Castle · York · North Yorkshire

Clifford's Tower

Clifford's Tower is a castle in York, North Yorkshire. The register lists it as a scheduled monument. 51 other places to visit are within 15 km, led by York Minster (700 m).

Photo: Clifford's Tower, Francis Place (1647-1728) (Public domain)

Where

In York

inside the built-up area

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 2%

#128 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Sep

highs of 18–22°C

In brief

Castle in York

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#128 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (24 Wikipedias). About ↓

Inside York

Clifford's Tower is inside York’s built-up area, with 40 more places to visit within 5 km. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; York has 1,271 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

Picking your season

Aim for June to September, when York reaches 18–22°C.

Jan7° / 2°51 mm

Feb8° / 2°42 mm

Mar11° / 3°42 mm

Apr13° / 5°43 mm

May17° / 7°45 mm

Jun20° / 10°63 mm

Jul22° / 12°54 mm

Aug21° / 12°67 mm

Sep18° / 10°55 mm

Oct14° / 7°64 mm

Nov10° / 4°61 mm

Dec7° / 2°58 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in York, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for York. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. York’s full climate →

About

Clifford's Tower

It is in the care of English Heritage. Its Wikipedia coverage spans 24 languages.

York’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 24 languages
Town: in York
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/cliffords-tower-york

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

Plan your visit

The practical side

Entrance fees

EntryA fee is charged

Hours and entry: OpenStreetMap contributors. They change through the year: check its site before you go.

The map

Where to find Clifford's Tower

Numbered points are the places near Clifford's Tower, which is in orange.

Towns near it

Bases for a visit

Among the 8, York is the biggest, home to 141,696 people. Every one of these towns counts it as a place to visit.

1 · It’s in town

York

141,696 people · 46 places to visit

2 · 2.2 km southeast of it

Heslington

1,787 people · 41 places to visit

3 · 2.5 km east of it

Osbaldwick

2,313 people · 44 places to visit

4 · 2.6 km north of it

Huntington

12,420 people · 44 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Clifford's Tower is	People	Places to visit
York	It’s in town	141,696	46
Heslington	2.2 km southeast of it	1,787	41
Osbaldwick	2.5 km east of it	2,313	44
Huntington	2.6 km north of it	12,420	44
Nether Poppleton	3.4 km northwest of it	727	38
Bishopthorpe	3.6 km south of it	3,333	40
Upper Poppleton	4.2 km northwest of it	3,520	37
Skelton (York)	5.7 km northwest of it	1,380	21

Make a day of it

More near Clifford's Tower

A visit can add 4 museums, a church and a fort, from 51 places within 15 km.

ChurchYork Minster700 m away 2MuseumBig drawMuseumNational Railway Museum1.2 km away · 808K visitors a year 3

MuseumYorkshire Museum800 m away · 164K visitors a year (2019)4

MuseumYork Castle Museum100 m away · 284K visitors a year (2013)5

FortYork city walls100 m away 6

MuseumJorvik Viking Centre200 m away 7

Art galleryYork Art Gallery900 m away 8

Abbey or priorySt Mary's Abbey900 m away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Know before you visit Clifford's Tower

Where is Clifford's Tower?

Clifford's Tower is in York, North Yorkshire, inside the town’s built-up area.

What is Clifford's Tower?

Castle in York, North Yorkshire, England, UK.

Who runs Clifford's Tower?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Clifford's Tower?

June to September are the warmest months in York, with afternoon highs of 18–22°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Clifford's Tower a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Clifford's Tower?

Within 15 km: York Minster (700 m), National Railway Museum (1.2 km), Yorkshire Museum (800 m) and York Castle Museum (100 m).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (8)

Clifford's Tower: Francis Place (1647-1728), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
York Minster: MatzeTrier, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Yorkshire Museum: Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
York Castle Museum: Jitka Erbenová (cheva), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
York city walls: Jhsteel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Jorvik Viking Centre: CambridgeBayWeather, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
York Art Gallery: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
St Mary's Abbey: Kaly99, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.