JORVIK Viking Centre, York

Posted on by Fee Hudson

Jorvik Viking Centre is a time travel portal back to 975AD. In late 1970s archaeologists excavated the area that JORVIK now sits on and found evidence of the houses and workshops of the Viking city of Jorvik.

The entrance to the JORVIK Viking centre with 5 brick archways in a red brick building. The second archway is the entrance and has a large sign over it that says JORVIK Entrance. There is a banner hanging above the entrance with the word JORVIK and a picture of a viking man holding a red circular shield. In from the the building are barriers to direct the queues.

The Museum

The museum is built over the site of the Coppergate Dig and starts with a visit to the dig itself. The lower floor of the museum entrance has a glass floor which allows you to see some of the artefacts and trenches from the dig. There is also various bits of information about the dig and an interactive station where you can learn more about how they preserved the artefacts that were found.

A floor shot showing a pair of feet wearing black and white trainers stood on a glass floor. Under the floor is direct with a tray of tools.
Pip, an 11 year old girl wearing a blue and white striped cardigan. She has long dark blonde hair and glasses and is looking at a computer screen.
The screen on the car that takes you around the recreation of Jorvik York. On the screen there are the subtitles of what is being said slightly out of focus, in the background is a manikin of a viking man wearing red.

The next part of JORVIK is a journey back in time to 10th Century York. A small vehicle, seating 6 takes you on a ride through the streets of Jorvik where you can meet some of the people and experience some of the sights and smells. I first visited JORVIK 30 years ago on a school trip and I can attest to the fact that the smell really does stay with you!

A wax mannequin of a Viking man wearing a red robe and a brown cloak. He has a grey wolf dog on a lead in one hand and a bow in his other.
A wax mannequin of a Viking man in a green robe with a brown belt, he is long hair and a beard and is stood in front of a low wooden house with various antlers around him.
Two mannequins of Viking men sat on a wooden retaining wall that makes up the basement area of a house being built. The man on the left is bald and is wearing a beige robe and brown trousers, the man on the right is wearing similar clothes and has longer blonde hair.

The vehicle seat 6 and each seat has their own set of speakers and screen with a choice of languages. The screen also gives you subtitles for the guided commentary. There is an adapted vehicle which will take a wheelchair.

The final part of the museum is an opportunity to learn about the artefacts that were discovered in the dig. there is a huge range of everyday objects, jewellery, clothing and weapons on display. There is also usually a member of staff who will talk you through some of the finds and give you a bit more information.

The skeletal remains of a Viking man on display in a glass cabinet.
Various silver bracelets on display in a glass case. The information sign is titled The Silverdale Hoard and has text underneath which is too small to read.
A slightly corroded Viking frying pan with a white plastic handle to show where the handle originally was.

Logistics

You will need about an hour to visit JORVIK although this will be longer if there are a lot of visitors or you get really in to looking at all the artefacts on display.

Accessibility

The museum is on the lower floors of the building which can all be accessed by lift, there are also accessible toilets on this level. These spaces are flat and accessible for wheelchairs, scooters and pushchairs.

JORVIK’s accessibility guide can be found here and they have an extensive range of accessibility options for visitors.

Child Friendly

JORVIK is child friendly although really aimed at children over the age of 5. Children under 5 are free and are welcome. The ride through Jorvik does have a children’s option on the commentary screen which is more of a story rather than facts and information. Pip went for the normal commentary rather than the children’s version. There isn’t any hands on parts of the museum that would be aimed at children.

Tickets

Pre-booking is advised as queues can get long especially at busy times. Individual tickets can be bought online or you can buy a Passport ticket which gets you entrance to 4 attractions including JORVIK, DIG, Barley Hall and the City Walls Experience.

Shop

There is a gift shop at the exit of the museum selling all your Viking souvenir needs. There is also the opportunity to mint your very own Viking coin.

A photo of a display in the gift shop showing some wooden crates containing children's wooden bows and some round wicker basket shelves holding souvenirs.

2 thoughts on “JORVIK Viking Centre, York”

  1. When we were in York,, decades ago, we had to queue for hours to get into Jorvik. It was interesting once we got in, however.

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