Don’t just take our word for it
Visitor Feedback & Reviews
Tour guide – Fraser. Really interesting overview of history of York and introduction to hidden gems (in full view) of York I didn’t know were there, despite living fairly locally! Lots of information packed into a 2 hour free tour. Will return to York to have a more leisurely look. Excellent – thanks Fraser.
Anne
Really great tour with Neil today. Well paced and just the right amount of info. Lovely way to get to know York.
Ann and Maureen
I thoroughly enjoyed the tour led by Kevin. In two hours he covered a huge expanse of History .Kevin was engaging and interesting. He answered all our questions and we finished with much deeper insights into this wonderful city. Highly recommend.
Jane
Ken was our tour guide. Very enthusiastic and passionate about York. The best city tour! I will definitely come back and will recommend it to my friends who want to visit York.
Connie
Very interesting tour, Richard from York is a brilliant and very entertaining guide telling us about York and its history.rn
Maximiliano
I had a lovely time! I will even say it was one of the best tours i went to.rnWithin a time span of about 2.5h, we went trough York’s history, architectural curiosities, pieces of information that otherwise would be difficult to find in one place(or at all). On top of everything, we felt a bit like locals, thanks to the charismatic and knowledgeable guide. rnI thoroughly recommend this tour. I applaud the initiative of keeping people educated and in awe of all that lies around us.
Lulia
We have just finished the 10:30 tour of York with Mike. What a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours in this beautiful city. Mike is a really lovely man who is incredibly knowledgeable and shared so much information with us in a most pleasant way. He took us to places that we would never have found on our own! rnWe felt bad not being ‘allowed’ to tip Mike as he is very worthy of appreciation. We will raise a glass to him later in one of the bars he recommended
The Coyle Family
We had a lovely time on our tour with Malcom. It was nippy outside, just shy of freezing, but I was so fascinated I just had to keep listening. He did a good job keeping us moving to stay warm! Highly recommended for anyone visiting York!
Kate
Kevin, our guide, was excellent. He was knowledgable, friendly, answered everyone’s questions, had a good sense of humour and was very interesting. We would recommend this 2 hour tour to anyone who visits York.
Arnie and Jill
My husband and I have done many tours on our travels to many countries. This free one exceeded our expectations. Lawrie was a fantastic, knowledgeable tour guide. He was happy to share the history of York in an enjoyable way, with a bit of humour for good measure. We highly recommend visitors, and even perhaps locals, go on the tour.
Margaret
Lovely tour with Allan today. Lots of interesting facts about York. Friendly, welcoming and knowledgable.
Louise and Mark
myself and my dog were the only members of our tour today, and it was absolutely lovely. Our guide took the time to talk us through the history and some of his personal areas of expertise, and it was both enjoyable and informative. We will certainly come again next time we have the opportunity to visit York.
Katherine
Had an amazing time on the tour today! The guide, Lawrie, was highly knowledgable and passionate about York. I have learned a lot and truly enjoyed getting to know all the secrets of this wonderful city. Thank you very much! rn
Aleksandra
Had a brilliant tour of York with Roy our tour guide on New Years Day 2023 at 1.15pm, he was very knowledgeable, informative and friendly with a sense of humour. He answered any questions we had and told us about other places to visit as well as interesting facts that we would never have known about. rnWe would definitely recommend anyone else to go on the tour.
Jeanette
Genial tour por la ciudad de York. Allan, nuestro gu’a, ha sido simpatiqu’simo y nos ha ense’ado rincones preciosos de la ciudad. Es realmente incre’ble que haya una asociaci’n como esta, que te permita hacer visitas as’. rnAbsolutamente recomendable. Translation: Great tour of the city of York. Allan, our guide, has been very nice and has shown us beautiful corners of the city. It is really incredible that there is an association like this, that allows you to make visits like this.rnAbsolutely recommended.
David and Rosa
Mick was an amazing city guide! Really knowledgeable and friendly. rnI can only recommend this tour for everyone visiting York!
