Whitby

A scenic seaside town with a Gothic edge, Whitby is a busy tourist hub, but it handles that fact so well you might not notice (except at dinnertime, when it's hard to get a seat in a restaurant). Whitby curves around its symmetrical harbor and winds its way up the cliffs. The glassy waters of the slow-moving River Esk cut through the town. Fine Georgian houses dominate the west side of the river (known as West Cliff), and across the swing bridge smaller 17th-century buildings mark the old town (known as East Cliff). Here cobbled Church Street is packed in summer with people exploring the shop-lined alleyways.