Shambles Market Reviews Summary

Market Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Great all round street market with a good selection of independent stalls."
• "Always nice for a mooch round."
• "Wonderfully unique and full of character."
• "Absolutely stunning place! Takes you instantly back in time."
• "The Shambles Market in York offers a vibrant and diverse shopping experience."

Cons:

• "Very busy when we went queues outside most shops."
• "It's good the first few times but it's extremely crowded and I've got to say- not at all good for social distancing with Covid... far too small and the number of tourists on the street at one time isn't controlled and gets very packed."
• "However - DO NOT GO around Christmas. Awful experience today, way too many people, it felt so overwhelming and there’s no crowd control."
• "The area around the market is quite narrow streets and is rammed during the day."
• "It gets very crowded!!"

Accessibility

Pros:

• "There is disabled access to the front."
• "Wheelchair users may need to make themselves known to other visitors who might be looking at the stalls and not where they are going."
• "The market itself is fine for wheelchairs as it is all flat."
• "Accessible toilets close by although part of the area around the market is cobbled so can be quite difficult for wheelchair users."
• "The market round the back is fully accessible and has a wonderful range of places to eat."

Cons:

• "Cobbled road and narrow stairways make it inaccessible if you are wheelchair bound."
• "The actual street itself is basically too old to navigate in a wheelchair but you might have success."
• "Parking can be hard to find so we opt for NCP."
• "It is cobbled uneven so watch out if you're not too great on your feet."
• "Just one word of advice there are not many public toilets and you do have to pay to use the park and ride the parking is expensive and very limited especially if you are disabled."

Food and Shopping Options

Pros:

• "Recommend the breakfast/snack bar in the corner near the shambles for decent food at reasonable prices served with a smile."
• "Definitely recommend the hot dogs and coffees at the market."
• "There's food stalls from all over the world and they're all good."
• "Great variety of hot food and hot drinks. Fab atmosphere."
• "Shambles market is definitely worth a visit. It has a great selection of stalls but the best bit is the food."

Cons:

• "Full of shops selling overpriced tat."
• "The markets got some great food but it's quite costly and the quality of goods is mediocre."
• "The market itself has a couple of fruit and veg stalls, a butchers and fishmonger, the rest is mostly overpriced tat."
• "Lunch for four of us was £80+ and pretty average."
• "Some great socks but apart from that overpriced & unoriginal."

Historical and Cultural Experience

Pros:

• "Walking through York's Shambles is like stepping back in time with buildings dating from medieval times."
• "York's historic Shambles, dating back to medieval times, is very popular with Harry Potter fans from around the world."
• "The narrow cobbled street is as enchanting as the the Elizabethan houses with their uneven timber frames, some of which date back to the fourteenth century."
• "Great atmosphere and the main shambles street looks like diagon alley from Harry Potter, great tourist area."
• "Love little street brimming with history and life - Diagon Alley from Harry Potter is based off of Shambles."

Cons:

• "It's unfortunate York has become such a tourist focused city, with most stores doing their best to rip them off."
• "The place has no atmosphere."
• "Its rapidly losing its magic and mystic vibes."
• "Lovely street spoilt by the tourist shops."
• "Huge queues to get into aforementioned tat shops."