Welcome to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds - the national museum of arms and armour. To support people with accessibility needs, we have created a simple visual guide that shows what to expect in each part of the museum.
Colour coding:
1️⃣ Quiet / Low sensory
2️⃣ Medium sensory
3️⃣ Loud / High sensory
Icon set used:
🚪 Entrance | 🧭 Directions | 🛗 Lift | 🪜 Stairs | 🧑🤝🧑 Staff
🦽 Accessible | 🎧 Loud | 💡 Dim | 👀 Bright | 🍴 Food | 🚻 Toilet
🧩 Interactive | 🎭 Performance | 🪑 Seating | 🎒 Locker | 🎒 Sensory Bag
There are live performances in the galleries 🎭. These can be loud 🔊, especially during busy periods. The staff 🧑🤝🧑 that perform the shows are actors. Look at the show sheet when you arrive for more details.
Most staff 🧑🤝🧑 wear blue uniforms and all wear lanyards. They are in all the galleries. Speak to staff if you need help, are lost 🧭, or if you want to talk about your favourite objects.
The museum is free to enter.
During school term time, it is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
During school holidays, it is open every day, 10am to 5pm.
The museum is usually quieter after 3pm.
During busy periods, like school holidays, we suggest booking a ticket on the website. You can also find information about special events on the website.
For more detailed information on accessibility, please visit our Accessibility page.
For a closer look around the galleries, we have a virtual 3D tour available on the website.
The nearest carpark is Citipark at Leeds Dock.
The postcode is LS10 1LE.
The What 3 Words are : events.layers.input
Find information about Citipark at Leeds Dock on their website.
If you are walking from the city centre, cross Crown Point Bridge then make your way down Armouries Way.
From Leeds Train Station, you can take the Water Taxi. It goes directly to Leeds Dock, next to the museum.
The opening times of the Water Taxi change throughout the year. For more information, visit their website.
If you arrive by car, the Citipark at Leeds Dock is the nearest car park to the museum.
This is a map showing how to get from the car park to the museum.
The car park has two ways out for pedestrians.
The red route goes through the main exit and along a pedestrian street.
The blue route exits onto a road, past the Tiltyard, and across a pedestrian square.
If you leave through the same side that you drive in, you will see a Holiday Inn Express on your left.
Go past the Holiday Inn and you will reach the square. Go across the square to reach the main entrance.
If you leave the car park through the main pedestrian exit with the lifts, turn right at the junction shown here.
After turning right at the junction outside the carpark, go under the Leeds Dock sign.
The main entrance will be straight ahead.
The glass tower, or Hall of Steel, is at the opposite side of the museum to the entrance.
If you are walking, follow the path with the museum on the left and the water on the right.
Walk past the gift shop window and café on your left.
Pass the shop and café and walk towards the yellow building called 'The Canary'.
Around the corner, there should be a large square.
Turn left to reach the main entrance to the museum.
This is the main entrance.
The automatic doors will open as you get close.
On the ground floor, you will find: 🚪🧭2️⃣
We have an Information Desk, where you can: 1️⃣
Ground Floor Facilities 🚻
You will enter the museum on the ground floor. After passing through the second set of sliding glass doors, you will be:
On your way to the information desk, the café 🍴 is on your left. It offers food and drinks, free water, male and female toilets, and an accessible toilet 🚻.
The ground floor toilets 🚻 are in the café, past the counter and to the left.
You can collect tap water in the café if you need a drink.
Do not drink water from the taps in the toilets.
On your way to the information desk 🧭, the museum shop 🛍️ is on the left.
This is the information desk. A member of staff at this information desk will:
Only card payments are accepted. The desk has a hearing loop and is accessible for wheelchair users.
At this desk, you can collect:
The sensory bags 🎒 include ear defenders and a range of sensory toys and objects. Hand these back to the information desk 🧭 when you have finished using them.
Further on from the information desk 🧭, just before the lifts 🛗, you will see retail cages with items in them you can buy from the shop 🛍️.
To the right of these cages are lockers 🛅, a changing places toilet🦽, and the stairs to floor 1 🪜.
This is the changing places toilet on the ground floor🦽🚻. For access you need a RADAR key. You can borrow one from the information desk🧭if you don't have one.
There are two sets of lockers 🛅 on the ground floor.
