3 days in York with a 5 yo boy

[fortunatepiggy1]

What should we do/ see/ visit. We won't have a car but are staying in the centre near the station.

Any tips gratefully received

Thanks

The Railway Museum is fab (and free)! I also like the Castle Museum and Jorvik (although I've not been there since the refurbishment). The Yorkshire Museum and Museum Gardens are lovely. You could go on a boat tour on the river.

Railway museum is brilliant. Its free and there's a play area outside.

Railway museum, walk around the walls, Clifford Tower for the history and views...and back to railway museum.

Betty’s tearoom for you.

The Jorvik Viking musuem is excellent, however it says on their website that it's suitable for children upwards of 5yo and I agree. But I also think it's worth having a look at their website and judging for yourself.
York's Chocolate Story museum is excellent and something the whole family will enjoy. Yes, you get to make your own chocolate, but it's also really educational with lots of interactive exhibits.
I definitely recommend DIG digyork.com
Yorkshire Museum has a really good dinosaur exhibition on at the moment with lots of hands on activities. They have a permanent Dinosaur section but I think it's bigger than usual this year. Check out the website to see if it's still on when you go.
Web Adventure Park is definitely worth going to. It's not your average play centre. 
The number 40 Reliance Bus service from Exhibition Square to Easingwold stops just outside The Web Adventure Park and runs every hour Monday to Saturday and every two hours on Sunday. There's a special reduced rate ticket to the Web Adventure Park from anywhere on the York to Easingwold route. Adult Return tickets are £3 and each Child Return ticket is just £1 extra. Children under 5 travel for free.

You will enjoy lots more activities and save a lot of money I think, if you buy a York Pass.
York is fabulous for young and old. Have a great time!

I did Jorvik with 7yr old recently. Adults enjoyed it, he was a bit meh. From previous visits Railway Museum (especially if you get the road train from outside the Minster), the Walls, watching street performers in Kings Square, Museum Gardens (central park, no playground but many small pathways and ruins to explore), Cliffords Tower and Castle Museum (Victorian Street with obligatory sweetshop amongst many other things, all indoors). Rowntree Park is a bit of a walk out side the Walls along the Ouse but nice with a coffee shop and decent playpark. The Chocolate Story was much better than expected and ds (6 then) still points out that we could go back. It's on Kings Square in what looks like a small sweetshop. York cat trail is free and good way to explore trying to find cat statues in weird places. Bettys is lovely but other tearooms are available and will nearly all have shorter queues.

As everyone has said above - the railway museum is fab! Walking around the wall is enjoyable. We often picnic in the minster gardens when we visit York - slightly quieter than museum gardens! If you are Harry Potter fans, there’s a fab shop on the shambles , but during school holidays there’s often a queue to go in. There’s often a market on, and sometimes children’s rides just before you get to the shambles. There’s a couple of new ‘street food’ areas to eat too, which are amazing!

Yes to railway museum.
We did the jorvik centre recently and were really disappointed. Cost a fortune and our in an hour. Don't waste your money on it. It's been renovated following a flood so more interactive supposedly, but actually more like madame tussauds with lots of moving statues. You go on a 'ride ' to see what York used to be like then at the other end there's a small room with a few artefacts. Then you move to another room and Oh it's the shop then you're out and can't turn back

Railway museum is great.

Walking aorund the Catle walls is good fun.

Betty's tea rooms or a stroll down the cobbled streets lined with sweet shops.

See what's on at the theatre. We took DC to a classic panto there. They loved it.

With Jorvik, you have to slow down the pace. If you race through, it feels like an absolute rip off. If you potter about, you discover stuff. One Viking made coins for my boys - showing them how he cut and stamped the metal squares into round, embossed coins, just by banging on them with wood. They were amazed to see how money was made, and they got to keep the coins. But he was tucked away in a corner - lots of people walked past him.

Ooh looks like loads of great stuff to do thanks

Yes to all the above plus would suggest cafe concerto near minster for great cake, also NT Treasurers house is nice and has a garden if you are a member - with a 5yr old prob wouldn't pay otherwise. Yorkshire museum with Romans and dinosaurs a big hit with my 4yr old boy and museum gardens good for a picnic

Castle Museum and the Railway Museum are both brilliant and lived by both my boys at that age. Personally I wouldn’t bother with the Jorvik Museum, very expensive for what it is.

Gusto or The Cut and Chase are both great family friendly restaurants as well if you’re looking for somewhere to eat.