Fernanda
We had a fantastic tour with Allan. He was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and fun. Great tour route, interesting facts, just the perfect way to get to know the city! Also shared recommendations of Christmas festivities happening at York! rn
James H
We really enjoyed our tour with Allan. He was very knowledgeable and passionate. His sense of humour made the tour a lot of fun while we learnt about the rich history of York. He showed us many interesting details that we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise and he even ran the tour a little bit overtime for those who were able to stay and see a bit extra. We highly recommend this FREE tour! (They don’t even accept tips)
Juayma Perez
We really enjoyed our tour with Allan. He was very knowledgeable and passionate. His sense of humour made the tour a lot of fun while we learnt about the rich history of York. He showed us many interesting details that we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise and he even ran the tour a little bit overtime for those who were able to stay and see a bit extra. We highly recommend this FREE tour! (They don’t even accept tips)
Juayma Perez
An interesting tour with a guide of knowledge and joy in presenting the history of York. We would recommend this tour to anyone who want to know what they are looking at when visting this remarkable city.
Einar and Hanne Kristin
: Absolutely fantastic tour if you want to get a quick guide and history of York. Mal did a brilliant job with our group, with a real feel for the people there. We had challenges, rain and the King visiting, but Mals knowledge, understanding and passion for his town kept us all until the end. Thank you, would definitely recommend
Kelly Tonkin
We had a very informative tour with Jim recently, very knowledgeable about beautiful York! Highly recommend a tour as you will find out so much more from an expert! Thanks!
Sally and Simone Australia
We arrived at the meeting point in torrential rain and Nick was very understanding and flexible. He amended the itinerary until the rain stopped when we were able to enjoy the city. rnHe was very enthusiastic, extremely knowledgable and interesting. We really enjoyed the tour despite being wet and cold!rnHighly recommend doing this tour rn
Julie Good
I thoroughly recommend this tour. Our guide Allan was both informative and entertaining. My mother was in wheelchair which was no obstacle. The tour takes in all aspects of the city. Allan is also a Minster guide so we got extra knowledge re the cathedral. We had 2 1/2 hours and this was all free.no tip. Sheer enjoyment from an enthusist.
Dr Ian Minshall
Excelente Gu’a en el d’a de hoy. Sus historias de la ciudad fueron maravillosas. rnMuchas gracias , fue una experiencia inolvidable. Tranlation: Excellent guide today their stories of the city were wonderful. thank you very much, it was an unforgettable experience.
Nora Alzua
John was our guide and he was excellent. The tour took us to places I would never have known about. I learnt so much in such an entertaining way. John had to contend with torrential rain while conducting the tour and did it with total good humour. These tours were recommended to me by a friend who has been on them multiple times and I can see why. I will definitely book again next time I visit York. Thank you for providing such a brilliant service.
Karen Brenchley
Our tour guide was Mick Popka and he was as good a guide as I have seen. His enthusiasm was apparent and his knowledge of the city was extensive. Not only was he a superb speaker but was able to hold the interest of over 20 members of our group.
Alan Ratcliffe
Thanks for a wonderful tour of York. Our tour guide Alan was full of great historical facts and stories about the city. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting York!
Amy
Fraser was our guide. Very knowledgeable and included all in the group the opportunity to ask questions along the way. Perfect way to spend a couple of hours in the beautiful city of York. Would definitely recommend.
Susan Segust
We have done tours like this all over England never before have we done a free tour that was actually free ! rnOur guide (Fraser) explained how the guides do this because they love York. rnIt showed how much he loved the city by the knowledge and variety of stories he had on hand. rnOur group had Americans, Australians and Brits so history was explained at a level we could all follow. rnLots of funny stories my favourite was about the penguin on the Minster ! rnIts advertised as 2 hours and our tour was just five minutes short of that but we could happily have went on much longer. rnWe seen the walls the Minster the Shambles a multi angled tower and learned the origin of lots of words which was great. rnThank you to all your guides for doing this.
Hazel and Gary
Brilliant tour yesterday with John. Kindly picked me up on the Roman Walls and I joined the group on a brilliant tour of this beautiful city. John was so knowledgeable and guided us at a lovely pace around York. I especially appreciated all of the little ‘behind the scenes’ info on York’s incredible history. And a look inside Bedern (?) Hall – bonus! Would definitely do this tour again, and will recommend to friends.
