Les meilleurs hôtels à Lancaster

Lancashire boasts Europe's most popular seaside resort. That would be Blackpool (pop. 147,000), on the Irish Sea coast of this county in North West England. With the usual seashore accommodations, Blackpool features Pleasure Beach amusement park and the autumn Illuminations light extravaganza that has been billed as "the greatest free show on earth." Lancashire is nicknamed "The Red Rose County," but historically it's known as a textile centre. Blackburn was a cotton weaving hub and home to a man named Hargreaves, who invented the Spinning Jenny. With Lancaster University and the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, education is another prominent regional enterprise. To the north, on the River Lune, lies the historic county town of Lancaster. Its forboding Norman Castle is still used as a prison and features the infamous Hadrian's Tower -- a place of torture and Great Britain's all-time leader in the serving of death sentences. On a cheerier note, Lancaster is home to bustling markets, Georgian streets, and you can rent boats to navigate a canal that threads through the city. Lancashire's outlying areas are also worth a visit. They include the West Pennines hill country and the Ribble Valley, where a pub hike from the village of Clitheroe to Samlesbury is one of many recreational options.