The Yorvik Viking Centre in York is an interactive ride-style visitor attraction. It’s based around the remains of an ancient Viking settlement called Jorvik which is underneath the Coppergate shopping centre. The attraction demonstrates what has been learnt from excavating the site by taking you on a tour through a typical Viking village complete with animatronic Vikings. There are even traditional smells along the way to enhance the experience further. We got free entry to Jorvik with the York Pass which allows you to visit around 30 attractions in the city for one price. You can check out latest prices for the pass using this form…
When you enter Jorvik Viking Centre, you first walk down a set of stairs to below street level where the first exhibition room is located. There is a glass floor in this room (pictured above) so you can see what’s left of the excavations of the site and around the walls video screens tell the story of how the site was uncovered during the development of the shopping centre. Your journey then continues into the village itself on the automated ride. We were really impressed with how the whole thing had been updated and the technology that is now used is far better. The interaction between the characters of the village and the narrator are a nice touch. When you step off the ride, your journey continues with another exhibition area which displays many of the artefacts and skeletons that have been found on the site. There is often the opportunity to handle some objects too.
All in all, your visit to Jorvik will probably take no more than an hour, but you will certainly feel like you know a lot more about York’s history when you’ve been and it’s told in a very imaginative way. As such, if you struggle to get your kids interested in history, we’d recommend the centre as a place to visit.
Jorvik Viking Centre is open from April to October between 10am and 5pm and from November to March between 10am and 4pm although longer opening hours are available during school half term holidays. Adult admission is £17.50 but family tickets and children’s discounts are also available (2025 prices). We got in free with the York Pass.
LOCATION & CONTACT
Address: Jorvik Viking Centre, Coppergate, York YO1 9WT
Tel: +44 1904 543400
Email: jorvik@yorkat.co.uk
MORE ON JORVIK VIKING CENTRE
Jorvik Viking Centre – Official website
Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tour – Stops near to Jorvik Viking Centre
York Pass – Free entry to Jorvik Viking Centre
VisitYork.org – Official York Tourism Website
Yorkshire Travel Guides – Amazon