Viking capital, Roman walls, Minster spires — England compressed into one city
York is the most historically layered city in England — Roman Eboracum, Viking Jorvik, medieval capital of the North, and home to the second-greatest Gothic cathedral in the British Isles. The intact city walls (the longest in England), the Shambles (Europe's best-preserved medieval street), and the National Railway Museum make it a UNESCO aspirant and one of the UK's most visited cities outside London.
Founded as a Roman fortress in 71 CE, York became the capital of Roman Britain's northern province and the place where Constantine the Great was proclaimed emperor in 306 CE. The Vikings captured it in 866 CE and renamed it Jorvik, establishing one of northern Europe's largest trading cities. Under the Normans and medieval English kings, York was effectively England's second city — the seat of an archbishop who once crowned kings and the hub of the wool trade that financed the Minster's construction over 252 years.