JORVIK Viking Centre

Incredible!! Highly highly recommend! The centre is built on actual archaeological excavation site and you can see real remnants of things found during the excavation. The ride is fun and the people working there are incredibly informed and friendly. You have to book in advance as only limited number of people are allowed in at each time slot. Even on weekdays they get booked up:) One feedback I would give is it’d be much more find if they had a dressing up section and place to take pictures:D otherwise perfect!

A brilliant mix of fun and history. The Jorvik Viking Centre isn't your average museum—you're taken on a ride through a recreated Viking village, complete with lifelike figures, sounds, and even smells (yes, including a latrine). It's surprisingly immersive and gives you a real sense of what life might have been like in 10th-century York. The highlight is definitely the ride, but the exhibition afterwards is packed with genuine artefacts found right on that site. It’s all well presented and easy to engage with, even if you're not a history buff. Staff are friendly, knowledgeable, and dressed in costume, which adds to the atmosphere. It’s not a long visit—around an hour—but it’s packed with detail and charm. Great for families, and still interesting enough for adults going solo. Not cheap, but worth it for the experience. Book ahead to avoid disappointment.

Fabulous, absolutely nailed to a tee even down to the smells. Very interesting and enlightening plus the staff who don't like being poked, will impart lots of information. The 'make-up' of the attraction and how it is delivered, is fabulous and high quality. The attraction has everything and a first class shop and if there is any advice to give it would be to book online in advance and make sure you visit the toilet before hand.

Had a great time here! The ride paints a great picture of what Viking York would have looked like and the staff were really knowledgeable and happy to answer lots of questions! Especially enjoyed the museum at the end showing all the artefacts they found with interesting descriptions. Definitely a must see in York for all ages.

Great way to learn about all the history of the Vikings. Nice easy ride through what it was like back then. Lots of items to view in the museum. But your tickets in advance online. They often sell out.

What a great place. very much enjoyed the exhibition thought all the guides were very helpful and added to the experience. it seemed to be very busy so booking was essential, well worth a trip when you go to York

Very interesting museum with lots of interactive elements. The interactive village ride is great and makes you feel like you've travelled back in time. The staff are knowledgeable and happy to help. Be prepared to queue outside for your booking, it's always busy! Plenty of stuff for kids to enjoy.

Great place. Amazing tour through “the old viking town” underneath. Very informative and interesting. Very fine exhibit of the actual specimens found in the archaeological digs in the place. We enjoyed the visit very much!!

My wife and I visited York in September 2024 and at the top of our list of attractions was the Jorvik Viking Centre. As history buffs and fans of the recent Viking TV shows this was a must. We booked tickets weeks in advanced and even though it was not 'kids' season, time slots for a weekday were moderately filled. I'll come back to this later. We arrived a few minutes late for our time slot so there was no line, but the staff hummed and ha'd about letting us in as we were late. More on this later. It wasn't too busy inside and it's not a huge space so it could very easily get crammed. So the attraction does a good job with managing crowds so visitors can enjoy. The staff are all dressed in period clothing which is kinda cool. The girl who greeted us in the lobby area was friendly and bubbly and informed us of the history of this site and the area. When I asked a few questions though, she didn't really have any answers. Seemed like she was reciting lines from a script and didn't have a deep historical knowledge. Which to be fair is understandable, this is entertainment, not university. The ride itself does go on for a good time and theres lots of interesting facts. It's a great way to digest history, by putting yourself into the heart of it. Being among the people of the time. And this is as close as you could get to that. For now. AI says hold my beer. After the ride there is a decent sized museum with lots of artefacts recovered from the site. Being a total history - particularly Middle Ages history - nerd, I stopped and read every word of every placard on every exhibit. My better half on the other hand, likes the Cliffs Notes and skims over everything and is done in a fraction of the time. Hence she was not best happy having to wait for me to get out. I do recommend getting tickets way a head of time. However you do have to book in 20 minute time slots, which leaves very little room for changing plans, lunch running long, traffic, weather. You name it. Any number of things that can delay you from your 20 minute time slot. I didn't like this too much. On the other hand, inside it's obvious why. Notwithstanding fools like me that linger on every exhibit, the museum flows well and that is down to the time management the attraction employs. So just be aware. Its a great couple of hours spent learning about Eboricum, Eforwich, Jorvik, York history. There is a lot of it to cover. Its a must to for visitors to York.

