The Shambles, York, England

The Shambles is the most famous medieval street in the United Kingdom and certainly one of the best-preserved in Europe. It’s a small street in York city.

It takes its name from the word “Shamel”, meaning the stalls or benches displayed on the meat. In the old days, The Shambles was considered a butcher street, butcher shops were located along the busy street, but now there are no shops. Currently, you can only see many stores such as bookshops, gift shops, coffee shops, sweet shops, etc. Many visitors come to this road to admire the medieval buildings with timber-framed buildings of all sizes lying side by side, some dating back to the 14th century. Moreover, one building of note in The Shambles is the shrine of Margaret Clitherow, an English saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, known as “the Pearl of York”. She was married to a wealthy butcher with premises on The Shambles.

In 2010, The Shambles - the medieval street, after beating many other beautiful and splendid neighborhoods, won the title of "the most beautiful street in the United Kingdom".