Gabby Trifiletti
Our Tour Guide, John, was excellent. Full of really interesting history and facts about York. Took us to places we would never have found on our own. Thoroughly enjoyable walk for more than two and a half hours, so longer than we thought and so even better. I would highly recommend this walking experience and would certainly join again next time we are in York. Thank you John, we are so grateful to you for giving up your own time to volunteer and show us around your beautiful City. Kind regards, Chris and Barry
Chris and Barry
Thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Our guide Neil was very knowledgeable, had good presentation skills, and made the tour informative, interesting, and fun.
David Bowyer
A friend and I visited York for the very first time in October 2022 and were looking for a tour to get an intro to the city. We were lucky enough to meet Nick, a local extremely knowledgeable and friendly guide who took our little group around his hometown for about 2 hrs, telling us about his city history and sharing interesting anecdotes that we’ll never forget. The time flew and we could have continued for 2 hours more! What’s more, he spoke very clearly which made it easier for us two (non native speakers) to follow the tour. rnThank you so much Nick for such a wonderful experience and for sharing the love for your hometown with us. Keep it up!rnCiao from Venice-Italy
Lucrecia Della Salla
My husband and I are history buffs who’ve walked with many dozens of local guides over five decades of world travel. Our visit today with Mick Popka was absolutely one of the best. His knowledge is broad and deep, his delivery is clear. He answers all questions and links them to relevant aspects of the tour. But what really stands out is his engaging and personal style’he speaks authentically as a ‘local’ who clearly loves his city and its heritage. We didn’t just learn about the Roman Wall, Viking invasions and the dissolution of the monasteries’we got a deep understanding of how all these players and events shaped the development of the City and the people who live here. Fabulous guide! Fabulous tour.
Dennis and Tina Korabiak
In all my years of travelling and touring both in the UK and overseas this was almost certainly the best tour I have ever had.rnMick Popka our guide was both knowlegable and informative about the history of York and history in general.rnMe and my wife are now both educated in the journey that the city of York has taken from the early Roman inhabitants to present day.rnWe both feel very privilged that we were able to take this free tour with Mick and wish to put it on record that he is a credit not only to the Association of Voluntary Guides but a credit to the great city of York as well.rnThankyou for sharing your abundant knowledge with us and we wish you all the best for the future.
Simon Jones
We had a fantastic tour with Mel this morning. He was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and fun. Great tour route, interesting facts, just the perfect way to get to know the city! rn
Luiz Cirigliano
We did the tour of York with Kevin today and it was by far the best tour of any city that we’ve ever done. Kevin was extremely knowledgeable, personable and fun to walk the city with. This organization is very cool and there should be more like it, as it is a great way to preserve and pass on the history of such a beautiful town. I would without a doubt recommend you book this tour, don’t hesitate!
Kaitlin Williams
A great walking with Keith! Very knowledgeable and learnt lots about the multi-layered history and buildings in York
Vivienne Laing
Had a wonderful time on our tour. Kevin was a wealth of knowledge and humour. Our family enjoyed learning so many details about the beautiful city of York.
Sandy
Richard was a really fine guide with lots of information, history and insight. Covered a LOT of history in a little over 2 hours but was clear and didn’t try to be funny when not appropriate. I can’t imagine why anyone coming to York for the first (or fifth!) time wouldn’t start with this excellent tour. rn
J Bono
Richard was our tour guide at 10:30 this morning. He was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. He had the right amount of information. We really enjoyed it. rn
Kathy Strube
Really interesting and delivered in a very entertaining and engaging way. rnI can definitely recommend this if you’re visiting York.
Andy
Richard from York – fantastic and knowledgeable tour full of facts and storiesrn
John
Kevin gave us an amazing tour very informative and entertaining! Would definitely recommend and do again myself!
Emma Thorne
I was recommended these tours by a very helpful member of staff at the York visitor information centre, and I’m so glad I took their advice. Alan was friendly, informative and very passionate about providing us with a brilliant tour experience. I had a great time and will definitely spread the word about these tours!
Mee-Mee
Our guide was Neil and he was very informative and interesting and we really enjoyed it. Would highly recommend this tour if you are visiting York. So nice these days that something is actually free! Thank you Neil.
Karen and Hilary
Helen was our guide. She was very knowledgeable and had a lovely voice that I could have listened to all day. We saw and learned things that we would never have discovered on our own. As advertised it’s totally free. Can highly recommend!!