YORK has been narrowly pipped in a contest to find the best big city in the UK to visit for a city break.

The city came in joint second place with Liverpool - just behind Edinburgh -in a survey organised by the consumer organisation Which?

Members of Which? were asked in December to rate cities in the UK which they had stayed in for leisure purposes during the previous year.

More than 4,400 members took part in the survey, telling of their highlights and saying what visitors should avoid.

Each city's score was based on overall satisfaction and how likely members were to recommend a destination to a friend, and only cities which had been visited by at least 30 members were included.

York and Liverpool scored a total of 89 per cent, just one per cent short of the Scottish capital's 90 per cent.

York won five stars for its 'cultural sights and tourist attractions,' and 'ease of getting around,' and four stars for 'food and drink' and 'shopping.'

The city was considered to be in the 'big city' category as its population was over 200,000. Other cathedral cities which might be considered rivals to York, such as Chester, Exeter, Durham, Bath and Ripon, were in the 'small cities' category, which was won by Wells with 93 per cent. Ripon came third from bottom with 64 per cent.

Kate McMullen, Head of Visit York, said she was delighted by its position in the survey, because Which? prided itself on putting the consumer at the core of all of its activity.

"Whilst York was pipped to the top spot by Edinburgh, there’s just one point in it and so this vote signals a huge vote of confidence in York as one of the nation’s favourite city break destinations alongside Edinburgh.

"Our world-class attractions, year round festivals, growing food and drink scene and shops all scored highly with voters and that’s fantastic news for York."