York, England

Show me a town that feels like a trip that goes hundreds of years back in time, and I'll show you a tourist attraction. In this case, I'll show you York.

It was called Eboracum when it was founded in 71 A.D. and was almost at the northern edge of the Roman Empire. The Vikings later took it over and called it Jorvik. They exited around the year of 954. It later became one of the biggest cities of Northern England, a center of culture and religion. Later York became a major railway hub, and it suffered from a bombing raid during World War II that required about 20 years of repairs.

The population consists of about 200,000 people, and the most familiar name to Americans among native sons and daughters is actress Judi Dench. The old town contains a lot of nightlife, partly in the form of pubs. We were warned when we arrived at a York hotel that the nights can be late there. Sure enough, the loud conversation outside of our hotel room woke us up at 4:08 a.m. one night. 

Yet there is plenty of old-world civility too. For example, the photo shows the Grays Court and Restaurant from the perspective of the City Walls. It's only a hundred yards from the York Minster (behind it), and it seems like a very pleasant place for food and/or drink.