JORVIK Viking Centre — Attraction in Great Britain

It was certainly a very different experience than I have ever had at what I suppose is a museum. I went around a total of three times and two days, as once you buy tickets, they grant free access for a year. For the low price they are, it's worth it even if you can only visit once.

I managed to book in on the day both times. The first was a last minute cancellation, a Saturday. The second, on Sunday, we booked at 10am and there were multiple spaces left throughout the day for a family of 4.

They go in every 15 minutes or so, the last call being at 4.45. They tell you to arrive ten minutes early, but you end up waiting outside for about 20 anyway.

As we experienced it multiple times, the talk was given by someone different each time, which meant we learned more each visit. Each as their own, one trip, was still enough to leave you satisfied, and there wasn't any doubt that the staff knew more than you had questions for.

There is then a ride, which is brilliant. I would recommend you go around a couple of times if you're there for a few days, just to see the ride from the other side of the cart, as you don't see the little details from once.

There are scents pumped out throughout the (slow) ride, so warning to those with sinus issues or hay fever, you may end up sneezing quite a bit. Some of the smells were foul, which was the point, so it really did immerse you. (I won't spoil too much).

After the ride there is more to see, artifacts and stuff. What I liked about this room was that there is always a talk going on from one of the staff members in a seated area, so if you have children or a not a big reader yourself, you can learn a lot from that alone. After you manage to step away (you want to stay and listen to it all) there is also a station where they stamp a coin for you, costing £2 for a souvenir. This also comes with information about the coins that the staff explains to you too. Very, very knowledgeable staff. I loved that the most.

It is only getting the 4 out of 5 stars because I would hope they could expand a bit more. A lot of the dug up site was a replica, which is fair enough, but I would have loved to have seen perhaps another segment, letting you actually walk around in a rebuilt house or touch and feel more of replicated fabrics/tools like some other attractions supply.

Other than that, I would truly recommend it, great for all ages. They have a wheelchair accessible cart too. I don't think they allow mobility scooters inside, as someone in front of us had to leave there's and take the elevator. Still, this is all pre booked and you know what to expect when you get to the door (so long as you read the information correctly).

They also lose a point for one of the most confusing websites I have used. There's no back button, you have to keep starting again. When you add something to your cart, you can't edit it, so you have to add a new one entirely and hope you don't delete the wrong one. All of this is possible with the added stress of pre booking for the right amount of people, at the right time, especially on the day. They also do not have the option on the website to pay via PayPal, Google pay or apple wallet, meaning you have to physically put in all of your card information. (Again, not great with the added stress of booking).

They have WiFi there, which means that the QR codes scattered throughout are usable. The children's ones take you to videos on YouTube, so you could likely save them for later.

Every staff member was very knowledgeable, I do have to express that again, so I can see people getting into conversations that last a very long time. They were really engaged with the children too. One was telling a story, another time they were singing a viking song to them, and the other letting them handle the coins and explaining to them what is on them and such.

The trip can be as short or as long as you'd like. If you're just there for the ride, that is doable too. You can head straight on once you're in (for example if you've been there before). You can make...

If you have any interest in history (and if you're visiting York, I'd be surprised if you don't), then this is a cracking place to visit. You have to book in advance, which is easily done via the website. At our allocated time, we were brought in to the building and downstairs to viking street level. An initial talk by one of the many friendly and well-informed 'viking' staff gives you an idea of what to expect;l. Then it's on to the ride; we were a family of 4 and were given a capsule of our own - they seat up to 6. The ride itself is great, giving a real sense of being amongst the viking people, very atmospheric, and includes realistic smells of each scene to give you a sense of being there. The animatronic characters are well made and are pretty realistic. My only, very mild, grumble is that the narrator on the ride barely allows time to hear the animatronic characters speaking - made worse by my reliance on hearing aids that make it difficult to focus on more than one voice at a time. Once off the ride, you can have a good look around the many artefacts that have been dug up on the site with plenty of information boards so you know what you are seeing. There are also several 'Vikings' around, giving talks and demonstrations; each and every one of them are very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject they are discussing and all are happy to answer any questions you may have. There are clean toilets available within the venue; they are only small (or at least the male toilets were from my experience) but as there are not too many people admitted at once, they are sufficient. After you have had your fill of viking history, there is a small gift shop where all manner of things can be bought. The prices seemed pretty reasonable, too. All in all, I highly recommend...

Smellavision!! Get ready for some stink!

Dive into an authentic recreated Viking settlement in York City centre.

Around 1hr to maximum 1hr 15.

First came as a child 39 years ago, more recently around 8 years ago, then yesterday with my partner.

A few changes. The carriage you ride on has screens with language choices (inc. Hearing impaired) so you know exactly what you're looking at.

Ride is slow and moves gently. Turns and goes backwards sometimes.

Mannequins have motion, too, and look realistic. There's sights, sounds, and smells. Your screens on your carriage give information all the way around.

Mini exhibition at the end of unearthed treasures and skeletons.

It's great that Jorvik is representative of the viking settlement unearthed right on the site, showing you how life really would have been.

Improvements could be: Less technology and more costumed actors telling the story. The museum could easily be a walk around guided tour, which would be more personalised.

I would say it's not disabled friendly as unless there's an accessible carriage to take wheelchair users around (which we didn't see) then there's no way you could get around. PLEASE CORRECT ME IF YOU FIND OTHERWISE I'm not a wheelchair user, but speaking from observation and my own experience being there.

If you are on the larger side or unable to step up into carriages (safety bar limits movement), but if you are a bigger plus-size person, it'd get to be a squeeze.

Lots of staff in the 'exposed floor' pre-carriage bit, could do with more staff in the mini exhibition TELLING you about the finds to make it more interesting rather than reading cards behind glass cabinets - kids get bored easily at this bit.

Great shop. Lots of gifts to suit...