Getting around York

Public transport

First (tel: +44 1904 883 063; www.firstgroup.com/york) is York's main bus company. The Red Line 7 ‘Park and Ride’ bus travels from the York Designer Outlet to York Railway Station daily, stopping off at the city centre en route.

You can buy single tickets, day passes and weekend passes from the driver.

Taxis

There are taxi ranks at York Railway Station, one under the station portico and another in the middle of Station Road. Taxis stop in streets throughout York but two of the main taxi ranks in the city are on Piccadilly and St Saviourgate.

You can pre-book taxis from companies like Fleetways (tel: +44 1904 365 365) and Streamline Taxis (tel: +44 1904 656 565).

Driving

It’s easy to walk around York but if you choose to drive, it’s a small but busy city, so roads can be congested, especially during the rush hours. A set of wheels does give you the option, of course, to get out and see some of the surrounding countryside and stately homes.

The car parks at Bishopthorpe Road, Castle Mills, Foss Bank, Marygate, Monk Bar, Nunnery Lane, St George's Field and Union Terrace have free car parking between 0800 and 1100 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Car hire

Avis (tel: +44 844 544 6117; www.avis.co.uk), Europcar (tel: +44 371 384 3458; www.europcar.co.uk) and Hertz (tel: +44 843 309 3082; www.hertz.co.uk) all provide car hire in York.

Bicycle hire

Cycling around York is a pleasure – there are over 100km (62 miles) of cycle routes in the city centre and North Yorkshire's surrounding scenic countryside. You can hire bikes from Cycle Heaven at the railway station (tel: +44 1904 622 701; www.cycle-heaven.co.uk).