York: what to see, what to pay for and what is free

York is a city you can walk across in a day, and half of its main sights cost nothing. Here is what you pay for and what you do not, from the cathedral's own figures and the city council.

The city walls: free, all year

Start with the walls. They form an elevated circular walkway around the city centre, accessible on foot, free of charge, throughout the year. The council calls them a major feature of York's historic environment and civic identity: they hold significant remains of every principal period of their development and make over 2,000 years of urban change visible.

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There are stops along the way. The Red Tower, the only brick structure on the walls, operates as a community hub. There is a coffee shop in Walmgate Bar gatehouse. The Friends of York Walls publish an audio trail app and open Fishergate Postern Tower on selected days.

York Minster: what entry costs

Adult and senior, £20. Students not studying in York, £16. Children aged 17 and under go free with a paying adult, up to four children per adult.

And a rule few people know: York residents and York students enter free on proof of address.

The price includes free guided tours and the Undercroft Museum, with its treasures beneath the Minster and the ancient Crypt. The museum runs from 10:30am to 4:45pm.

Climbing the tower

The Minster's Central Tower is the highest point in York. A Minster-and-Tower ticket is £26 for an adult or senior, £22 for students from outside York and £6 for children aged 8 to 17. You must be 8 or over to climb.

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The climb is 275 steps. On the way up you pass medieval stonework and gothic grotesques, and at the top you look out over the Rivers Ouse and Foss, the city walls and the streets below.

The tower keeps shorter hours — 11:00am to 3:30pm — so the climb belongs in the middle of your day, not the end of it.

With children

Up to four children aged 17 and under go free with each paying adult. That changes the arithmetic of a trip considerably: two adults and three children pay £40 between them.

The Minster also sells annual family passes, starting from £20.

How to plan the day

A sensible shape. Walls in the morning: the circuit of the centre takes a couple of hours and costs nothing. Reach the Minster by eleven and go straight up the tower while it is open. Then come down into the Undercroft and join a free guided tour.

Tour times and the opening hours of the museum and tower vary by day — the Minster's site carries a calendar, and it is worth checking it against your actual date.

One last thing: if you live or study in York, the Minster is free to you. Plenty of people pay simply because nobody told them.