Holidays and history make this city of Lincoln a British star

Film director Ron Howard called the city of Lincoln “beautiful, absolutely gorgeous and friendly.” He was speaking not of the city in Nebraska nor of the one in Illinois but the one in England, a two-hour train ride northeast of London.

At the holidays, it is a ride well worth taking. For historians, it is a ride always worth taking.

Howard became acquainted with the city because parts of it appeared in the 2006 movie “The Da Vinci Code,” which he directed.

Lincoln Cathedral, on which construction began in 1185, stood in for London’s Westminster Abbey in the Tom Hanks-Audrey Tautou thriller based on the novel by Dan Brown.

The city beckons not only for its towering cathedral -- it was the world’s tallest building for more than 300 years -- but also for the Christmas Market held in its shadow.

A short walk leads visitors to Lincoln Castle, home of one of the few surviving copies of the Magna Carta, one of the world’s first documents to define a person’s rights.

The Advent season springs to life through a variety of events and services at Lincoln Cathedral.

The Nov. 21 performance of Handel’s Messiah is sold out, but tickets are still available for “Christmas by Candlelight,” a concert by popular British vocal group G4 on Nov. 25.

The cathedral will host a less traditional concert on Dec. 10 when singer Ian Anderson of the rock band Jethro Tull performs a benefit concert. All proceeds will be used to help maintain the historic house of worship.

A full list of activities is posted online.

Allow time to visit the 11th century Lincoln Castle. Impressive in its own right, it’s a “can’t miss” attraction because the Magna Carta, the charter that paved the way for documents such the U.S. Constitution, can be viewed in the castle’s vault.

A new visitor center, built to celebrate the document’s 800th anniversary in 2015, interprets the Magna Carta in modern English.

The medieval square that separates the castle from the cathedral is the setting for the festive Christmas Market Dec. 3-6. Buskers and other performers will stroll past the 250 stalls stocked with food plus holiday crafts and gifts.

The annual event draws about 250,000 visitors.

Info: Visit Lincoln

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