Season guide · York · United Kingdom
York in summer
June–August: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Seasider53, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Long, warm days, river cruises and race meetings, but the biggest crowds and highest prices, especially around the Ebor Festival. Expect highs up to 22°C (72°F) and lows around 10°C (50°F), with about 28 rainy days across June–August. June is among the best months of the year to visit.
Key facts
- Months
- June–August
- Temperatures
- 10°C (50°F) to 22°C (72°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 28
- Crowds
- Very busy
- Hotel prices
- Highest
Weather in summer
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June | 19°C (66°F) | 10°C (50°F) | 9 | 17.1 h | 4/5 |
| July | 22°C (72°F) | 12°C (54°F) | 9 | 16.6 h | 5/5 |
| August | 21°C (70°F) | 12°C (54°F) | 10 | 14.8 h | 5/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 21°C (70°F) against a yearly 14°C (57°F), and 28 of the year's roughly 117 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 5/5 and hotel prices 5/5 on average.
What's on in summer
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- July: York Early Music Festival (usually July)
- August: Ebor Festival — the biggest race meeting of the year at York Racecourse (usually mid to late August)
Good choices for summer
Museum · Leeman Road
National Railway Museum
Walk from the station via the footbridge in about 10 minutes, and check for turntable demonstrations on arrival.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Iconic
Museum · Castle Area
York Castle Museum
Housed in former 18th-century prisons, the museum is known for Kirkgate, a recreated Victorian street with shops you can walk into, as well as period rooms, toys and the cells of the old debtors' prison where Dick Turpin was held before his execution.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- History
- Rainy day
Historic site · Fossgate
Merchant Adventurers' Hall
Look up at the huge oak roof timbers in the Great Hall, then visit the undercroft below.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Gallery · Exhibition Square
York Art Gallery
On Exhibition Square below Bootham Bar, the gallery holds paintings from the 14th century to the present and the Centre of Ceramic Art, one of Britain's largest collections of studio pottery.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Rainy day
Historic site · Minster Quarter
Treasurer's House
Ask the guides about the cellar ghost story, and enjoy the small garden facing the Minster.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Day trips in summer
- Whitby (About 1 hour 30 minutes–2 hours by car or coach) — A fishing port on the North Yorkshire coast where 199 steps climb to the clifftop ruins of Whitby Abbey, which helped inspire Bram Stoker's Dracula.
- Harrogate (About 35 minutes by train) — An elegant Victorian spa town with the Royal Pump Room Museum, the Turkish Baths, the Valley Gardens and the original Bettys tearoom, surrounded by the open lawns of the Stray.
What to pack
- Light layers for the day and a light jacket for the evening
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is summer a good time to visit York?
Yes: June is among the best months. Long, warm days, river cruises and race meetings, but the biggest crowds and highest prices, especially around the Ebor Festival.
+What is the weather like in York in summer?
Highs of up to 22°C (72°F) and lows around 10°C (50°F), with about 28 rainy days over the season.