[Updated September 2021]
The Royal Armouries Museum Leeds is now fully open. Read our FAQs to plan your visit.
Our Frequently Asked Questions provide information on:
The Royal Armouries is fully open.
To maintain social distancing we’re continuing to limit the number of visitors so we recommend pre-booking to guarantee your visit.
We want all our visitors to have a safe and enjoyable experience.
Therefore, although government-mandated restrictions have been lifted, we are continuing to ask visitors to maintain social distancing, wear a face covering, and follow recommended routes around the museum.
We will continue to keep safety measures in place, including hand-sanitiser stations throughout the museum and enhanced cleaning regimes. All our staff will continue to wear face coverings. We will be continuing to limit visitor numbers on any given day to ensure that social distancing between visitors, and between visitors and staff, is possible and manageable.
We ask all our visitors to be respectful of others and be mindful that whilst the laws may have been lifted government guidance is to continue to remain cautious to the threat of COVID-19.
Term time: Open Wednesdays to Sundays (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
School and bank holidays: Open daily
The museum is open from 10am – 5pm.
All our museum galleries are open to the public – War, Tournament, Hunting, Self Defence, Oriental and the Hall of Steel.
We have two exciting new gallery displays for visitors to discover – Tudor Power & Glory: The Field of Cloth of Gold in Tournament, and Firefight: The Second World War in the War gallery.
Find out more about our galleries and the highlights of our collection.
The tiltyard, which is our outdoor seated arena, will be open every day from Monday 2 – Friday 27 August for our Tudor Summer events, and over the August bank holiday weekend for our Tudor jousting tournament. Find out the latest information about the events pages of our website for the latest information.
Some of the interactive displays in the galleries are currently unavailable. We are working hard to reinstate them with appropriate safety and cleaning regimes in place to keep our visitors and staff safe.
The crossbow shooting range and our escape room experience will be closed until further notice.
Please be aware that due to the continued impact of COVID-19 , our staff team may have to self-isolate at short notice. Unfortunately, this may affect our ability to keep all areas of the museum open. All updates will be communicated on our Facebook and Twitter pages as well as on our website.
Guided tours and talks are paused for the time being, to help maintain social distancing.
Our staff are available in all our gallery areas to answer any questions you have about the museum and our collection.
There will be live demonstrations featuring historical characters and knights in armour taking place in the galleries throughout the day.
Throughout the school holidays we will be running our Tudor Summer event, featuring horse shows, falconry, blacksmiths and lots of Tudor-themed activities for children to try. Plus we’ll be ending the summer spectacularly with our Tudor jousting tournament.
Find out more information when you arrive at the museum or check out the What’s On page for more details.
Please be aware that due to the continued impact of COVID-19, our staff team may have to self-isolate at short notice. Unfortunately, this may affect our ability to deliver our live events programme. All updates will be communicated on our Facebook and Twitter pages as well as on our website.
Our café, The Master’s, on the ground floor will be open for food and drink. If you only want to visit the café you don’t need to pre-book to visit the museum.
Social distancing measures will be in place and customer numbers will be limited.
We are accepting cash but encourage visitors to use card payments if possible.
Our second-floor café will be closed.
Our museum shop, on the ground floor, will be open.
If you only want to visit the shop, you don’t need to pre-book to visit the museum.
Social distancing measures will be in place and customer numbers will be limited.
We are accepting cash but encourage visitors to use card payments if possible.
Yes – our award-winning schools’ service is accepting bookings and workshops will be free of charge for the remainder of the academic year. As we’re continuing to maintain social distancing we have limited availability.
Unfortunately, self-directed school visits are not possible at this time, and visits need to be pre-booked.
Our new digital outreach service is ideal for schools not able to visit.
We are accepting group bookings but with limited availability and these must be made at least seven days in advance. To make a group booking please email bookings@armouries.org.uk.
The Library and Archives Collections are available to study in the Reading Room. Pre-booking is essential
Opening hours: Thursdays only / Morning 10:00 to 13:00 / Afternoon 13:30 to 16:30
For further information please email library@armouries.org.uk
To ensure we can keep our visitors, staff and volunteers safe we are limiting the number of visitors arriving at the museum at any one time. Therefore to guarantee a visit we recommend pre-booking.
You can still visit if you haven’t pre-booked but please be aware that you may have to wait in our cafe or shop until a slot is available. We are usually quieter after 2pm.
You can pre-book up to 9.00am on the day of your visit and choose an arrival time.
