York's Historic Journey: Discover the Secret Side of the City on Foot

Embark on a historic journey through York’s secret side on foot. Discover the city’s key sights, delve into the medieval maze, and uncover the influence of the Romans and Vikings. Join our family-friendly walking tour with a small group for an engaging and immersive experience.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • St. Mary’s Abbey - The magnificent ruins of the largest abbey in northern England
  • Museum Gardens - A stunning Victorian botanic garden containing the standing remains of the Roman fortress - the place where York began!
  • York Minster - The largest medieval gothic cathedral in northern Europe
  • Stonegate - Explore the labyrinth of medieval shortcuts or ‘Snickelways’
  • Shambles - The best-preserved medieval street in Europe - famous across the world as the inspiration for Diagon Alley
What's Included
  • Personalized welcome sign at meeting point
  • Multimedia-enhanced guided tour with iPads
  • Complimentary map of York included
What's Not Included
  • Entrance fees: the tour is outdoors and does not include museums or the interior of the cathedral.
Additional Information

Why follow the crowds? At Yorktour we believe a great tour should also be a fun conversation, which is why we guarantee there will be no more than eight participants so everyone can ask questions and no-one needs to worry about being left at the back! This family-friendly walking tour includes all the key sights - including the exterior of the Minster and the celebrated Shambles - though we will also lead you deep into the medieval maze of ‘Snickelways’ to follow in the footsteps of the Romans and Vikings who created York. Above all, our tours rely on great storytelling rather than gimmicks - so if we can’t remember everyone’s names there must be too many people taking part!

Location
YO1 7DS
We will be in the square in front of the central library - York Explore Library and Archive, Museum Street YO1 7DS The guide will have a sign with your name so you should be able to find us (please don't join any tour that does not have your name displayed as it won't be ours)!
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(639 Ratings)
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K5608dqwilliamj
Aug 31, 2024
Great Tour. - Really enjoyed our tour with Sarah. She was extremely knowledgeable with very interesting stories. The small group also made a massive difference. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alan
Aug 22, 2024
Excellent small group walking tour with brilliant Guide! - Excellent 90 min history and tour of York. Alfred was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic being a local York Guide. Would highly recommend in search of a small group (max 8) walking tour of York.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chris1234854
Aug 21, 2024
Excellent Walking Tour - Alfred was very knowledgeable and made the walk very enjoyable. We visited places we didn’t know existed and learned a lot about York through the ages. Definitely recommend worth every penny. Thank you.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K
Aug 20, 2024
Excellent - Having seen large tour groups in cities where it appears that most cannot see or hear the guide, I really liked that this was a small group tour. Sarah was clear where we should meet and followed this up a couple of hours before the tour began to ensure we knew where we were going. We are a family of 4, and there were 8 people in our tour group. Sarah learned all our names and engaged our history-loving teen in discussion. She took us around parts of the city we otherwise wouldn't have seen and gave a good-level of detail, so that those of us who know a bit of the appropriate histories beforehand and those of us who did not, all enjoyed the tour. She also gave some recommendations, which we happily followed up the next day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Martina_n
Aug 20, 2024
Great way to start our visit - Our guide was so knowledgeable and passionate about York but delivered this in a really interesting and quirky manner. Lots of laughs and interaction with our group.
Review provided by Viator
Hollybutterfly
Aug 14, 2024
Fascinating tour, informative & entertaining - Alfred was a master tour guide! Shared his enthusiasm for his home town and the historical context of York to allow us to fully understand and appreciate the city. Really, really enjoyed this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Russell_b
Aug 12, 2024
Small group - excellent - Great tour, enjoyable and knowledgeable. Well worth it and especially good as it was a small group!!!
Review provided by Viator
Francine_b
Aug 12, 2024
Historical - Our guide, Farah, was very knowledgeable in the history of Great Britain and the city of York in particular.
Review provided by Viator
Vacation25391841880
Aug 10, 2024
Engaging and informative tour - This was a great experience. With just a small group our guide created a great atmosphere and through story telling was able to bring to life the bones of the city as well as show us the modern life of the city. Excellent tour and would recommend to all!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle_h
Aug 13, 2024
Decent tour, but needs to be tighter - This tour got off to a very slow start. The guide spent too much time sharing his personal history (stories like his grandmother traveling to America) and making analogies that didn't add much value. He is likeable, but gets sidetracked easily. Consequently, we spent the first 25 minutes standing still at the first location (part of the Roman wall). The tour improved as it progressed, and he shared some interesting insights about the history of York as well as the realities of living in current York. But we ended up running past the scheduled end time, and it felt like things were cut out towards the end. His delivery needs to be tighter and the pacing of the tour needs to be better choreographed.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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