Visitor Information for York Castle Museum

Visitor Information

Click here to view a map of the museum.

Open Monday, 11am*-5pm and Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-5pm

*During the school holidays, we are open from 10am on Mondays.

Pre-booking on Saturdays advised

Please note we may take longer than usual to respond to enquiries over the January period. We will do our best to get back to all enquiries as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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The Fashion Gallery will have some routine collections cleaning taking place on 13 and 23 January. Barriers will be in place while this work is being carried out. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to your visit.

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Admission

Click here for more information and to book tickets.

York Museums Trust works to share our heritage in a safe and welcoming environment for all staff and visitors. The money we raise through ticket sales is invested back into our museums, gallery, gardens, activities and collections. We ask visitors not to share discriminatory views or behaviours. Please respect our buildings, exhibitions and galleries, including those who are visiting and enjoying them and those who are working within them.

Can I cancel my booking?

We will issue a full refund if:

If you have booked the wrong time and date but have rebooked with a new time we will refund the booking made in error

We are unable to offer refunds for:

Late arrivals / missed visits
Tickets booked for the wrong date without proof of a second booking

Please see our latest risk assessment here.

Bags and Luggage

Please note that large luggage and bags cannot be taken onto the museum’s galleries, and that all wheeled luggage must be carried.

We don’t have any facilities to hold luggage and bags when visiting the site. We recommend the use of Yorbag for any luggage storage needs. If you have purchased a ticket to the museum, you can get 20% discount at Yorbag when you show your ticket.

Café

Our café is run by an independent partner and serves drinks, cakes, and cold sandwiches. It is open from 10:30am-3:30pm everyday.

How to Find Us

Eye of York, York, YO1 9RY (If you are using a SatNav, please enter this alternative postcode – YO1 9WD)

York Castle Museum is in the centre of York, close to Clifford’s Tower and the Coppergate Shopping Centre.

Parking & Public Transport

York Castle Museum takes approximately 20 to 25 minutes to walk to from York Railway Station – follow the green pedestrian signs to the ‘Castle Area’.

The nearest bus stop is on Tower Street where the number 3 bus stops. This is within 150m (164yds) of the museum. There are several other bus stops nearby. For more information visit www.itravelyork.info/buses.

You might also want to make use of the city’s park and ride service.

The nearest car park is the Castle car park next to Clifford’s Tower. For more car parking information visit www.yorklive.info.

Accessibility

The main entrance area is fully accessible. The museum is divided in half, one building over three floors and one over two, linked by several staircases. There are handrails on all the stairs and seating is available around the museum.

The ground floor is fully accessible on one side of the building, which includes York Castle Prison and The Sixties exhibitions. The Victorian Street, which takes up the other side of the ground floor, is accessible via a wheelchair ramp.

The upper floors of the left-hand side of the building are unfortunately not wheelchair accessible – this includes the Shaping the Body exhibition, Toy Stories exhibition and Period Room displays.

A lift provides access to the upper floors on the right-hand side of the building, which includes the 1914: When the World Changed Forever exhibition. Please note that due to fire evacuation requirements, the exhibition can only allow access to two wheelchair users at a time.

The exercise yard outside the back of the museum close to the York Castle Prison area is fully accessible, this includes our Mill and Riverside area’

Click here for more information on accessibility.

Toilets

There are two main toilet facilities in the museum both on the ground floor. These can be found on the Victorian Street and also near the Prison Cells. There is one accessible toilet in this area with baby changing facilities.

Families

Pushchairs cannot be taken into galleries. A ‘buggy park’ and a choice of baby carriers are available free of charge. It is requested that pushchairs are folded in order to allow more space for other visitors’ pushchairs. Bags and coats should not be left with pushchairs. For more information please visit our Families page.

Animals

Please see our Access page for more information.

Photography

Photography for personal use is allowed around the museum, but there may be restrictions during special exhibitions and the use of tripods may be restricted when busy. Please seek permission in writing from the Museum Manager if you wish to take film/video footage for personal use.

For information on publishing images of our collection and building please contact our Enquiries department. We also offer copyright-free images via our online collections. Visit our image policy and requests page for details.

Support York Museums Trust

Our collections are of national and international importance, and our museum welcomes thousands of visitors each year.

York Museums Trust is a registered charity set up to care for the city’s art and heritage and develop them for future generations.

Donations, endowments and bequests of any size are welcomed – any gift makes a difference.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit our Donations page.

Visiting York

For more information on visiting York please click here to view the Visit York Visitor Guide.