One set is found next to the changing places toilet 🦽🚻.
This is where you can store your coat and bag while you look around the museum. You will need a £1 coin.
If you do not have a £1 coin, you can pay for a token by card at the information desk 🧭.
These tokens or £1 coins are non-refundable.
A second set of lockers 🛅 can be found next to the stairs up to floor 1. This can be found on your right as you approach the retail cages.
On floor 1, you can find:
All the toilets in the museum have hand dryers which can be noisy. These facilities may be busy if there are functions on this floor. Other visitors and staff will be using all toilets, but there are cubicles.
There are boards with maps 🧭 near the lifts 🛗 on the ground floor and floors 2 and 4. They also list the gallery rules to help you during your visit.
Behind the information desk, you will see 4 glass lifts 🛗 which you can use to go up to the galleries. The galleries are on floors 2, 3, 4, and 5.
The gold-coloured lift (first on the left when facing the Hall of Steel) is the only lift that will take you up to floor 5.
This is the Hall of Steel. This is a good starting point before heading up to the galleries.
It can be loud 🔊 and echoey in here.
Look up or look into the mirror in the Hall of Steel. There are 2,500 pieces of arms and armour on the walls!
A staircase 🪜 winds around the Hall of Steel which can take you up to floors 2 and 4.
On floor 2, you will find: 🛡️⚔️3️⃣
Facilities:
On floor 2, you will find the War and Tournament Galleries. If you are walking up the Hall of Steel staircase 🪜, turn left at the entrance pictured here to access the galleries.
The first thing you will see on floor 2 is the picnic area and digital playground. The Hall of Steel staircase 🪜 is opposite the digital playground.
The digital playground is an interactive display 📱 where you can discover arms and armour through the stories of the people who used and made them.
The interactive can be noisy 🔊 during an audio 'take over', which happens every 20 minutes.
There is a countdown warning on the small screens.
All other sound is delivered through headphones.
There are 2x headphones per station to allow 2x people to experience the interactive together.
All stations are accessible for wheelchair users 🦽.
To the right of the digital playground, there is a small café 🍴 that is only open during busy periods.
You can use the tables and chairs 🪑 to eat your own picnic when the café is closed.
Please don't bring food and drink into the galleries.
The café also has male and female toilets 🚻, as well as an accessible toilet 🦽. These are open every day.
To the left of the digital playground is the entrance to the War Gallery. This gallery is the largest and often the busiest.
This floor looks at the arms and armour of war.
You will see large displays like these in every gallery. Some displays have barriers around them to keep you and the objects safe. Most objects are inside glass cases, so you can look closely but not touch them.
There are also mannequins in the museum. Some are human-sized, while others are large animals like horses and elephants. These are models to show how arms and armour were worn and used. They are not animatronics so will not move or make noises.
Sometimes in the War Gallery, there will be an object handling table 🧩. These objects can be touched, but you do not have to. Ask the staff to help you with this.🧑🤝🧑
In the War Gallery, there are interactive displays and screens 📱 you can touch. Some interactives read information out loud when touched. These are labelled with speaker icons 🔊.
If you need a rest, there are benches, chairs, and foldable stools available throughout the galleries.🪑
In the War Gallery, you can find cinema alcoves where you can sit and watch videos. These areas are darker 💡 than the rest of the gallery, and the speakers are loud 🔊.
Near the Battle of Agincourt display is an interactive electronic shooting range. This is a paid experience. The range has very bright lights 👀 and loud noises 🔊, including simulated gunshots. The area around the range may become busy with other visitors.
To reach the Tournament Gallery from the War Gallery, turn right at the War Gallery fireplace in the centre of the gallery. Walk towards the Napoleonic display and exit onto the balcony overlooking the ground floor below.
Floors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have bridges crossing over from one side of the museum to another.
Cross over the bridge on floor 2 to reach the Tournament Gallery. These bridges are very high and may not be suitable for those with a fear of heights.
If you wish to avoid the bridge, follow the balcony corridor back to the picnic area 🪑 where you first entered the War Gallery. There is another entrance to the Tournament Gallery to the right of the digital playground.
This is the Tournament Gallery. It is smaller and quieter than the War Gallery, although there are some speakers playing music quietly. This gallery is bright 👀, with one dark area 💡 that can be avoided.
