The Best York Walking Tours,
5 Incredible Routes

Explore the ancient city in an exciting new way

Play an active role in discovering York's past, immersing yourself in its Roman and Viking roots, unravelling enigmatic directions and solving riddles to reveal the city's secrets.

Take control of your own sightseeing, stopping and starting at your leisure and progressing at your own pace. The perfect way for groups of all ages to see the city.

CityDays’ York Self Guided Walking Tours

Discover more of York with CityDays! 

Our York walking tours have been crafted to give you an experience beyond a typical sightseeing route. We guide you through over a thousand years’ worth of history while supplying you with challenges, puzzles, riddles and clues to keep you entertained (and educated!). 

We make our walking tours differently. With CityDays, you actually need to interact with and learn about the city in order to get from one point to another. 

Since we don’t physically attend your tour with you, you don’t have to worry about queues, strict time slots, annoying strangers, or feeling rushed from pillar to post. 

We’ve created a model that allows you to take charge of your self-guided York walking tour. 

This gives you more freedom to walk at your own pace, take breaks whenever it’s convenient for you, and spend as long as you like at each landmark, quirk, or any of the pubs or cafes we recommend to you along the way.

Any questions? Here’s how it works.

The Best Walking Tours in York

As any Yorkie will tell you, York’s true charm is embedded in its snickelways and atmospheric streets. We firmly believe that the best way to uncover fascinating facts, odd stories and the sheer volume of interesting places is by getting stuck in ourselves. 

And that’s how we ended up here. We’re always rummaging around finding the best hidden gems and things to do in York to share with you - and as soon as we’ve finalised a route, it ends up here. 

But now it’s your turn! Discover how Eboracum became Jórvik, why Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Tudor Kings warred over this incredible city - or pay the resident York ghosts a visit by undertaking our York ghost walking tour. 

Here’s how you can get the most out of exploring York by going on one of our York walking tours today! 

Available Trails and York Walking Tours

Interested in finding out more about the kinds of self-guided walking tours in York we provide? Get a tiny sneak peek into where your next adventure takes place…

Quirks and Snickets

Get to grips with York’s history on this meandering trail around the city’s most famous landmarks, hidden gems and much, much more!

Embark on a puzzle-packed walking tour through York, uncovering its unique quirks and rich history. Starting from St. Helen’s Square, you’ll have to navigate through the city’s secret-filled snickelways as a team, discovering surprising facts and historic monuments along the way.

You’ll find out which Viking warrior influenced a popular nursery rhyme, more about the lives of Roman emperors in York and the story behind one of England’s shortest streets.

Quirks and Snickets promises a journey filled with intriguing discoveries and answers to puzzling historical questions… 

The Drowned City

Dive into a thrilling blend of history and mythology with an interactive adventure right in the heart of York!

Plunder York’s ancient streets where you’ll encounter a Roman Emperor, a Norse monster, and a Greek sea goddess while solving riddles that intertwine fact and fiction to prevent the city’s “doom”! This route showcases York’s famous landmarks and hidden gems while delving deeper into York’s many-layered history and its most fascinating figures. 

Be prepared for surprises and historical curiosities, all revealed through engaging puzzles, riddles and clues that lurk in the enigmatic streets of York! 

A Fatal Feud

Strap on your walking shoes and pull on your detective’s cap - this murder mystery walking tour is set in York during the year of 1491 - a murder has shaken the city and it’s up to your team to unravel the mystery.

Utilise your investigative skills to follow a trail of clues starting from Clifford’s Tower, weaving through the city to uncover the truth of this centuries-old crime. You’ll get a glimpse of what buildings would have been known to 15th-century York residents and see their struggles and motivations up close as you meander past Tower Gardens, the City Walls, Mansion House, York Minster, The Shambles and more!

This York walking tour is enriched with puzzles, cafes, pubs and unexpected surprises. Ideal for crime aficionados and history buffs, this trail offers a perfect day of exploration in the legendary city of York. 

Ghosts of York

Meet York’s legendary ghosts on this classically ghoulish but refreshingly historic ghost walking tour in York! 

Take on the role of paranormal investigators as you communicate with the spirits of the dead, otherwise known as former residents of York. You’ll receive cryptic messages to your phone from these individuals whose earthly fates have yet to be resolved. 

Along the way, you’ll meet Roman legionnaires, a woman accused of witchcraft, a gold-hungry nobleman, a drunk monk and a Viking who was skinned alive. Lend them a listening ear and a watchful eye as you meander through York’s many past lives, paying close attention to their stories as you embark on a ghost walking tour in York unlike any other. 

Gourmet Xmas Food Hunt

The festive period never looked so tasty on this food walking tour of York. 

Uncover York’s secrets at its most glorious, allowing yourself to be swept away in the city’s fairytale charm and into the doorways of some truly delicious shopfronts.

One of the most flavoursome York walking tours, the Gourmet Xmas Food Hunt is a delightful winter wonderland trail that combines indulgent culinary delights and puzzle-solving fun.

Wind your way around the city’s finest cafes, delis and bakeries where you’ll pick up a selection of festive gourmet treats. Savour mouthwatering Yuletide pastries, mince pies, spiced drinks and an array of speciality meats and cheeses - all sourced from local, independent businesses. 

This idyllic winter adventure offers the perfect blend of sightseeing, puzzles and delicious surprises, all of which showcase the city’s legendary seasonal offerings.