Why go

The Yorkshire Museum and York Museum Gardens make a good pairing in the north-west corner of the city centre, between the River Ouse and the city walls. The museum covers archaeology and natural history, from Roman and Viking York to Yorkshire’s Jurassic past. The gardens around it are free, open every day, and hold some of the most picturesque ruins in York, those of St Mary’s Abbey, along with a stretch of Roman fortress wall.

What to see in the museum

  • Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard. The museum’s major exhibition, about the hoard found at Melsonby in North Yorkshire.
  • Viking North. York and the north in the Viking age.
  • Roman York. Galleries on Eboracum, the Roman city that grew into York, and the people who lived there.
  • Yorkshire’s Jurassic World. Fossils and the prehistoric animals of the Yorkshire coast.

What to see in the gardens

  • St Mary’s Abbey. The ruins of a great medieval abbey, its tall arched walls standing on the lawns.
  • The Multangular Tower. Part of the Roman fortress, and City of York Council’s suggestion for the most accessible close-up view of York’s walls.
  • The riverside. The gardens run down to the Ouse near Lendal Bridge.
  • The Artists’ Garden. Behind York Art Gallery, linked to the main gardens, with contemporary art on free display. It opens 10.30am to 4.30pm and was closed from 29 October to 12 November 2026.

Plan your visit

Opening times: the Yorkshire Museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, so plan around Mondays and Tuesdays. The main Museum Gardens open daily from 9am to 6pm and close on 25 and 26 December and 1 January.

Tickets: museum tickets cost £10 for adults, £6 for children aged 5 to 16 and £9 for young people and students aged 17 to 24 and for over-65s. Family tickets are £29 for two adults and two children or £34 with three children. Under 5s and children living in City of York Council postcodes go free, and there are free concession tickets for people on means-tested benefits, carers and MAX Card holders, among others. Every ticket gives 12 months’ entry. You do not have to book, but you may need to queue at busy times. The gardens are free, though York Museums Trust welcomes donations.

Getting there: the museum is a 10 to 15-minute walk from York railway station, across Lendal Bridge. The Park and Ride and city buses stop on Museum Street at the garden gates.

Facilities: there are no toilets in the gardens; accessible toilets and baby changing are inside the Yorkshire Museum, and the nearest public toilets are at Bootham Bar or on Silver Street. Ciao York at the Museum Street entrance serves sandwiches, toasties and hot drinks from 9am to 4pm.

Access: the museum has warned of intermittent problems with its lift, though staff can help visitors with mobility needs reach the upper and lower floors.

At Christmas

THOR’S on ICE, a covered outdoor ice rink, opens behind York Art Gallery at the edge of the Museum Gardens from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.