In the middle of the gallery, there is a Tournament Ring. This is where you can watch live demonstrations 🎭, which can be very busy and noisy 🔊.
Can you spot our famous Horned Helmet somewhere in the Tournament Gallery?
There are many pieces of armour in the Tournament Gallery, including a suit that once belonged to King Henry VIII.
At one of the Tournament Gallery, you can see a red and white tent which you can enter. Just behind the tent, there are a set of brown double doors that lead back to the floor 2 café area 🍴, toilets 🚻, and lifts🛗.
Next to the double doors, in the corner of the gallery, are the stairs 🪜 to floor 3.
These are the stairs 🪜 in the Tournament Gallery up to floor 3.
On floor 3, you will find:
Floor 3 is a balcony level, so you can loop around the Tournament Gallery in a circle. The TV in the modern jousting exhibition can be loud 🔊 as it does not have headphones attached.
Opposite the jousting display in the Tournament Gallery on floor 3, there is a set of double doors. Through these doors, you will find a Crossbow Range.
Here, you can shoot a crossbow at a target if you would like to 🧩. This is a paid activity. On a busy day, there may be lots of people also waiting in this area to shoot a crossbow.
The Crossbow Range is dim 💡 and noisy 🔊. Ear defenders are provided. The range is fully accessible for wheelchair users 🦽.
To reach the War Gallery from the Crossbow Range, walk towards the balcony corridor overlooking the ground floor. Turn right and follow the path to the bridge crossing over to the War Gallery.
To avoid the bridge, use the lifts 🛗 on your left as you exit the Crossbow Range. On floor 2, cross the picnic area 🪑 to the opposite set of lifts and return to floor 3.
To reach the War Gallery from floor 3 of the Tournament Gallery, follow the balcony until you reach the 'Lion Armour'.
Move past the 'Lion Armour' and cross the bridge into the War Gallery.
As with the Tournament Gallery, Floor 3 in the War Gallery is also a balcony.
You can loop around this floor in a circle, starting at the blue bulletproof jacket.
On this floor, you can discover objects from 19th and 20th century warfare. This includes descriptions from the First and Second World Wars.
In the First World War area, there is a speaker in the ceiling 🔊 that activates when you walk underneath. It can start unexpectedly.
In the Second World War area, there is a projector screen with audio containing shouting voices and gunshots 🔊.
To take the lift 🛗 to floor 4, follow the balcony around until you reach the blue bulletproof jacket again. Exit the gallery here and then turn right.
Walk down the balcony corridor until you reach the lifts 🛗.
To take the stairs to floor 4, follow the balcony in the War Gallery towards the blue bulletproof jacket.
Opposite the display case is a staircase 🪜 that leads down to floor 2 of the War Gallery.
At the bottom of the stairs on floor 2, look for the reproduction of the medieval tomb.
Turn left past the tomb towards the gallery exit.
After leaving the War Gallery, look to your right and follow the balcony corridor.
This will return you to the floor 2 lift area 🛗 and the Hall of Steel.
Take the Hall of Steel stairs 🪜 or the lifts 🛗 to reach floor 4.
On floor 4, you will find: 2️⃣
This floor has dim lighting 💡and occasional noises 🔊 from video displays
Facilities:
On floor 4 you will find the Asian and African, Self-Defence, and Special Exhibition galleries.
If you are walking up the Hall of Steel staircase 🪜, turn left when you reach floor 4 to enter onto the floor.
On floor 4, in the main foyer and lift area 🛗, you will find a picnic area where you can eat your lunch 🪑.
As with floors 2 and 3, please do not bring food and drink into the galleries.
Toilets 🚻 can be found to the right of the picnic area. These facilities include gender neutral toilets, an accessible toilet, and a baby changing room🦽.
On the opposite side of the picnic area 🪑, you will see the desk for the Escape Room.
The staff 🧑🤝🧑 working at the RA/ID Escape Room Experience will be wearing black t-shirts or jumpers.
You can find out more information on the Escape Room by looking at their website.
Walk past the Escape Room desk to reach the entrance to the Asian and African Gallery. This gallery is dimly lit 💡 with some background noise from videos 🔊.
There are human and animal-sized mannequins in this gallery. These are not animatronic so will not make noises or move.
