Harrogate is an ideal base for a short break, being a pretty and bustling town with lots to see and do within easy reach.  A winner in the 2004 Entente Florale Europe in Bloom contest, Harrogate takes great pride and pleasure in its floral displays.

Right opposite the Dales Hotel are the lovely Valley Gardens, and this is our favourite route to take for a stroll into town.  There is the picturesque Magnesia Well cafe where you can relax and watch the people at leisure. Within ten minutes' walk of the hotel you will find the Pump Room Museum, where you can taste the sulphur waters; the atmospheric Montpelier Quarter with its antique shops and restaurants; Betty's Cafe and the beautifully and authentically restored Turkish Baths.

Harrogate International Centre is also a pleasant ten minute walk away, as is the town centre generally.  A twenty minute walk, or less than five minute drive, will take you to the RHS Harlow Carr Gardens.

Just ten minutes' drive takes you out into open countryside where you can explore the beautiful Yorkshire Dales. Knaresborough , Ripley and Wetherby are each about a 15 minute drive away; Ripon and Fountains Abbey around 30 minutes' drive; Skipton with its well preserved castle is a 45 minute drive.