Free things to do in York
The National Railway Museum, York Art Gallery, the city walls, the Museum Gardens, the Shambles and the snickelways cost nothing.
7 picks that fit, best first. The order follows the live forecast and the time of day.
National Railway Museum
Leeman Road
Mallard, the Flying Scotsman’s home and a Japanese bullet train in the biggest railway museum in the world, free.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
The Shambles and Shambles Market
City centre
The overhanging medieval street of butchers’ shops, now sweets and wizard shops, with the market beside it.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
York city walls
Bootham Bar
Two miles of medieval wall to walk around the city, with the best views of the Minster, free.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Museum Gardens and the Yorkshire Museum
Museum Street
Botanical gardens with abbey ruins, a Roman tower and peacocks, free, with the Yorkshire Museum inside.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Gardens free; museum ticketed
York Art Gallery
Exhibition Square
Six hundred years of painting and the country’s best collection of studio pottery, free, opposite Bootham Bar.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free; some exhibitions ticketed
Rowntree Park
South Bank
The chocolate family’s gift to the city: a riverside park with a lake, a café and a skate park.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
The snickelways
City centre
The alleys, ginnels and passages that thread the medieval centre, free to explore with a map.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Good to know
What are the best free things to do in York?
The National Railway Museum, York Art Gallery, the city walls, the Museum Gardens, the Shambles and the snickelways cost nothing. There are 7 free picks here, and the order changes with the weather: on a wet day the free museums and galleries come first, on a fine day the parks and viewpoints do.
Do free attractions in York need booking?
Some do, at busy times. Where a place is free but asks you to book a slot, the card says so, and the official site link takes you to the booking page.