are on display, as is the only Japanese bullet train to be seen outside Japan, along with railway-related art, posters, and memorabilia. You can climb aboard some of the trains and occasionally take a short trip on one. There's also a miniature railway, very popular with kids (£3.50). Admission is by pre-booked ticket only.

These distinctive, slightly skewed concrete blocks by architect David Chipperfield form the largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom outside London. Overlooking the River Calder, they house an impressive permanent collection of important works by 20th-century British artists, notably sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as L. S. Lowry and Ben Nicholson. Rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists are displayed in the Calder gallery. It's in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off the M1.

This outdoor gallery near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The park, garden, and Underground Gallery—three galleries cut into a hillside—are filled with a carefully curated collection that includes works by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as modern sculptors like Antony Gormley, Anthony Caro, and David Nash. A visitor center offers a café, a self-service restaurant, a table service restaurant, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and information about the ecology and history of the estate. You can get here easily from Leeds by train or car.

Some of the loveliest Wharfedale scenery comes into view near Bolton Priory, the ruins of a 12th-century Augustinian priory that sit on a grassy embankment over a great curve of the River Wharfe. The view inspired J. M. W. Turner to create a number of watercolors of the priory ruins and nearby sites. Close to Bolton Priory and surrounded by romantic woodland scenery, the River Wharfe plunges between a narrow chasm in the rocks (called the Strid) before reaching Barden Tower, a ruined medieval hunting lodge that can be visited just as easily as Bolton Priory. Both are part of the 30,000-acre Bolton Abbey estate owned by the dukes of Devonshire. The priory is just a short walk or drive from the village of Bolton Abbey. You can also visit the priory church. Guides are available weekdays from March to October.

If you have the time, pack a lunch and walk for 2¾ miles or so from Haworth along the "Bronte trail" across the moors to the lovely, isolated waterfall that has, inevitably, been renamed in honor of the sisters. It was one of their favorite haunts, which they wrote about in poems and letters, with Charlotte calling it "a perfect torrent racing over the rocks, white and beautiful!” in an 1854 diary entry.

Almost 3 miles of original medieval town walls remain around York, more than any other city in England. In the 9th century, invading Vikings buried the original Roman defensive walls, built some 1,900 years ago, under earthen ramparts topped with wooden stakes. These in turn were replaced by the current stone walls in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the mid-19th century, the walls, which had fallen into disrepair, were restored and maintained for public access, and you can now walk along a narrow paved path at the top and enjoy outstanding views (the whole circuit takes about two hours). In spring, the remains of the Viking embankment at the base are alive with daffodils. The walls are crossed periodically by York's distinctive "bars," or fortified gates: the portcullis on Monk's Bar on Goodramgate is still in working order, and Walmgate Bar in the east is the only gate in England with an intact barbican, although one scarred by the cannonballs fired during the Civil War. Bootham Bar in Exhibition Square was the defensive bastion for the north road, and Micklegate Bar, in the city's southwest corner, was traditionally the monarch's entrance. To access the path and lookout towers, find a staircase at one of the many breaks in the walls.

Once at the heart of Leeds's decaying industrial zone, this regenerated development in the Canal Basin along the River Aire is now a trendy hub of chic bars and pleasant cafés. Granary Wharf is reached via the Dark Arches, brick railway tunnels now full of shops, where the River Aire flows under City Station.

This visitor center 10 miles north of Skipton has guidebooks, maps, and bus schedules to help you enjoy a day in Yorkshire Dales National Park. Grassington is deep in the dales on the tiny B6265, also known as the Grassington Road; buses travel here from nearby towns. It's a small stone village with stores, pubs, and cafés, so it makes a good base for exploring Upper Wharfedale. The Dales Way footpath passes through the village and in summer it becomes overwhelmed by day-trippers and hikers, but you can escape them on the many local walks.

Housed in a historic mill building that dates back to 1853 and was once the largest factory in the world, this gallery is devoted to a remarkable exhibition of over 300 works by Bradford-born artist David Hockney, including his largest work, a 295-foot painting depicting the changing seasons of his garden in Normandy during COVID-19 lockdown. The gallery also sells art materials and art books, plus there's a shopping complex, a café, and a diner in the building.

Next door to the Victorian Town Hall, Yorkshire's most impressive art museum has a strong core collection of works by Courbet, Sisley, Constable, Crome, multiple 20th-century British masters, and the internationally acclaimed Yorkshire sculptor Henry Moore, who studied at the Leeds School of Art. The graceful statue on the steps outside the gallery is Moore's Reclining Woman. More works by Moore are at the adjacent Henry Moore Institute, which also has regular exhibitions of modern sculpture. The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, underneath the Gallery, exhibits and sells fine contemporary crafts.

Haworth's steep, cobbled High Street has changed little in outward appearance since the early 19th century, but it now acts as a funnel for crowds heading for points of interest: the Black Bull pub, where the reprobate Branwell Brontë drank himself into an early grave (his stool is kept in mint condition); the former post office (now a bookshop) from which Charlotte, Emily, and Anne sent their manuscripts to their London publishers; and the church, with its atmospheric graveyard (Charlotte and Emily are buried in the family vault inside the church; Anne is buried in Scarborough).

With informative displays, Malham's National Park Centre gives you some ideas for what to see and do, both in town and in Yorkshire Dales National Park. You can also get a list of bed-and-breakfasts and pub accommodations.

