We’ve listed all the best family photo spots in York, so go out and have some fun whilst taking some family photos and selfies!Take a wander around York as a family and try to capture all the best family photo spots in York! We’ve listed 12 fabulous places for great photos and we’ve even added a few little challenge shots and some creative tips for you at each place! Plus there is a handy Google map to help you find them all!
Why not post your best family selfies on Instagram or Facebook and tag us in @yorkmumbler – we’d love to see your photos! 💜
First up has to be the iconic York Minster, one of the world’s most magnificent cathedrals, right on our doorstep! What a sight it is, so photo opportunities don’t get much better than this.
Did you know it’s free for York residents (proof of address required) and kids are free with an adult? Plus there’s loads inside for children to do including trails, explorer backpacks and much more! Find out more here.
📸 Challenge shot: Can you get a photo of a Peregrine Falcon that nest in the towers of York Minster?
💡 Get creative: Pose like Constantine in front of his impressive statue! Swords are optional!
Installed in 1971 by York Civic Trust as ‘a gift which all its citizens could enjoy’, the fountains just outside the York Art Gallery make a great photo spot.
Whilst you are there why not pop into York Art Gallery? Entrance to York Art Gallery is free and has plenty of hands-on fun and activity sheets for kids. Find out more here.
📸 Challenge shot: Try and frame your image like it’s a portrait from York Art Gallery!
💡 Get creative: Pose like William Etty, the statue next to the fountains.
The Museum Gardens is full of history and a great place to take some fantastic family photos. St Mary’s Abbey was built in 1088, and the Abbey estate occupied the entire site of the Museum Gardens that we get to enjoy for free today! There are plenty of ruins to pose in front of.
You can see the remains of the walls of St Mary’s Abbey, where monks prayed and sang and the ruins of St. Leonards Hospital (next to York Explore Library), which is thought to be the largest medieval hospital in the north of England. The Multangular Tower (between the Yorkshire Museum and St Leonard’s Hospital) is the best example of standing Roman remains in York. Finally, the Hospitium was built as part of St Mary’s Abbey during the medieval period.
📸 Challenge shot: Try and get a cheeky squirrel in your selfie or photo! 🐿
💡 Get creative: Get a photo with lots of texture in the background! There’s plenty to choose from like grass, stone walls and trees.
Walking along York City Wallls is a popular family-friendly walk and a great way to see the city from a different perspective. Two miles of surviving walls in total and with four gateway bars it takes about 2 hours to walk all the way around.
A popular section for families is to get on the walls at either Bootham Bar or Monk Bar and walk between the two. This section offers AMAZING views of York Minster.
You can find out more about York City Walls here.
📸 Challenge shot: Find the very best spot to get a full family shot with York Minster in the background!
💡 Get creative: Defend your city! Pretend to be an archer and fire imaginary arrows out of one of the many arrow slits in the city walls!
Clifford’s Tower, one of the main surviving features of York Castle, sits proudly on a 15-metre high motte, making it fabulous to photograph or get a cheeky selfie with. It is particularly stunning when the sky is bright blue and the daffodils are out in April!
You can explore inside and the new roof deck offers amazing views over the York skyline. Entrance fees apply/English Heritage membership is required to enter – find out more here.
📸 Challenge shot: Can you try and balance Clifford’s Tower in your hands or on your head?
💡 Get creative: Try and get an unusual angle of Clifford’s Tower in the background of your photo.
Celebrate York’s Viking past by tracking down a Viking or some Viking history! Jorvik (as the Vikings named York) was once the Viking capital of Britain. Whilst there are no surviving Viking buildings in York, Jorvik Viking Centre in Coppergate is the best place to see, learn and smell all things Viking!
Did you know, many of the street names in York come from the time of the Vikings? Goodramgate, Coney Street, Micklegate and Skeldergate all have origins that stem from the Vikings!
