Tour of York - Saints and Sinners

*IMPORTANT NOTE: This tour is offered in ONE LANGUAGE ONLY. Please make sure you BOOK THE CORRECT LANGUAGE on the day that it is available.

The Saints and Sinners Tour looks at the history of York through the eyes of those who shaped it.
Meet the King, the Bishop, the Highwayman, the Chocolatier, the Martyr, the Terrorist, the Emperor, and the Artist.
Do you know their names? What do you know about their lives? Where can you find their traces in the city? Were they really saints… Or sinners..?

I am your guide: Irene, an art historian born in Madrid and living in York for the last seven years.
Join me on a fascinating walk around York to discover all this and more!

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Micklegate Bar, 27 Micklegate, York YO1 6JH England

We will meet in front of Micklegate Bar, inside the city walls. There we will talk about the first of our "sinners": the most infamous king in English history... Was he a monster, or a hero? A murderer, or a pious man who did his duty?

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Ouse Bridge, Bridge Street, York YO1 9QU England

We will stand on Ouse Bridge, the place where our first saint performed an incredible miracle! It is also where another saint, whom we will talk about later on, was executed for her faith...

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Clifford's Tower, Tower Street, York YO1 9SA England

Clifford's Tower is all that is left of York's Castle. For decades it was also part of York's prison, and its most famous inmate is our second sinner: the most well-known highwayman in England... Did he really ride from London to York in just one day!?

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: York Castle Museum, Eye of York Tower St, York YO1 9RY England

Once York's prison, today a wonderful museum of Yorkshire's social history from the 1500s to today.

Pass By: Jorvik Viking Centre, 19 Coppergate Coppergate Shopping Centre, York YO1 9WT England

A museum where you can go for a ride through an old Viking village and learn about York (Jorvik)'s past.

Stop At: Parliament Street, York YO1 8SG England

We stop at the end of one of York's busiest shopping streets to look at the old house of our second "saint", whose name is synonymous with chocolate. But he didn't make people's lives sweeter only with his products; he also did so with his actions and beliefs.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: 11 Shambles, York YO1 7LZ England

Arguably the most well-known street in the city, we will stop here to talk about York's most famous martyr: the butcher's wife who lived here and was executed on Ouse Bridge for her Catholic faith.
*PLEASE NOTE* as Shambles is a very narrow street and usually very busy, we will take a detour instead of going up it. You can explore it at your leisure in your own time.

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: York's Chocolate Story, King's Square, York YO1 7LD England

A fun museum where you can learn everything about York's chocolatey history, and even make a chocolate lolly yourself!

Stop At: St. Michael le Belfrey Church, High Petergate, York YO1 7EN England

The church where our third sinner, the most famous terrorist of all time, was baptised. He could have changed the course of England's (and Europe's) history had he not been discovered. Remember, remember...

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Statue of Constantine the Great, York Minster, York England

Our fourth and last "saint", Constantine the Great, was proclaimed emperor in York, where we can see his statue today. He changed the course of history and religion forever, but was he really a Christian himself..?

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: York Minster, Minster Yard Deangate, York YO1 7HH England

The greatest landmark of the city of York is its magnificent Gothic minster, whose origins date back to the 7th century.

Stop At: Exhibition Square, York England

We finish our tour in Exhibition Square, a very appropriate name for the place where the York Art Gallery stands. Here we will meet our last "sinner": an artist whose life was shrouded in admiration and controversy in equal parts... And who saved the York walls from destruction.

Duration: 10 minutes

Pass By: York Art Gallery, Exhibition Square, York YO1 7EW England

Home of the CoCA (Centre of Ceramic Art), the biggest and most complete collection of British contemporary ceramics. It also has an extensive collection of paintings - most of which are not on display - and hosts temporary exhibitions periodically.

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.