Take the walk around York on the old wall. It is fantastic. Expect to do it in 3-4 days if you have children.

Lovely place place, especially the old town and the Minster is a must (biggest cathedral north of the Alps), Park and go system to get into town, with free car parks and very cheap bus bringing you right to the city center. Must see the Shambles and its little shops and walk around on the old city walls. Jorvik museum is fun for kids but kind of limited for adults. Don't overlook the national rail museum which is free and very interesting. Good for shopping as well and full of nice little streets and parks (with squirrels!), especially the one around the cathedral.

well, york was one of my most exciting places. first, for york, the cathedral is at the center of life!! yet for me it was personal too. the current archbishop of york, whos the number two in the church of england is from uganda. so i was very excited to see this place. also, importantly i was excited to have an experience of english history cuase york was an all important town in english history cuase of the church and yorkshire as a whole. yorkshire is sort of like the heart of england, tons of history!! the city didn't disappoint, to put it mildly! awesome place, with everything for everyone! history for the history buff, and the trendiest joints for the trendy ones! totally awesome to cut a long story short.