visit york information centre & gift shop

Visitor Information Centre

21 parliament street, york. yo1 8sg.

If you choose to visit York, our friendly and knowledgeable team at the York Visitor Information Centre will give you a very warm welcome.

Our expert information team recently scooped gold in the annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. Everything we do has the customer in mind, whether advising overseas visitors, families or couples on a short break. Our seven staff and 20 volunteers welcome around half a million visitors every year and speak fluent Spanish, German, Catalan, French and Hungarian.

Read more on the Visit York Visitor Information page

The York Visitor Information Centre is based in the heart of the city, not far from the iconic York Minster. Our friendly assistants are here to share their expert local knowledge of attractions, travel information, places to eat, shops and events with you.

As well as our personal service, we stock hundreds of free information leaflets and guides about York and beyond. We have a fantastic shop selling York merchandise, maps and gifts and you can pick up tickets for local attractions, events, bus passes and much more.

[email protected]

01904 909487

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Registered Office: 21 Parliament Street York YO1 8SG

Company Number: 9308493

VAT Number 208087610

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By Kingfisher Visitor Guides

It's always nice to pick up a local tasty treat or special gift and luckily York is blessed with its fair share of delightful shops perfect for foodie fans or for that special present. Here are some of the best food, drink and gift outlets for any discerning shopper.

Shambles market

Shambles Market, found between York ’s famous Shambles and Parliament Street, sells a daily selection of fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish (not to mention clothes, music, pet accessories and more). You can also shop at the monthly farmers’ market which also held here. Also in the market place you’ll find both Henshelwoods Deli and Source the Deli – two places selling a wonderful array of cheese, ham and more. Close by is Bluebird Bakery on Little Shambles, a must for its breads and tray bakes.

The Hairy Fig off Fossgate offers truffle oil, pastrami, mussels and wonderful gifts for the foodie in your life. On the other side of town, Mannion & Co is a deli and cafe with a distinctive continental feel which opened in a former greengrocer’s shop in Blake Street.

Music lovers

Earworm Records , found via an alleyway off Goodramgate, stocks vinyl and CDs, T-shirts and more for the music connoisseur. Head to Fossgate to choose from Give The Dog A Bone ’s colourful and offbeat range of cards.

Shambles Market, found between Shambles and Parliament Street, sells a daily selection of fresh fruit, veg, meat and fish –not to mention clothes, music, pet accessories and more

Artisan goods

On Gillygate Love Cheese sells cheese from Yorkshire and across the UK, with a few continental varieties, as well as artisan bread. You can create a curry as good as the one in your favourite restaurant with a pack of flavourings from Rafi’s Spicebox on Goodramgate. The first traditional butcher’s shop to open in York in many years, Appleton’s sells delicious pork pies, cured hams and patés from its home on Lendal.

Sample any gin at York Gin and purchase large bottles, gift sets, kitchenware and accessories

Demijohn on Museum Street – the “liquid deli” – serves up an amazing range of olives oils, balsamic vinegars and fruit vinegars. Similarly, il Gusto on Low Petergate sells oils and vinegars, liqueurs, whiskies, rums and brandies. York Gin is based in one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the 16th century Tudor-era Sir Thomas Herbert House on Pavement opposite M&S and the Shambles. It stocks The York Gin Company’s many award-winning gins, other top Yorkshire gins, plus lots of gifts and souvenirs.

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Sweet tooth?

The best news of all? You’re never far from chocolate perfection in this city. York Cocoa Works on Castlegate is home to a wonderful array of treats while Monk Bar Chocolatiers on Shambles offers a taste of hand-made heaven.

Gifts and specialists

There are lots of specialist shops in York but none more delightful than Duttons for Buttons . All your haberdashery needs will be met inside this lopsided building on Coppergate, which dates from 1422, and stocks every size and shape of button imaginable.

Lego fans are well-catered for in York

Monk Bar Model Shop is the place to go for model railways, plastic kits and diecast vehicles – or try P&S Hobbies and Models on Walmgate. And it is well worth a trip out to Wigginton Road to visit the ‘world’s smallest Lego shop’, Minifigs And Bricks .

Homeware designs

Snowhome on Gillygate is great for contemporary homeware designs, while Daisy Taylor’s on King’s Square is another card and gift shop worth a look. Upside Down is a recent addition to Bootham, offering unique home décor ideas. Low Petergate’s Cat Gallery is filled up to its whiskers with all things feline, while Cleggs on Goodramgate stocks an eclectic range of homewares and gifts.

Snowhome on Gillygate is great for contemporary homeware designs, while Daisy Taylor’s on King’s Square is another card and gift shop worth a look.

Christmas all year round!

Käthe Wohlfahrt on Stonegate is a German retailer specialising in all things Christmas. And if you love festive shopping, don’t forget St Nicholas Fair takes over Parliament Street with crafts, gifts, clothes, food and drink in the weeks before the big day.

Don’t miss the annual Christmas Market if you’re visiting during the festive period

With such an amazing blend of fantastic local produce, traditional markets and gift shops, York is a shopper’s paradise!

A taste of Shambles Market

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Image credits: ©Andy Falconer/Bence Boros/Neonbrand/Unsplash; Jiri Hera/Monkey Business/stock.adobe.com; York Gin; Video: Visit York/Youtube

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Visitor Information Centre and Make It York to relocate to Parliament Street 

After 12 years at Museum Street, the Visitor Information Centre is set to move to a new address on Parliament Street this autumn. 

21 Parliament Street will be the new home of the Visitor Information Centre, with Make It York occupying the accompanying office space. Located in a higher footfall area, the move aims to encourage more visitors and residents to utilise the Visitor Information Centre, which has assisted over 150,000 people this year so far. Following its successful launch earlier this year, the Visit York Information pod at York Station will remain open and will extend its operating hours from November.  

The move to Parliament Street will also bring Make It York’s two city centre offices closer together, with the Shambles Market team based at Silver Street. The new Parliament Street office will also be on the doorstep of one of Make It York’s biggest events of the year, St Nicholas Fair, which celebrates its 30 th  Anniversary this year.  

The Visitor Information Centre and Make It York offices will run business as usual at 1 Museum Street until the move later this autumn.  

Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said:  “This is an exciting new chapter for Make It York and our Visitor Information Centre. Our new home in Parliament Street is in a higher footfall area of the city centre, which we hope will encourage more visitors and residents to make the most of our brilliant and knowledgeable Visitor Information Centre advisors. The move this autumn will bring us closer to Shambles Market and our Silver Street office, plus we’ll be on the doorstep of our world-class events such as St Nicholas Fair and YorkLife Festival.”  

About Make It York   

Make It York  is the city’s Destination Management Organisation, with the purpose to develop and promote the city and its surroundings nationally and internationally. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management and Shambles Market, as well as delivering world-class festival and events and the city’s ground-breaking Culture Strategy.  

Visit York  is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand. Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York. 

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