Wow, was this fascinating. (Being of Scandinavian heritage myself). I learned an awful lot. Rather than build a boring museum of static supplies, the crafty people of this enterprise (which is build upon the very site where 40,000 artifacts were uncovered), created an adult version of "it's a small world" (without the annoying music). Tram cars for six ride thru the Viking ages with animatronic characters portraying village life. The experience starts in a room with a glass floor showing the actual dig below. Of course there is a gift shop! Be sure not to miss.

This place was somewhere my wife wanted to stop into while visiting York. We used our York Pass to enter and it was full of friendly staff who were very insightful when asked questions. The ride was not expected but it was pretty fun traveling through the viking village. I did enjoy the sites and sounds while traveling through the village but there was an odor towards the end of the ride that was pretty raunchy. Otherwise, it was a great experience and my wife paid for a replica of a viking coin that was struck in front of us. Definitely worth the experience!

Note that you MUDT prebook. Arrived just walking by, three staff members were outside. We asked to come in, were told walk away, book online and come back when you have tickets". Very rude and we obviously did not return.

So this museum is pretty much dedicated to what Vikings life would have been. It isn't a very large museum but it does have a lot of information about the Vikings. It is also sort of underground and very dark in most areas. I didn't really take any photos because of that reason. You'll have to pay for this museum but it isn't too expensive. There is a very slow amusement ride inside where it takes you on some what a conveyor belt that slowly goes around to show you how the Vikings lived. The smells are quite horrible inside but I guess they are really trying to make it realistic. Overall I thought it was pretty interesting to see and view. If you are into knowing anything about the Viking life this is a probably a pretty cool museum for young children. The ride itself is not scary and very kid friendly! Tip- Also if you just want to buy gifts that is a separate entrance and you don't have to pay for admission to get into it.

Very interesting and sort of disturbing. At first the mechanical Vikings are sort of charming but after a few of them they start to seem like they are staring at you. There is also a "smell"... that I'll just say is immersive. Worth a look and the narration by Ned Stark adds to the ambiance. Well worth the price. We are visiting from the states where yelp is more widely used so to all my American yelpers come check this place out.

I actually really enjoyed this place, your greeted by people in Viking attire, sometimes playing a musical instrument which is bizarre but I loved. It's not very big you'll be out in less than an hour. I think the main attraction in Jorvik Viking centre is definitely the slow moving ride taking you through the Viking village where you will see amazingly realistic moving Viking dummies in their natural habitat and even one on the toilet making straining noises and you will see their moving animals too which is so weird but wonderful and fascinating and really brings the village to life. After the ride you go through to a museum where you will see items found in the archaeology site and even a few skeletons found which was a bit gruesome and there will be staff in their Viking clothing dotted around to ask questions but my head was spun and I didn't know if they were real or dummies, crazy but I loved it. There is a gift shop selling great affordable pieces all Viking related of course. But on the whole, fantastic!

I thought that Jorvik Viking Center was a great way to get a sense of viking history in York. The floor in the main room of the museum was glass so that you could see the ancient remnants of the viking village that was beneath the museum. That was pretty cool. The Museum had plenty of viking artifacts which had been found in York, and a ride that went through a reconstructed viking village. I liked the ride, since it showed you different aspects of daily life for the people who lived in Jorvik (the Viking name for York). It did not take very long to see everything.

Although listed as "closed" on Yelp, (the museum was previously closed due to a flood) this museum has reopened. I booked advance tickets online for a 10:30 am fast-track slot, but still ended up having to wait in line for 15 minutes to enter the museum. It was, however, a MUCH shorter line than general admission, and moved a lot more quickly too. Now for the museum itself? A solid 2 stars. They have a ride, which is unique for a museum, but it was underwhelming. It takes you through a replica of Viking village life, with moving mannequins staged throughout. The most interesting part of the ride was a museum employee dressed as a Viking, who surprises you at first glance, because you think he too is a mannequin. Truthfully, the best aspect of the museum are the Viking artifacts, all excavated in York, on display after the ride. It was neat seeing leather shoes the Vikings wore and the bone combs they made. Is it all worth £10.25 per ticket? Sadly, for me, no. Maybe being a Florida resident has made me a ride snob, but this one was pretty lame. As for the artifacts, I could have seen similar items at the Yorkshire Museum for free, as they currently have a Viking exhibit called "Viking- Rediscover the Legend" on loan from the British Museum, May 19 - November 5, 2017.

