Sitting in Coffee Culture, a cosy independent cafe in York's Goodramgate (which dates back 1,100 years to the Viking age), novelist Pamela Hartshorne is forthright about her adopted city: "I came back from Australia in 1986 after reading historical novels set in York," she says. "It is undoubtedly the best place in England for them."

That's a big claim. What about Chester, Bath or London? Hartshorne pulls from her bag a 1610 map of York showing a maze of narrow streets around the 13th-century Minster. "Look at this. The street plan is almost the same as today, so you're walking the same paths as people have done for centuries. It's great to explore all the narrow snickets and alleyways."

She is the author of Time's Echo, one of the many historical novels set in the city, which include CJ Sansom's 2006 bestseller Sovereign and – the book that inspired Hartshorne – The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman.

"The Minster Library has fantastic continuous records going back to the 15th century – a real boon for an author," says Hartshorne. And, with all this history seeping into its stones, it's no surprise that the supernatural is a constant, too. "Oh, there are plenty of ghosts," she says. "Even my dentist's surgery is haunted."

• What to see: York Minster (0844 939 0011, yorkminster.org, tower and minster £14 adult, £3.50 child)