YORK is one of those places where you are guaranteed to discover something new every time you visit.

If your marriage, for example, is in trouble, then the city’s stunning Minister might just be the tonic required to give your love life the perfect boost...

There you can locate the west window, part of which features a heart just above the stained medieval glass panels. Nothing extraordinary there, you may think, but kiss your loved one below this ‘beating’ symbol of love and you are guaranteed wedded bless to the end of your days!

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: York Minster has a symbol of love in its stained glass York Minster has a symbol of love in its stained glass (Image: Alan Kee)

And, in that one tale, York reveals itself as the storyteller’s paradise; once Rome’s home in the north, the Vikings’ earthly Valhalla when it was Jorvik, and now, not only a ‘must see’ for anyone either living in or visiting the UK, but a place where you can get punch drunk on historical facts or fat on the calorific offerings of its wonderful eateries!

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Jorvik is a journey into the city's Viking past Jorvik is a journey into the city's Viking past (Image: Alan Kee)

I had been invited to sample the hospitality of two hotels including York’s only 5* property in the city, the former headquarters building of the North Eastern Railway Company but now the Grade II Grand Hotel on Station Rise.

Perfectly located for all major attractions it has its own story: four beehives on the roof which not only supply honey to its award-winning fine dining restaurant, Legacy, but the hives’ winged occupants also help fund ‘bee’ education on Kome Island, Tanzania.

The Grand’s bees are twinned with their African counterparts and £1 is donated from the sale of each ‘Straight from the Hive’ honey-tinged cocktail sold at the hotel’s opulent bars.

However, with limited time to linger in the hotel lounge, we were quickly on our way and thankful for our ‘all entry’ Visit York passes, which fast-track you around the city’s attractions with all the dexterity of a skateboarder on a newly paved precinct!

First stop St Mary’s Abbey, Castlegate where you can visit the truly stunning Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience York.

The Dutch master was dead at 37 but, during his short life, produced more than 2,000 paintings, selling just one whilst he was alive. Now, many not only sell for upwards of £60m, but you can see hundreds of them projected onto the walls of this ancient church as you watch the artist’s life pass before you in pictures. Truly amazing.

Round the corner another York tale waits to be told: the story of Joseph Rowntree at York’s Chocolate Story, where we made lollipops, ate our bodyweight in free samples, and tried to prove that we were confectionary connoisseurs, whilst endeavouring to set a new world record for chocolate gobbling!

Another big reveal was about to happen. “Did you know that George Cadbury served his apprenticeship at Rowntree’s before setting up his model village in Bournville Birmingham?” asked our guide.

Murmurings of betrayal made his head prime candidate for display at Micklegate Bar and ‘traitor’s gate’.

Minutes later we just had time to take in a bird’s eye view of York courtesy of English Heritage’s Clifford’s Tower, originally built to subdue the rebellious north by William the Conqueror, but now home to an amazing 360-degree roof deck with stunning vistas of the city.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Historic Clifford's Tower Historic Clifford's Tower (Image: Alan Kee)

Then it was dinner at the Fat Badger, a traditional Yorkshire pub just within the city walls with a gin list as long as your arm, but not before we had checked out of the Grand Hotel and into the Hotel Indigo on historic Walmgate.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The Fat Badger, a traditional York pub in the city walls The Fat Badger, a traditional York pub in the city walls (Image: Alan Kee)

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Hotel Indigo has a nod to the city's confectionery heritage Hotel Indigo has a nod to the city's confectionery heritage (Image: Alan Kee)

The hotel is another hidden treasure, where York’s chocolate heritage is celebrated with award-winning design with dark chocolate shaped panelling, antique ‘jelly mould’ lampshades and ‘Smartie’ cushion covers!

Next day, following a hearty breakfast, The York Dungeon tested the strength of our marriage which survived (just!) and we just had time to take in the joys of the Yorkshire Museum, where you can learn about the ‘York Helmet’, just one of six to survive from Anglo Saxon Britain, and the story of archaeologist Mary Anning, one of the world’s most significant scientists, lost to history because of male attitudes in Victorian England.

As we left York for Leeds and home, Van Gogh’s words echoed in my mind: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The stunning Van Gogh Immersive Experience in York The stunning Van Gogh Immersive Experience in York (Image: Alan Kee)

We personally had done so much in such a short time, been treated like Royalty by York’s Grand Hotel and its sister property, the Hotel Indigo.

But, more than that, we were in possession of a clutch of stories supplied by one of the world’s greatest cities, each guaranteed to further enrich our lives.

Would me and the Mrs live happily ever after? Most probably: after all we had had a secret kiss under the Minster’s west window and its stone heart above!

* Grand Hotel: www.thegrandyork.co.uk

Hotel Indigo: www.hotelindigoyork.com

Visit York Pass: Starts at £59 a day for adults and £35 for children.

Visit www.visityork.org