This flagship visitor center of the North York Moors National Park sits on the banks of the River Esk, near Danby. There's an exhibition with interactive displays about the history, wildlife, and landscapes of the Moors, as well as a gallery with work by local artists and artisans. While parents relax in the café. children can scramble up the kids-only climbing wall or enjoy the beautiful outdoor play area.

Bradford, 10 miles west of Leeds, is known for this renowned museum that looks at the science and culture of audiovisual technologies. It's a huge and highly entertaining place, with seven galleries displaying the world's first photographic negative, the latest digital imaging, and everything in between. There are also three cinemas, including an IMAX theater, that show recent releases.

The site's original 7th-century church was destroyed by the Vikings, though its Saxon crypt (AD 672), the oldest structure in any English cathedral, remains. The Romanesque transepts of the current cathedral date from the 12th century, while the west front (circa 1220) is an outstanding example of Early English Gothic. The nave was rebuilt in 1500 in a Perpendicular Gothic style. Note the recently restored, finely carved choir stalls—one carving, of a rabbit going down a rabbit hole, is said to have inspired Lewis Carroll, whose father was a canon here.

Forget palm trees and white sand—this beach, part of the North York Moors National Park, is all about cliffs, dramatic views, and nature at its most powerful and elemental. It is scenic but deceptive—the tide rushes in quickly, so take care not to get cut off. Provided the tide is out, you can stroll away from the town for a couple of hours along a rough stone shore full of rock pools, inlets, and sandy strands (a few are suitable for sunbathers) to the curiously named Boggle Hole, 3 miles to the south, where an old water mill nestles in a ravine. Farther south is Ravenscar, a Victorian village that consists of little more than a hotel. It can be reached by walking up the cliff along a hazardous but exhilarating path. Amenities: none. Best for: walking.

Occupying a redeveloped 13-acre dockland site 15 minutes from the city center, this National Museum of Arms and Armour now houses a collection that originally began in the reign of Elizabeth I, when selected objects were displayed at the Tower of London, making it the United Kingdom's oldest museum. Four collections (the 100 Years War, the Battle of Waterloo, Arms of the First World War, and Arms from the Tower) and five themed galleries (War, Tournament, Self-Defense, Hunting, and Oriental) trace the history of weaponry through some 4,500 objects. The state-of-the-art building is stunningly designed: see a full-sized elephant in armor, models of warriors on horseback, and floor-to-ceiling tents, as well as spirited interactive displays and live jousting demonstrations. Shoot a crossbow (extra charge), direct operations on a battlefield, or experience an Elizabethan joust (around Easter and the end of August).

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saltaire was built as a model village in the mid-19th century by textile magnate Sir Titus Salt, who, aspiring to create the ideal industrial community, decided to relocate his factories from the dark mills of Bradford to the countryside. The Italianate village (the main building resembles a palazzo) is remarkably well preserved, with its former mills and houses now turned into shops, restaurants, and galleries, as well as private homes. The largest factory in the world when it was built in 1853, today it contains an art gallery, along with crafts and furniture shops.

York's best-preserved medieval street and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in all of Europe, Shambles has shops and residences in half-timber buildings with overhangs so massive you could almost reach across the narrow gap from one second-floor window to another. Once a hub of butchers (meat hooks are still fastened outside some of the doors and the street was deliberately kept narrow to prevent sun from falling on the meat), today it's mostly filled with independent shops and remains highly atmospheric.

Most visitors to this small parish church near the castle are attracted by the churchyard's most famous occupant: Anne, the youngest Brontë sister. Employed as a governess by the Robinson family, Anne accompanied her charges to Scarborough for five summers, returning again in 1849 shortly before her death from tuberculosis in the hope that the sea air would be curative. Her sister Charlotte decided to "lay the flower where it had fallen" and buried Anne above the bay she'd loved. The church itself was originally erected in 1150 and rebuilt in the 17th century.

This narrow, pedestrian-only street lined with Tudor and 18th-century storefronts retains considerable charm. First paved during Roman times (the original Roman road lies 6 feet below), it's been a central thoroughfare for almost 2,000 years. Today it's lined with interesting independent shops including upscale boutiques, jewelers, and quirky one-offs. A passage just off Stonegate, at 52A, leads to the remains of a 12th-century Norman stone house attached to a more recent structure. You can still see the old Norman wall and window.

Look out for the little red "printer's devil" at No. 33, a medieval symbol of a printer's premises. And above the doorway of No. 35 at the intersection of Stonegate and High Petergate, Minerva reclines on a stack of books, indicating they were once sold within.

East of Granary Wharf, the Calls, now the heart of Leeds's gay nightlife, has old riverfront warehouses converted into snazzy bars and restaurants that enliven the cobbled streets. The best have pleasant terraces overlooking the river.

These 200 acres of grassy parkland wrapped around Harrogate's Old Town become a riot of color in spring. Many of the mineral springs that made the town famous bubble below.

A foreboding ruined mansion perched on a bleak hilltop four miles from Haworth, Top Withens is often assumed to be the inspiration for the fictional Wuthering Heights. Brontë scholars say it probably isn't; even in its heyday, the house never fit the book's description of Heathcliff's domain. Still, it's an inspirational walk across the moors. There and back from Haworth is a 3½-hour walk along a well-marked footpath that goes past the Brontë waterfall. If you've read Wuthering Heights, you don't need to be reminded to wear sturdy shoes and protective clothing.

Southwest of the town center, these 17 acres of formal gardens include a children's boating lake, tennis courts, skate park, adventure playground, paddling pool, and a little café.