4 Best Sights in Yorkshire, England

Once at the heart of Leeds's decaying industrial zone, this regenerated development in the Canal Basin along the River Aire is now a trendy hub of chic bars and pleasant cafés. Granary Wharf is reached via the Dark Arches, brick railway tunnels now full of shops, where the River Aire flows under City Station.

York's best-preserved medieval street and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in all of Europe, Shambles has shops and residences in half-timber buildings with overhangs so massive you could almost reach across the narrow gap from one second-floor window to another. Once a hub of butchers (meat hooks are still fastened outside some of the doors and the street was deliberately kept narrow to prevent sun from falling on the meat), today it's mostly filled with independent shops and remains highly atmospheric.

This narrow, pedestrian-only street lined with Tudor and 18th-century storefronts retains considerable charm. First paved during Roman times (the original Roman road lies 6 feet below), it's been a central thoroughfare for almost 2,000 years. Today it's lined with interesting independent shops including upscale boutiques, jewelers, and quirky one-offs. A passage just off Stonegate, at 52A, leads to the remains of a 12th-century Norman stone house attached to a more recent structure. You can still see the old Norman wall and window.

Look out for the little red "printer's devil" at No. 33, a medieval symbol of a printer's premises. And above the doorway of No. 35 at the intersection of Stonegate and High Petergate, Minerva reclines on a stack of books, indicating they were once sold within.

East of Granary Wharf, the Calls, now the heart of Leeds's gay nightlife, has old riverfront warehouses converted into snazzy bars and restaurants that enliven the cobbled streets. The best have pleasant terraces overlooking the river.