In the Asian and African Gallery, you will find the Dojo where some live shows are performed 🎭. When these shows are on, the surrounding areas are busier.
Information about daily shows will be given to you on arrival at the museum.
Don't miss the amazing elephant armour!
The Self-Defence Gallery can be accessed from behind the elephant.
You can also access the Self-Defence Gallery through the Japanese section.
Walk towards the end of the Asian and African Gallery and turn right. This will take you into the Japanese section and through into the Self-Defence Gallery.
This is the Self-Defence Gallery.
This gallery is dimly lit 💡and video speakers can occasionally be loud 🔊.
These stairs 🪜 can be found in the centre of the Self-Defence Gallery. They will take you up to floor 5.
To take the lift 🛗 to floor 5, walk towards the end of the gallery by the 'Make-Believe' display.
After leaving the gallery, turn right and follow the balcony corridor back to the lift area.
The gold lift 🛗 can be found on your left when facing the Hall of Steel. This is the only lift that will take you to floor 5.
Opposite the floor 4 facilities is the Special Exhibition Gallery.
The exhibitions in this gallery are temporary and the space will change with each new exhibition.
For more information about temporary exhibitions, speak to a member of staff or email enquiries@armouries.org.uk in advance. In between exhibitions, this area will not be accessible to the public.
On floor 5, you will find: 1️⃣
This is the quietest floor.
If you are taking the stairs 🪜 from the Self-Defence Gallery, follow the arrow and turn left at the top.
Follow the corridor around to the left to reach the exhibits on floor 5.
Floor 5 is another balcony level. Loop around in a circular route to explore our collection of Southeast Asian arms and armour.
This floor is usually the quietest and has soft lighting 💡.
To get to the Asian and African Gallery from the gold lift 🛗, follow the corridor down and turn left at the bridge.
There is currently nothing installed to the right of the corridor.
Please be careful as this is the highest bridge in the building.
It is 18m high, or 59 feet off the ground.
If you are unable to take the stairs 🪜 from the Self-Defence Gallery and want to avoid this bridge, speak to a member of staff 🧑🤝🧑. They will help by taking you up in a different lift 🛗.
When you are ready to leave the museum, return to the lift area or the Hall of Steel staircase on floors 2 and 4.
Take either the lifts 🛗 or stairs 🪜 back to the ground floor. Walk down the hall with the shop and café on your right to reach the exit.
This is a map showing how to leave the Royal Armouries.
The yellow route returns you to town.
The red route and blue route takes you back to the car park by two different routes.
To get back to the car park, go back through the archway with 'Leeds Dock' written across the top.
When you arrive at a building called 'Department' and 'Fearns', turn left. The car park will be in front of you.
Another way to return to the car park is to walk towards the Holiday Inn Express. Follow the road with the hotel on your right.
The car park entrance has a narrow pedestrian path running from the road into the building.
To return to the train station, turn right from the museum entrance. Walk along the dock with the café and shop on your right and the water on your left.
Look for this street sign with directions and a map to the train station and city centre.
The Water Taxi is also found outside next to the café and shop. Look for the covered bench with the yellow sign.
The Water Taxi is seasonal and may not run in bad conditions. Check the website for more information.
The Tiltyard is an open-air arena used for special events such as jousting🐎. These can be loud 🎧 and busy 🎭 depending on the event.
To get to the Tiltyard, leave the museum and turn left towards the cannons and bike rack.
At the cannons and bike rack, follow the path to the left and past the grey wall until you reach the white canopy.
These gates are the main entrance into the Tiltyard. The Tiltyard can be busy and noisy 🔊 during special events.
The Tiltyard is also uncovered so dress for forecasted weather conditions if attending a show.
There is a designated area for wheelchair users 🦽.
The Amphitheatre is an outside event space 🎭 used especially during the warmer months. Dress for the weather forecast.
To reach the amphitheatre from the museum, leave the main entrance and walk towards the yellow building called 'The Canary'. Turn right and walk with the dock on your left and the café and shop on your right.
Ask a member of staff 🧑🤝🧑 if you require help along the slightly uneven path.
This space is also uncovered and can get crowded during busier shows 🎭. Seating is provided on the stone steps with wheelchair space 🦽 provided in the front row.
We hope to see you again soon at the Royal Armouries!
