It's the serene walled city with a bounty of medieval sights and a Gothic gem of a cathedral at its heart.

Now York has another feather to add to its cap after being voted the safest city to visit in the world.

A poll of over 2,000 UK adults put the historic metropolis - which lies at the convergence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire - at top of the list of secure travel destinations.

Seventy two percent of those questioned felt that York was an actively safe destination, with only 1% classing it as "risky", in the survey conducted by Post Office Travel Insurance (the remaining 27% of people had no view on the city either way). 

The regal Georgian spa town of Bath, the home place of Jane Austen, was voted the next safest city in the world, with 69% of those questioned ranking it as safe, and only 2% regarding it as risky.

Attractions in the city include the famous Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent and a chance to sample the locally brewed Abbey Ales. 

The Scottish capital of Edinburgh came third on the shortlist of the world's safest cities, with 69% of people rating it as safe and just 3% describing it as risky. 

Visitors can pick from a wealth of delights here, from perusing independent boutiques on Princes Street to exploring the city's slew of ethereal castles. 

Other European cities to make the world's top 10 safest cities in the poll include the ever-popular Italian hot spot for romance, Venice, the Swedish capital Stockholm and the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Cairo was found to be the world's most dangerous place to visit, according to the survey. Fifty six percent of those polled described the Egyptian capital - which has been rocked by regime change and revolution sparked by the Arab Spring in recent years - as risky, while only 7% saw it as safe.

The Thai capital Bangkok, the Turkish city of Istanbul and Marrakech in Morocco came next on the list of the world's least safe cities, based on a selection of world city names shown to those polled. 

Meanwhile, the UK capital London failed to make the top ten shortlist of the world's safest cities. Fifty six percent deemed the capital safe but a further 16% regarded it as risky.

Feelings of safety are, of course, quite subjective and difficult to quantify.

Being "safe" in the study (as opposed to "risky") qualified as feeling more secure, and less vulnerable to crime. 

Among those questioned, a stolen wallet was ranked as the most common problem on city breaks. As many as 26% also felt they had been ripped off on city visits, with this figure rising to 43% among those aged 18-24.

See a list of the top ten safest destinations, based on the percentage of people who voted for them, below (this data excludes the percentage of people who were "don't knows"):

York 72% 

Bath 69% 

Edinburgh 69% 

Brighton 62% 

Venice 59% 

Vienna 58% 

Dublin 58% 

Florence 56% 

Stockholm 56% 

Copenhagen 54% 

Photos: Rex Features