Things to see in York

Racegoers in the historic city of York can make the most of the abandonment of the first two days racing at the North of England's biggest Flat racing meeting, the Ebor Festival, by exploring the city. Parts of the Knavesmile have looked more like a duck pond than a premier horse racing track over the last few days. If you've booked the time off work and your accommodation you can still make the most of the time in York.

Thwarted racegoers can enjoy the capital of the White Rose County with the Best of York audio walking tour. Listeners to the Walk Talk Tour mp3 guided tour of York are free to stop and start their walking tour as they wish - and the weather dictates.

The Best of York podcast guided tour begins in St Helen's Square. Hear about the history of the famous Bettys Tea Shops, though nobody knows why they're called Bettys. Walk on to the Assembly Rooms, where High Society once dined and danced until the wee hours.

Walk on to the King's Manor once the headquarters of the powerful Council of the the North. If you enjoy your art, you may wish to have a look round York Art Gallery, which has the largest collection of William Etty’s paintings, sketches and much of his surviving personal correspondence.

Alternatively, continue your Walk Talk Tour iPod travel guide of York. Walk through the Museum Gardens, stopping to admire the numerous treasures on display at the Yorkshire Museum if you wish.

Walk out of the Gardens - past the remains of the fourteenth century hospitium - and over Lendal Bridge. Hear how the Rowntree family made their mark on the city, then cross back over the River Ouse via Ouse Bridge.

Visitors to York are often seduced by the quaintness of the city. Listeners to the Best of York iPod travel guide will hear about some of the darker episodes in the city's history. Hear how, in 1190, resentment and intolerance spilled over into antisemitism at Clifford's Tower. Then hear about the origins of Viking York.

The Vikings who hailed from modern day Denmark captured York in 867. They renamed the place Jorvik. They settled and York became an important trading centre, and after 886, the capital of the Danelaw. This was the Danish controlled area of England, broadly the land north and east of a line drawn between Chester and London. Listeners to the Walk Talk Tour audio city walking tour of York are free to go and have a look round the Jorvik Centre which opened almost twenty-five years ago. To make the most of your audio walking tour of York why not check out our Where & When pages which provide information about the opening times and admission charges of attractions on the Walk Talk Tour podcast guided tour of York's route.

Hear about the trade guilds that once dominated business in York at the Merchant Adventurers' Hall.

Then discover how one woman - who once lived on the picture postcard Shambles - became a martyr. To hear an audio sample from the Best of York city walking tour please click here.

There's lots to see and do in York. Enjoy a stroll down one of Europe's best preserved medieval streets, the aforementioned Shambles.

The Walk Talk Tour of York visitor guide concludes with a walk on the City's historic walls (climb the steps onto the Walls at Monk Bar and descend the steps at Bootham Bar), before guiding listeners to York Minster. Hear about the history of the Minster. Some believe the term Minster comes from the Latin monasterium, or monastery; others think it is a contraction of the words “Mission Station”, describing a ministry in which a commune of canons would go out into the diocese to spread the Christian word.

Customers purchasing the Walk Talk Tour of York from our website only pay £4.50. The Best of York audio walking tour represents excellent value for people sightseeing in groups and parties.

Don't have an iPod, MP3 player or MP3 playing device? You can still enjoy the Best of York podcast guided tour. Visitors to York can hire the Walk Talk Tour of York on a pre-loaded MP3 player from the city's two Visitor Information Centres for £5. The pre-loaded MP3 player comes complete with a disposable set of headphones and a copy of Best of York tour plan (map).