Visitor Information
Opening times
Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm.
Tickets
Book your tickets here
Entry times are divided into 30 minute slots giving you a half hour window to check-in. Please arrive any time within your 30 minute time slot (e.g. if you book 12:00, then please arrive between 12:00 and 12:30). You’re then welcome to stay until closing time.
General Admission Prices see our tickets page to book
All tickets include access to the permanent collection as well as all special exhibitions
Group visits
For groups of 10 or more people, we require an advance booking. We may not be able to accommodate visits from groups that have not pre-arranged their visit, so please book to avoid disappointment. Bookings can be made by completing a booking request form, or by emailing group.bookings@ymt.org.uk.
We require advance booking to ensure that we are able to admit your group at your chosen time.
If you would like to book a visit for a school group, please visit our schools page, or email schools@ymt.org.uk for more information.
York Museums Trust works to share our heritage in a safe and welcoming environment for all staff and visitors. We ask visitors not to share views or exhibit behaviours that are in any way discriminatory. Please respect our buildings, exhibitions and galleries, including those who are visiting and enjoying them and those who are working within them.
What do I do upon arrival?
Entry times are divided into 30 minute slots giving you a half hour window to check-in. Please arrive any time within your 30 minute time slot (e.g. if you book 12:00, then please arrive between 12:00 and 12:30). You’re then welcome to stay until closing time.
Can I cancel my booking?
Only in the following circumstances, we will issue a full refund:
- If you have booked the wrong time and date but have rebooked with a new time we will refund the booking made in error
PLEASE NOTE:
We are unable to transfer bookings to a new time at the moment, you must rebook the desired slot and we will then refund the booking made in error
We are unable to offer refunds for:
Late arrivals / missed visits
Tickets booked for the wrong date without proof of a second booking
See our latest risk assessment here.
Approximate length of visit
1 to 2 hours
Daily gallery talk available, check out the What’s On sign when you arrive!
Café
Our café Sketch will be open and serving hot snacks and refreshments. Seating is available inside and outside.
For more information about our Sketch café, click here
Bags and Luggage
We have locker facilities for small luggage but ask that any suitcases, large backpacks or large pieces of luggage are not brought into the gallery.
Any wheeled luggage must be stored in the lockers.
Due to the fragile nature of some of our open displays, please can you keep backpacks or any similar items in view by either wearing them at the front, or by your side. Thank you very much for helping us care for our collections.
We recommend the use of Yorbag for any luggage storage needs, which is a two minute walk from the gallery.
If you have purchased a ticket to the Gallery, you can get 20% discount at Yorbag when you show your ticket.
For more information on bringing bags and luggage to the Art Gallery, please download the following document.
What can and can’t be brought into the gallery
Bag searches
We may sometimes conduct bag searches on arrival. The searches look for restricted items and any other material that might be considered a risk to our collection, or to the health and safety and enjoyment of our visitors.
Any items found will be removed at the bag-searching point will be recorded and returned to the visitor on departure. If our staff finds anything they consider to be illegal, they will confiscate it and contact the Police.
Project Servator
We work closely with North Yorkshire Police’s specially trained Project Servator officers.
Together we use a range of security tactics to help keep people safe and allow everyone to enjoy visiting our museum.
The officers may sometimes be present in and around the museum, but this is nothing to worry about. Feel free to talk to them if you want to find out more.
You can also play an important role in helping to keep the museum safe by reporting anything suspicious to either a member of our staff or the police.
Buggies, wheelchairs and mobility scooters
Buggies, wheelchairs and mobility scooters are welcome but may also be subject to searches.
How to Find Us
Exhibition Square, York, YO1 7EW
Postal Address:
York Art Gallery
Exhibition Square
York
YO1 7EW
York Art Gallery is in Exhibition Square, five minutes’ from York Minster and opposite Bootham Bar.
Parking & Public Transport
The nearest car park is on Marygate, which is five minutes’ walk and has 350 spaces. Marygate is off Bootham, the A19, which is the main road into York from the north. For more car parking information, visit www.yorklive.info.
The gallery is approximately a 15 to 20 minute walk from York Railway Station.
There are several bus stops on Exhibition Square, just outside the Art Gallery. This is within 150m (164yds) of the gallery. For more information, visit www.itravelyork.info/buses.
You might also want to make use of the city’s park and ride service
Accommodation
Our hotel partner Malmaison York is offering a discount on overnight stays for YMT visitors and friends. Use corporate code YRKART900 when booking.
Just a 2-minute walk from the station and a stone’s throw from York’s infamous attractions, Malmaison York is in the heart of the city
Accessibility
Here are some things you need to know about accessibility at York Art Gallery:
- The gallery is fully accessible to wheelchair users
- Some of our exhibitions use flashing lights
- We have a wheelchair that can be booked on request. Please contact 01904 687687 in advance to book
Click here for more information on accessibility.
Toilets
There are toilet facilities available on both the ground floor and first floor, including an accessible toilet on both floors. Baby changing facilities are available in the accessible toilets.
Shop
The shop also contains items dedicated to the Centre of Ceramic Art. Along with cards, gifts and guide books, the shop also stock limited edition and collectible ceramics specially selected by our curatorial and retail departments. See our CoCA shop for what we currently have in stock.
Families
Pushchairs are welcome, but we don’t currently have an area to park pushchairs so they will need to be taken around during the visit. There are baby changing facilities in the accessible toilets. For more information please visit our Families page.
Animals
Please see our Access page for more information.
Photography
- Photographs taken without a flash are permitted of works belonging to York Art Gallery. We do not have copyright permission for works on loan so please do not photograph these
- Our Visitor Experience Team will be able to advise you on which are the works on loan
- Please do not use tripods, selfie sticks or a flash as these can damage artwork
- If you’d like to bring filming equipment to take film/video footage, please seek permission in writing from the Gallery Manager
- For information on publishing images of our collection and building please contact our Enquiries department
- We also offer copyright-free images via our online collections. Visit our image policy and requests page for more information
Artists Garden
The Artists Garden is situated within the original abbey walls at the rear of York Art Gallery. Together with the Edible Wood, it was created to coincide with the gallery’s £8 million development. The site is used to display contemporary art for free. The two acres of land were previously closed off to the public but now link with the original York Museum Gardens and through to Exhibition Square.
For more information, please visit our artists garden page.
Prayer Space
Although we do not currently offer a designated prayer space, please ask a member of staff if this is something you require and they’ll try to find an appropriate space for you.
Support York Museums Trust
Our collections are of national and international importance, and our gallery welcomes thousands of visitors each year.
York Museums Trust is a registered charity set up to care for the city’s art and heritage and develop them for future generations.
Donations, endowments and bequests of any size are welcomed – any gift makes a difference.
For more information, or to make a donation, please visit our Donations page.