Arrival times are available in 30-minute slots from 10am to 3.30pm. There are a limited number of tickets per time slot.
We ask that you arrive within the 30 minutes allocated, if you arrive too early or too late then you may need to wait in our cafe or shop before you can come into the main museum.
Once in the museum you may stay as long as you wish. The museum closes at 5pm. We recommend that you allow about 2 hours for your visit. Last admission will be at 3.30pm.
Royal Armouries is a national museum and free to enter.
Pre-book your tickets online here.
If you are unable to book online please contact us by telephone: 0113 220 1916 (10 am – 1pm / Weds – Fri only)
Although we are accepting visitors who haven’t pre-booked we are limiting the number of people in the building so recommend pre-booking.
If you do turn up without a pre-booking you may have to wait or return later in the day. We are usually quieter after 2pm.
No. You will receive your tickets by email from Eventbrite. There is no need to print them out. Our staff at reception will check you in using the ticket booker’s name.
We will do our best to accommodate latecomers, but if we have reached capacity for the time slot, you will need to wait until the next available time.
You do not have to give us any details. In line with Government guidance, we will ask you to use NHS Track and Trace app when you enter the museum.
We know that plans can change, so if you need to cancel your visit please see the Order Summary section on your email confirmation from Eventbrite.
You can cancel your booking by clicking on View and manage your order online.
If you wish to change the date or arrival time of your visit, please cancel your existing tickets (see above) and then re-book for the date and time you require.
If you need assistance to cancel your booking, please email bookings@armouries.org.uk, giving the date of your visit, arrival time and the name of the person who booked.
Enquiries
Email: enquiries@armouries.org.uk
We want all our visitors to have a safe and enjoyable experience.
Therefore, following the lifting of government restrictions from Monday 19 July, we will be continuing to ask visitors to wear a face covering, and follow recommended routes around the museum.
We will continue to keep safety measures in place, including hand-sanitiser stations throughout the museum and enhanced cleaning regimes. All our staff will continue to wear face coverings. We will be continuing to limit visitor numbers on any given day to ensure that social distancing between visitors, and between visitors and staff, is possible and manageable.
We ask all our visitors to be respectful of others and be mindful that whilst the laws may have been lifted government guidance is to continue to remain cautious to the threat of COVID-19.
Yes, with the lifting of social distancing from 19 July there are no limits on the number of people you can visit with.
We have opened for education visits, but with limited capacity and all visits must be pre-booked to ensure we manage capacity.
We have risk-assessed our procedures in line with Government and PHE guidance, and to industry standards, and will be operating in a COVID–safe environment.
Our team has been working hard to put in place the health and safety measures necessary to ensure you can enjoy a safe visit. We have implemented enhanced cleaning regimes in line with Government guidance.
Measures will be in place to ensure everyone can maintain social distancing. These include:
Yes, in line with Government guidance, for your safety and the safety of other visitors and staff, we are asking visitors to wear a face covering whilst in the museum. You will not need to wear a face-covering whilst attending any outdoor events.
Our staff will also wear face coverings.
We welcome everyone and recognise there are circumstances where, for health, age or accessibility reasons, some visitors will not be able to wear face masks or coverings.
Government guidance lists specific ‘legitimate reasons’ why people may not need to wear a face covering, including:
– Children under the age of 11.
– Not being able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability.
– If putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause you severe distress.
– If you are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate.
We hope that fellow visitors will be respectful; if you feel that anyone’s conduct towards you is inappropriate, please speak to a member of staff who will be able to help.
We will not be checking visitors’ temperature on entry to the museum. We are advising any prospective visitors who have COVID-19 symptoms to follow Government guidance and to stay home and self-isolate.
Please observe the latest Government guidelines.
You will need to follow Government guidance on Test and Trace.
Young people aged 15 and under must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. Please visit our website for more information.
For detailed information please read Accessibility at Royal Armouries Museum
The toilets on Floor 1 and Floor 2 will be open. Socially distanced queue markers and signage will be in place.
There are changing facilities on Floor 1 and Floor 2.
Lifts will be available for anyone with access requirements. Please only use the lifts if you are unable to use the stairs.
Yes, please follow the signage in place and the routes are clearly marked.
Seats will be available throughout the museum, with two-metre distances between them and an enhanced cleaning regime. We ask that you maintain social distancing while using any seats.
Yes, lockers will be available. They require a £1 coin to operate. This fee is non-refundable.
There will be contactless and cash donation points in the museum. You can also donate online at the time of booking.