If you have absolutely nothing better to do... I paid, I saw, I shrugged. Not even Viking poo could sway my opinion. (looking to score my 1st English ROTD)

I booked online so was given a time slot and avoided the queues. Fabulous! I hate queuing. A friendly Viking let us in and we went through to a museum type exhibit. The floor was glass and underneath you can see the remains of 2 cottages. There's a floor map to help you along or if you are rubbish at that ask the Viking staff any questions you like. These Vikings are much friendlier than those I learned about in school. The ride takes you through the town. Loads to see and smell. The commentary was clear and easy to understand. We then saw more exhibits and artifacts. There was a member of staff explaining what various items were. This made it all more real for me as there were comparisons and differences explained. Many of the children present thought it would be cool to be a child at that time but sharp changed their minds when they heard they'd have to get a job! Very funny. Enjoy this museum, it's interesting.

More technology is not always better. The main attraction of this museum is a little ride around a replica Viking village with high fidelity manikins simulating Viking life. The narration was available in multiple languages, but the audio very quiet and difficult to hear itself. Coupled with all the background noise it was a struggle to follow the narration. The ride was unimpressive and didn't add anything valuable content-wise. A guided tour would have been more meaningful than all this expensive technology. There was only one little room of actual artifacts to go along with the ride and it was packed with lots of little kids who were there for the ride. The line to get in was a long wait, and much longer than anywhere else around to go to. You're better off spending twice as much of your time in York at York Minster than going here.

This is mostly for folks with younger children to teenagers. While I found some interesting things while on "the ride" the actual staff was very interesting - they actually can speak some Old Norse! The clogged exhibition room was the most intriguing part of the museum, and invited one to learn more, which I intend to do.

This was one of the most amazing museums Rick and I visited during our entire trip to the U.K. We went back in time in a sense. The remains of 1,000 year old houses are beneath. The Jorvik is the site of one of the largest archaeology digs in history . It took them five years (1976-81) to find the houses, workshops and backyards of the Viking-Age city of Jorvik. At Jorvik, you get to travel through the ancient city and see how the Vikings lived. You ride in a tram car like you would an attraction at Disney* (but believe me, this is no Disneyfield attraction). Along the way you'll visit the riverfront, the leather stall, the cesspit, new homes being built, a Viking house interior, etc. You'll see all the local folk like the antler worker, the blacksmith, the fishmonger, the gossipping lady, and the arguing couple. There are also exhibits outside the ride. My favorites were "Unearthed", showing life, death, battle, and disease through excavations and "Artifacts Alive" in which Viking "ghosts" show you artifacts and give you a first hand accounts of their lives. So yeah, the Jorvik Viking Centre is a little touristy, but hey, Rick and I were tourists, right? But this is a really fine attraction at that. We learned all about the Vikings--who they were, how they lived, what their connections to us are, etc. For my fellow Americans whose only concept of Vikings is a certain football team in Minnesota, this is well worth it. *I apologize for the Disney comparison. I realize it might be heresy but it was the only one I could think of.

The Jorvik Viking Centre let's you immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and smells of the vikings. Yes, that's right, I said smell. And no, that's not a good thing... Disregarding the smell though, this is a really fun narrated ride through a viking village. Before and after the ride you'll see exhibits telling you about York's viking history, and showing you a collection of artifacts found in the area. The centre is not terribly large, you'll be done in 30 minutes, of which 12 minutes is the ride, but for the price we found it very reasonable, and a fun, immersive way to teach people about the Viking age in York.

Firstly, if you are sensitive to smells don't go here! Went in the morning and was sick as a dog for the rest of the day. According to some people they pump in an 'authentic' smell. Secondly, there is not a lot to look at. The whole museum doesn't take more than an hour which is annoying for the price (but Thank god for the smell factor).

