York Guides

Paul Jeeves (Yorkshire Post)
ONE of America's most esteemed travel broadcasters, whose programmes reach more than 100m US households, has been filming in York, following a slump in visitors from across the Atlantic.

Rick Steves selected York as one of his top locations for a holiday in Europe and spent the weekend at some of its most popular tourist attractions. The best-selling author has compiled an extensive collection of guidebooks about Europe for the American market and his shows are broadcast on more than 300 public television stations in the US.
Mr Steves said: "York competes with the capital, and my job is about trying to let people get out of London and enjoy the rest of Britain.
"York has such a wonderful montage of layers and it has way more visitor sites than many other cities its size."
His new 13-part series, Rick Steves' Europe, is exp-ected to be screened from September next year.
The number of American visitors to York fell sharply after the September 11 terrorist strikes but has now increased and tourism managers are hopeful that the show will aid the recovery.
Total visitor numbers this year from both Britain and overseas have fallen amid a downturn in consumer spending and holidaymakers taking advantage of cheap city breaks abroad.
But Mr Steves was adamant that it was the high cost of living in Britain that was keeping American tourists away rather than any perceived threat of terrorism.
He said: "Britain, in my opinion, is one of the most expensive places in Europe and that has had a big impact. American tourism is booming in Italy and France and that is because it is a lot cheaper there.
"It is difficult to find a decent hotel in London for less than $150 (£80) a night, whereas in Italy it is half that price."
Last Wednesday scenes were shot in York for the sequel to last year's Garfield movie. The Hollywood camera crew moved on to Castle Howard on Thursday and Friday as part of the filming schedule for the movie about the perennially lazy cartoon-strip cat.
York Tourism Bureau public relations manager Kay Hyde said: "We're enjoying a great deal of success in attracting film crews to York and we're working closely with the city council to make York the most film-friendly city in the UK."