Historic Tours in York
York is renowned for its history, and no visit to the city is complete without discovering a little about the events and characters that contribute to its unique heritage.
It’s just as well then that the city has a plethora of walking, bus and boat tours with subject matter varying ranging from ferocious Vikings to historic breweries. We’ve listed a range of the most popular historical tours below, and will be presenting seperate blog posts for each, focussing on further details on prices, times, dates etc.
Free walking tours include a two-hour guided walk with a guide from the Association of Voluntary Guides to the City of York.
If you prefer to go under your own steam, leaflets can be picked up from Tourist Information with directions for walks of specialised interest including the Rowntree Walk – an historic tour that reveals the truth about the philanthropic family behind the Kit Kat, Black Magic Chocolates, Smarties, Fruit Gums and Polos.
Or you can go walkabout at your own pace with a specially downloaded Walk Talk Tour that can be hired on pre-loaded MP3 players from Visitor Information Centres. The York Walls Audio Tour is also available from the centres and includes free entry to the Richard lll Museum.
Paid-for guided tours include The World Tour of York – prepare to be entertained with stories and images about York’s development.
For a more thirst quenching perambulation, the Brewery Tour takes you around York’s only independent brewery with a chance to sample the ale on offer while the York Historic Pub Tour introduces you to four of York’s oldest inns with a tasting session in each one if you require – purely for purposes of research of course.
If you’re feeling a bit more bloodthirsty, why not discover how the Vikings lived and fought on The York Viking Walk – an hour long tour conducted by local author, S.P.Grey.
And if you’ve had enough of walking, The Open Top Bus will take you on a tour of historic York covering all major attractions with an entertaining commentary.
Alternatively, why not cruise gently along the River Ouse to see the sights? YorkBoat offers a full range of York City trips departing daytime and evening to allow you to view the town from the water.
Last but not least, it’s impossible to mention tours of York without reference to the famous ghost tours for which the city is famous, listed in our sections on Ghost Tours in York.
These blogs provide a comprehensive view of the most popular tours available, although you may well stumble across others when you venture on to the streets: that’s the joy of the city of York – it’s full of surprises as well as history.
If you know of a tour or guide that should mentioned on the Directory of York, then drop us a line at support@directoryofyork.net
External Links:
Association of Voluntary Guides to the City of York
The Rowntree Society
Walk Talk Tours
York Walls Audio Tour
The World Tour of York at Exploring York
York Brewery
York Historic Pub Tour
York Viking Walk
York Pullman Bus Company
YorkBoat Cruises