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.

We booked this experience well in advance when looking online for activities during our stay, as an adult couple. We were excited, we waited outside in a queue for those who prebooked (which seemed longer than the queue for those who didn't) so this wasn't the best. Even on a late afternoon (3pm) it was very busy. This definitely needed more crowd control to stop others trying to push in front, I physically had to put my hand on the barrier to stop a lady and her daughter from pushing in front of us. When we went in, we were directed to a waiting area (for the immersive ride) which was a glass floor showing remains which were found in the 70's, this was nice. However, then we had to queue for the ride, which we then encountered the same ladies who this time who pushed in behind us in front of a long queue of people, who surprisingly didn't say anything. They then ended up sharing our ride - typical. Again, more crowd control needed to stop this. The ride was okay, the robotic people were extremely detailed, at one point I did question whether they were real or not. Excellent lay out, intricate details of scenes, sweet robotic animals, a commentary with subtitles and even smells around too. However by the end I still didn't have a clue of what exactly was going on. Then we ended the tour in a short museum type area which had great artefacts and interesting skeletons which we enjoyed looking at and reading about. You need to have a real interest however to thoroughly enjoy this. We were then in the shop in the exit within less than 40 minutes of entering the building, we thought it would last much longer considering the price. The toilet facilities were awful, one toilet for each gender which need modernising and cleaning much more regularly. I attempted to use them before we queued for the ride, but they were taken. Then again afterwards, I had to stand in a small crowded stairway to wait. Didn't spot a disabled toilet or baby change, this could be there but didn't see one. These facilities were really off-putting. Wouldn't visit again, this is a little overrated and wouldn't want to pay again. However huge credit to the detailing of the scenery during the ride, probably the best part. Such a shame as we were very much excited for this one. Friendly staff though!

I don't normally write reviews but reading all the reviews after i visited the museum, i felt i should leave one. First of all, the queues are like everyone seems to say, our slot was 10am, think we got in about 10:15, we had a big group and the guide seem to look at one side of the group as he gave the introduction and only glanced at the other half occasionally. I was expecting to walk around and look at the exhibitions, the ride was excellent but only lasted about 10 minutes, then into a second room , quite boring actually, and then through the shop. Overall, it was not worth the price, even though its a yearly ticket, we are unlikely to revisit as we're over 6 hours away, a cheaper day ticket would be more beneficial.

I love the fact the ticket can be used for a year, we live locally so have used the ticket multiple times as a result. My children love the ride and it’s a fun, educational and interactive thing to do in the school holidays. I definitely recommend booking an early morning slot though, I usually do and we’re straight through the door but could only get an afternoon slot last time and we ended up queuing both outside and inside for around 20 minutes in total (not ideal with young children!). The ride lasts around 10-15 minutes, followed by a relatively small but interesting artefact room.

Firstly it's a good idea to pre-book a time slot if you know exactly when you want to visit - we'd done so one day ahead but in the summer months you may need to fix this earlier and it does mean you won't be queueing waiting for a space. The centre is on the site in Coppergate where Viking artefacts and houses were discovered on a dig, so the recreation is pretty much what some of it was like. The tour is in three parts - a talk above clear flooring with recreated foundations, a slow ride through a typical street, and then a museum style display

We came as a family of four in the Easter holidays, we pre booked and saw big queues outside so had great expectations of what awaited us. Actually it was quite short and not that engaging. Value for money wise it’s quite poor, we came out thinking we must have missed some of it as we were in and out within an hour! Whilst it was enjoyable there is not actually very much there and quite expensive so not something I would recommend unfortunately.

The attraction offers a ride through a recreated Viking settlement from the 980s, providing an informative and immersive experience. It's especially worthwhile if you take the time to explore the museum afterward and study the excavated artifacts closely. The staff shares fascinating insights about the history of Jorvik, making it particularly engaging for adults, though it may appeal less to children.

I had great expectations for this but it was all over with in about an hour. Visited with my family in Feb half term, thought it would fill a morning as it comes with a steep-ish price tag (£46 for a family of 4). Staff were all lovely and informative but the place was really busy and it was difficult to see a lot of the exhibits. It consists of 1 room with a glass floor, they have a talk to explain what you are seeing, though it is a replica its done well. Then a ride, again informative but no interaction with anything, then as you come off the ride there are a couple of skeletons and another room, we got coins stamped at £3 each, again it was really busy so difficult to see a lot of the exhibits and then that was it, gift shop and out. The staff were all friendly and had a joke with the kids but it is overpriced for how much is there.

We visited the Jorvik Viking Centre as a family with two teenage boys (13 and 15), and we had a really nice time. The interactive exhibits and immersive experience held their interest, which can sometimes be a challenge with teenagers! The ride through the recreated Viking village was fascinating and provided a lot of information in an engaging way. However, we found that we were in and out in under an hour. While the centre is well worth a visit, I would recommend planning a couple of other activities in York to fill out your day.

Absolutely brilliant. We went on the 30th January, out appointed time was 10.30 but we arrived 10 mins late so they let us join the 11am slot with no probelm. Our son is Autistic and it’s hard for us to go places as he gets very overwhelmed. The staff were fantastic they went above and beyond to help us,our son gets very deregulated which caused him to shout and stim. Straight away the staff gave us options of ways to help him so he could enjoy the experience. They let us use an ipad so he didn’t have to go on the ride they offered us sensory toys and all were kind. It can be very hard at times as we don’t want him to miss out on experiences, we never felt judged and it’s so refreshing that the staff are aware of people with special needs.