Yorkshire's best free museums and galleries
11 October 2026 · 2 min read
Locomotives, suits of armour, Hockney and Hepworth — ten brilliant Yorkshire museums and galleries you can walk into for free.
Some of the best museums in the country are in Yorkshire — and many of them don't charge a penny to get in. Here are ten that are free for everyone, from national collections to brilliant local museums.
A few may charge for special exhibitions, and most welcome donations, but their main collections are free.
1. National Railway Museum, York
Two enormous halls of famous locomotives, royal trains and a Japanese bullet train, with plenty of space for little ones to explore. One of the best free days out in the north.
2. Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
Five floors of armour, weapons and stories spanning thousands of years, right on the Leeds waterfront. The Hall of Steel staircase is a showstopper.
3. National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
Hands-on galleries exploring photography, sound, television and the internet — great for curious kids (and grown-ups).
4. The Hepworth Wakefield
Striking riverside architecture housing work by Barbara Hepworth and other modern artists. The free garden outside is lovely on a sunny day.
5. Leeds City Museum
Dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies and the story of Leeds itself, all in a grand building on Millennium Square — look out for the giant floor map of the city.
6. Weston Park Museum, Sheffield
Sheffield's "museum of everything": natural history, archaeology and the city's story under one roof, including a much-loved polar bear. The park outside has a playground and a lake.
7. Streetlife Museum of Transport, Hull
Step into recreated streets and shops from Hull's past and climb aboard historic trams and carriages. It's in Hull's Museums Quarter, so you can easily visit Wilberforce House next door.
8. Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
A bright, welcoming gallery on Queen Victoria Square, with old masters, contemporary art and changing exhibitions.
9. Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford
A grand Edwardian gallery with a strong Hockney connection, sitting in the award-winning Lister Park — combine the two for a full day out.
10. Experience Barnsley Museum
Inside Barnsley Town Hall, this museum tells the town's story from prehistory to today, with lots for children to touch and try.
Browse every free museum in Yorkshire on our map.
Everything here was free to visit when we wrote this, but opening times, parking charges and access can change — please check before you travel. Spotted something that's changed? Use "Suggest an edit" on the place's page.
Cover photo: National Railway Museum by Unknown · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons.