Fantasticlly knowledgable staff! I learnt the following just from chatting to the staff here on me visit: They are in the possesion of the world's largest viking poo, the remaining parts of which are safe to touch Not only can you learn about their diet from a dead person's poo, but also their environment flora and overall health Horn made flagons are no good for tea because, unlike plastic, horn gets very flexible when heated Victorians swallowed worms to lose weight and then persuaded them to crawl back up and out of their throat when had lost enough You can estimate the age of a skeleton based on the wear of its joints Cheap grindstones lead to cheap flour full of stones which is such an ordeal to eat it actually wear's down one's teeth

Weird. Or I suppose "wyrd" since we're talking about vikings here. But then again we're talking about illiterate vikings who didn't leave us any written records but were good enough to leave a bunch of trash for us to dig up later (and, yes, the famous poop). We'd been warned about the weirdness but were still pleasantly taken off-guard. The animatronic norsemen and women are creepily life-like, in large part because their eyes follow you. They simulate or maybe pipe in smells in a few areas too--fortunately not when you pass the poor gent at the end who seems to have had a bit too much moldy cabbage the day before.

I thought it was well worth the 10 pound admission. I was pleasantly surprised by the animatronics part of the experience. I thought it was well-done, maybe not quite Disneyeque, but still very good. the voiceover during the ride was interesting. I'm very glad to have experienced it. I saw lots of families and all the kids seemed to be enjoying the exhibits too.

Unremarkable. It's not bad but there's nothing really to recommend going here. The information conveyed is very general.

Interesting if you like to check out old artefacts, a huge fossilised poop and skeletons. I particularly liked the information provided by staff about the coins used and a demonstration of minting a coin. Like a lot of places these days the artefacts are set in lit glass boxes with less lighting outside that seems to be used to discourage photography. In this way it could be considered the exhibition to be poorly lit as the type of lighting can make it harder to see, let alone take photos. I wasn't so enamoured with the theatrical ride through a "Viking village" and felt like an extra in a Jim Henson creation, expecting David Bowie to pop out in his striped pants and break into "dance magic dance." I didn't like the use of real stuffed animals (mostly dogs) in the sets and found it a bit distasteful. The conversations between the guide and the characters seemed a bit odd, but I guess without the translation from the guide I wouldn't know what was being said. The smells were a nice touch until reaching the final animatronic busy "dropping the kids off at the pool" complete with farting sounds, stench and the visual of his screwed up face. Bizarrely the guide interacts with him while he's relieving himself!!

An absolute must when you're in York. Really takes you back to the time of the Vikings daily life. Interesting for children and adults alike, the attention to detail is second to none, smells included. The cues are 40 minutes long so book online and walk straight in.

This is an extremely popular and very successful tourist attraction in York. Located in Coppergate Shopping centre, this is one of the most hands on let's-travel-back-in-time museums I can think of. It gets very busy, particularly during Viking Festival week and you can guarantee a lot of children so if you want to avoid a long wait I would suggest booking online. Susan D. has a very accurate description below and it will fascinate both adults and children. The exhibition was recently renovated (within the past 4 years I think) and it is over the infamous Coppergate excavations, which initially were only thought to be trivial (with an estimated time of excavation of about 6 months) but once the impressive Viking settlement was found turned into a much much longer project!

This centre has been in York for quite some time now but I suppose being the tourist centre it is I have never I repeat never gone past this museum without their being queues of people waiting to get in. I have also been quite daunted whenever I have nearly go to the front as a pre booked school party arrives and causes a hold upoh well the luck of the draw!! One inside you enter a small car with a voice describing your journey as you travel, you can also have language translation. The journey takes you through the old streets of York, you look inside peoples houses and hear and SMELL the sound of Viking York! This is the best part of the trip I find! Once this part has finished there are opportunites for your children to dress up as a viking child. You then have an opportunity to look around the museum at all the artefacts found during the digs at York Well worth a visit!

I found the whole experience very interesting , and I have to say a BIG thankyou to the staff , being a wheelchair user I find a lot of attractions are out of my reach , but the staff were so helpful , I was astounded the lengths the went to to include wheelchair users , for a short while I felt like I was a person again , 4 hours later and I still haven't got over it ...

This was a disappointing museum. Although it tracked the history of the Viking's in York, completely with sounds and smells, the exhibitions weren't as exciting as I had imagined and the queues were very, very long.

An informative, entertaining adult amusement park type ride that is based on historical, archeological data. The static exhibits are actual items found within digs in the York area. Well worth the £'s.