York's turbulent history can be traced back nearly 2,000 years. It begins in earnest in AD71 when the Romans, at the height of their powers, conquered the Celtic tribes known as the Brigantes and founded Eboracum which, by the fourth century, was the capital of lower Britain.

In the seventh century, known as Eoferwic, it was the chief city of the Anglo-Saxon King Edwin of Northumbria and, two centuries later as Jorvik, it became an important trading centre for the Vikings.

The city was ravaged by William the Conqueror, but by the Middle Ages it had again become an important commercial centre.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Tudor and Stuart kings were among its visitors, in Georgian times it was the social capital of the north, and in the 19th century, with the coming of the railway, its industrial future was assured.

Today, while trade and industry are still important, it is the preservation of its long and varied history which has brought it world fame. For here, visitors can not only hear about England's history, they can actually see it and walk in it.

York is truly ageless - a city for all time and all people.