I first visited Jorvik Viking Centre back in 2018 when my niece came to visit from Australia. We recently had more family come to visit, and they wanted to go, so we decided to book in at the popular visitor attraction with them and learn a bit about Viking life in York.
Recreated Viking village
The Jorvik Centre lets you step back into 10th-century York with the recreated Viking village. You start the tour at your booked time slot, being brought down into the museum to a room with a glass floor where you can see the excavation pits. This shows some foundations of old Viking buildings that were discovered on the very street where the Coppergate shopping centre now is.
There is a short talk about the exploration of the Coppergate dig, where they found thousands of Viking artefacts. You can then explore the interactive multimedia exhibits and see the dig on video screens yourself before hopping onto the tour ride when you have finished.
The ride is a recreation of what they imagine Coppergate would have looked like at the time, with streets lined with lifelike mannequins and models of Vikings going about daily life, speaking Old Norse. The ride through this exhibit brings you face-to-face with Old Norse culture, you will see markets, homes, and even a slave trader’s quarters. The air is filled with the unique smells of Viking-age York—from smoked fish to wood fires—making it feel real.
The attention to detail is remarkable, right down to oyster shells scattered on street level! You’ll learn how Vikings lived in the city of York while exploring their world. There are even some life-size dioramas (recreations of real people, constructed based on what they would have looked like due to their skeletons and the facial structure of their skulls – sorry that was a mouthful!). It’s a great insight into Viking culture based on real-life Vikings, all based on the archaeological finds at the dig.
The Museum
The ride ends at the museum, where you can see more old artefacts on display. The friendly Viking Hosts are there and happy to answer any questions. They are very knowledgeable about Viking life and will share a lot of information about Viking-age York. You can see old clothing, weapons, skeletons and there’s even some fossilised Viking poo that gave insights into their diet!
Our Experience
I’ve walked past Jorvik many times in the school holidays and have seen a lot of queues, but it wasn’t so bad when we went. Remember that the city centre of York gets really busy as it’s a big tourist city. Make sure you book in advance! I found the talk at the start of the tour really interesting, it was great to hear about how the Vikings lived and the style of houses they built. Although our four-year-old was not a fan of this museum, he found the dark ride quite scary, and I think he was unsure if the mannequins were real or not and started crying halfway around, so I would avoid taking younger children who my not understand what the ride is about.
I do think the price is expensive compared to other historical attractions in York, as it’s quite small, and we were there for less than an hour, with the ride lasting about 20 minutes. The National Railway Museum is free – the York Minster is cheaper and it’s the same price as Castle Museum, but Castle Museum is much better and there’s more to see.
You can use Tesco Days Out vouchers or a York Pass can help reduce costs.
Overall, I did enjoy the museum but I just don’t think it’s the best use of your time and money if you are on a budget or have limited time. I’d recommend Castle Museum way above Jorvik! If you enjoy spending lots of time looking at artefacts, reading the displays and talking to those who work in museums, you will have a great time.
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Nature is Indeed Beautiful. I will like to visit this Viking city once. Thanks for bringing it to limelight