Christmas in York by Ferry

Upon request by many we are organising an weekend Christmas cruise to York in Northern England with P&O Ferries. York is a wonderful historic town with a beautiful city center. In fact, it is even called “Britain’s most beautiful town” by Bing. Not only is the destination itself great, but this time we travel as a group by overnight ferry, so it’s also a lot of fun as we’ll organise a group dinner on board, a socialising event in the bar and of course show our moves on the dance floor. And to make it even more interesting, we will visit one of England’s very best Christmas Markets! Note we have spots for only 40 people, so don’t delay your reservation.

This awesome Christmas trip takes place from Friday 17 November late afternoon (16h30) until Sunday 19 November with a scheduled return at noon in Brussels. So it is not even necessary to take a day off, but maybe you have to leave 1 or 2 hours early. Just come directly after work to the Place Schuman pick up point. We will travel by P&O overnight ferry from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull, and also return to Rotterdam. Just FYI, P&O also sails from Seabruges to Hull, but we consider Rotterdam Europoort a better option due to the later departure time on Friday, as well as the earlier arrival on Saturday morning in Hull and later departure on Saturday evening from Hull. This means we can leave later on Friday, and also enjoy considerable more time in England. Besides these boats are larger and newer, so it’s all in our favour!

About York
Few cities in England are as old as York. Founded in 71 AD by the Romans, it quickly became an important regional capital. That importance grew through the middle ages when it was chosen as one of the main centres for the Church of England. It grew as a city due to wool trading. During the industrialisation the city was transformed into one of the countries primary railway hubs with the confectionary industry being one of the foremast blossoming sectors. With about 200.000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area, York is nowadays especially known for its university, the health care industry and local tourism. And for tourists, there is definitely a lot to see!

The highly-acclaimed York Railway Museum where you can see England’s history through a rail-perspective. It’s the largest rail museum in the world!


What is the next part of town you would like to visit?



Typical English houses and gardens

After the guided tour you are invited to join us for a nice typical local Christmas meal in a great local restaurant. We don’t know where we will have lunch yet, but you can indicate whether you would like to join upon checkout. We always try to search for a great restaurant with a good price-quality ratio.

Visit the York Minster
No doubt the highlight of our visit to York will be the visit of the famous York Minster. We leave it up to you if you would like to visit this church inside. The entrance fee is 10 GBP or 15 GBP including the ascent to the tower. Both fees include a guided tour (upon availability). The entrance fee is meant to cover the very high operating costs of the Minster (21.000 GBP per day).

Christmas markets
After lunch, or eventually already after the guided tour, you will have a lot of free time to visit any of the main tourist attractions in town. However, you are also more than welcome to hit the Christmas markets. Traditional chalets shine out from their positions along Parliament Street, St Sampson’s Square and The Judge’s Lodging, where Small Business Christmas will be taking place with stalls selling locally-made handcrafted gifts. Explore Davygate and Coppergate for inspired gift and stocking filler ideas or find local flavour at York’s famous Shambles Market. Thor’s Tipi is back on Parliament Street after a popular first season. Cosy up around a log fire and enjoy a hot chocolate or something stronger. There’s mulled wine, Christmas cocktails and draft ales available from an independent licensed bar.

For this trip you require a valid passport, eventually in combination with a U.K. visa.