York is one of those perfect storms of tourism…loads of history mixed with lashings of man-made attractions to suck you in and keep you entertained for days; top it off with plenty of local and non-local food and drink to keep you sustained during your stay and what you have is Ye Olde Worlde Disneye Lande. You can encounter dinosaurs at Yorkshire’s jurassic world (Yorkshire Museum); meet the vikings that invaded the country, who decided to stay for the great weather and founded this city back in the 9th century (Jorvik); stroll along the Victorian streets of the Castle Museum; experience the romance of the railways at the most excellent National Railway Museum (one of Matt’s favourite’s as a child that made him the anorak that he is today); and then buying the magic T-shirt (or wand) from one of the many Harry Potter themed shops along the Shambles. After a full day you can fill your evening with a bit of Shakespeare at the Rose Theatre and finish your day with a bit of a ghost walk in what is reputed to be one of England’s most haunted cities…plenty of options here and if you want to carry on with the Harry Potter theme you can catch the Ghost Bus Tour.
However, when you only have 4 hours to visit this city then sadly you will get little chance to do all of this 
as queuing and visiting just one of these sites will probably take your whole time. Rather, what we recommend (if you are on a side trip from a wedding as we were) is to spend your time soaking up the historical sites and getting lost wandering along the maze of streets – finding hidden corners of the city and sometimes a quiet spot away from the tourist hordes outside. Our first stop was to be the aforementioned Shambles, get here 
early to capture an uncrowded picture of this centuries old street (Shambles said to be an old word for meat market) that was said to be the inspiration for Diagon alley in Harry Potter. Get brunch on the run with a pie from Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe, that has a great selection of tasty pies at a really good price; up to the Minster to picture its centuries old facade looming over the narrow streets below, but you’ll find a very long queue to get in so detour past the entrance and detour into the garden of the Treasurer’s house and try your hand at a spot of croquet. Hidden behind 
Goodramgate is the infinitely quaint Holy Trinity Church Goodramgate for some blissful peace from the crowds outside and a chance to see an English country church in the middle of a busy city, staffed by a wonderful group of volunteers who are only too happy to tell you about this beautiful church and even give you a hammer to hit the bell of peace with. Next, plan for for a bit of a loop on the city walls to get some great pictures of the city and the Minster from afar…enter at the Micklegate Bar and head Northwest along the walls to find these views. Dropping back down along the river you can nip into the Church of All Saints North Street for another oasis of tranquility in the city (not to be confused with the ‘church’ next door – Jalou – that is in fact a club and bar!). Finally take one last look at the Shambles and see how much busier things have become since earlier in the day and pat yourself on the back for getting up early in the morning. Reward yourself with a nice cream tea at the mock twee Newgate Coffee Bar on New Street just round the corner from the Shambles.
4 hours is nowhere near long enough for this city, but as they say, to have loved and lost is better than to have never loved at all…so take what time you can get here, but if possible do give yourself at least a few days and make sure you book the top sites in advance to avoid the queues.. Enjoy!