The Shambles & Shambles Market
About
York's most famous street: a narrow lane of overhanging timber-framed buildings, some of them 14th and 15th century, where the upper storeys lean close enough to almost touch. It was the butchers' street, the name comes from the old word for the benches meat was sold from, and the wide sills and hooks the traders used are still visible. It is heaving by late morning in season, so come early or late. Directly beside it, Shambles Market runs every day from 9am to 5pm with 75-plus independent stalls and a 30-stall food court, which is the cheapest good lunch in the city centre.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Overhanging timber-framed buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries
- ✓Butchers' sills and meat hooks still visible on the shopfronts
- ✓Shambles Market: 75+ independent stalls, daily 09:00-17:00
- ✓The food court, the best cheap lunch in the walled city
Tips
- →Go before 10am for the street without the crowds; it is genuinely shoulder to shoulder by midday in season.
- →The snickelways (medieval alleys) around the Shambles reward wandering; look for the entrance to tiny Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, York's shortest street.
- →Market stalls take contactless payment; the food court seats fill fast at lunchtime.
Best Season
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