Last Updated on December 18, 2022 by Suzy McCullough
York Castle Museum is located in the centre of the historic city of York in North Yorkshire. It is one of my favourite museums to visit and in wintertime, they transform their recreated Victorian street with Christmas decorations and charming period trimmings.
A visit at Christmastime to York Castle Museum is included in your entrance fee. Dates vary each year, please visit their website.
We actually visited for free. The reason we could do this is that we last purchased tickets for the museum back in January. Once you have purchased your tickets you can then return for free as much as you like over the next 12 months. We simply booked a free time slot online and then showed our original purchased tickets when we arrived.
Christmas at York Castle Museum
Your visit starts in a part of the museum that has a series of period rooms recreated from different times in history. Each of these rooms has been decorated with Christmas decorations according to the time. This was really interesting to see as you could see when new traditions came in and also how basic Christmas decorations really used to be.
You will then visit a number of other exhibits many of which include a Christmas theme. It was interesting for me seeing the 1980s kitchen as that was basically my childhood Christmas in one kitchen scene.
From the period rooms, you will get your first glimpse of Kirkgate, see the photo below.
Their recreated Victorian Street, Kirkgate, is my favourite part of the museum. I have fond memories of visiting as a child and even today it still holds its magic for me. It was a real treat seeing it decorated so beautifully.
There is a blanket of festive snow on the cobbles and all the shop windows have been festively decorated. Plus there are items in the shops that people may have bought especially for Christmas. Children are encouraged to find a Christmas item in each shop that people will have once bought in similar shops across the UK.
There is a dress-up box in one corner so your kids can dress up and feel part of the Victorian atmosphere. If you look in the background of the photo below you can see some real people in Victorian dress. They add to the authenticity of the street and are there to answer any questions you may have.
Make sure you explore all the side streets as there is plenty to see including a slum area with a candle maker, a school classroom, a jail cell and so much more. You can also wander inside many of the shops.
During our visit, they were also demonstrating how they used to make mince pies. Once you have visited the Victorian Street you then head over to the other side of the museum where there are other permanent exhibits to see. These include a 1960s street, a WWI exhibition complete with a trench to crawl through and a very spooky prison where people were once held as prisoners.
Important Information
Address: York Castle Museum, Tower St, York, YO1 9RY
Car parking – There is a large car park close to the museum. This, however, gets very busy very fast. It is easier to visit using one of their excellent park-and-ride transport links.
Ticket Prices – Tickets are cheaper online – £13 per adult, £6.50 per child and under 5s are free. Once purchased your ticket entitles you to free returns for the next 12 months.
Food and drink options – There is a cafe serving drinks and snacks.
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