📸 Challenge shot: Get a selfie with a Viking in the photo! There is often a Viking or two hanging around outside the Jorvik Viking Centre and there are always loads during the Viking Festival every February!
💡 Get creative: Take along your own Viking accessories for your photo shoot! Every good Viking needs a sword, axe and helmet!
There are lots of white roses on buildings, bridges and gates around York. The white rose has been the symbol of Yorkshire since the fourteenth century.
The easiest white roses to find are on Lendal Bridge and on the gates of the City Walls.
📸 Challenge shot: Can you find and photograph at least 3 different Yorkshire Roses around the city?
💡 Get creative: Get a photograph smelling one of the roses!
Why not take a photo of your favourite or the prettiest shop you can find? From chocolate shops to wizarding supplies there are some fun and quirky shops to be discovered down York’s historic streets.
📸 Challenge shot: Can you get a photo without anyone else in the background? 🤣
💡 Get creative: As there are plenty of Harry Potter inspired shops along the Shambles, why not strike your best wand-wielding pose outside one of the magical shops? 🧙♀️
York is an important railway city and its heritage began when the first train left York station in 1839! Home to the National Railway Museum, which is the largest railway museum in the world and the impressive York railway station which was the largest in the world when it opened in 1877!
Get a photo in your collection with a train in the background! There are plenty on display at the NRM from the Mallard which reached a steam speed record that has never been broken to the Japanese bullet train the Shinkansen. Or you could visit York railway station or take a trip on York’s road train and shuttles between York Minster and the NRM every 3o minutes!
📸 Challenge shot: Can you get York’s road train AND York Minster in the same photo?
💡 Get creative: Why not pretend to be a train? If there are lots of people in your photo why not link up (conga-style) as carriages? 🚂
There are lots of snickelways (alleys, ginnels and lanes) that run between York’s streets! They are fun to explore and such a unique feature of the city. Some of the most popular include Little Shambles, which links the Shambles with Newgate Market, Coffee Yard, linking Swinegate with Stonegate (and it is also York’s longest snickelway!) and Lady Pecketts Yard, just off Pavement is one of the prettiest! You can find out more about them here.
📸 Challenge shot: Snickelways are characterised by being narrow – generally too narrow for a vehicle to pass. Can you find the narrowest snickelway and pose in it?
💡 Get creative: Pose holding up a wonky old wall!
Visit the shortest street with the longest name! A photo by the (slightly ridiculous, let’s be fair) street sign is a must with the kids! First recorded in 1505 as ‘Whitnourwhatnourgate’, it’s thought to mean ‘neither-one-thing-nor-the-other-street’ or ‘what a street’!
📸 Challenge shot: Can you stretch your arms as wide as the sign?!
💡 Get creative: Strike a pose lying on the wall above the very long sign!
The York Bid has commissioned several street art projects around the City to brighten up dull alleyways, add more art to York and even celebrate local wildlife!
The mural on Coney Street, in collaboration with York gallery The Art of Protest makes for a very Instagrammable photo spot. On Queen Street, you will find a stunning mural of a (giant!) Tansy Bettle, created by the street artist ATM. Don’t miss the street art at York Barbican. The mural is by Charlotte (Emmeline) North and features her signature bright and abstract style.
🤩 Check out the newest street art at Fenwicks York! It makes the perfect new selfie spot we think! Inspired by the Coppergate dig, the mural has been commissioned by York BID and designed by Leah Pendleton. 🤩
📸 Challenge shot: Can you try and blend in with the street art?
💡 Get creative: Draw your own version of some street art at home first and take it with you to include in the photo.
Why not turn your collection of fabulous York family photos into a photo book or print them out and stick them in a scrapbook to keep? There are lots of places you can get free photos every month (just pay postage) such as Free Prints App where you get up to 45 prints per month!
Or turn some of them into a postcard to send to Grandparents, friends and relatives! Free Print Cards offers one free card a month – just pay the postage!
Don’t forget to post your best family selfies on Instagram or Facebook and tag us in @yorkmumbler
