The Best Views Of York Minster - 17 Awesome Photo Opportunities

Last Updated on 19th November 2022

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I’ve lived in York for the majority of the last 15 years (despite a stint in New Zealand and travelling the world…) and while I’ve always known just how incredible the city was, I don’t think it properly hit me just how remarkable it really is until we arrived back to the UK in the summer of 2020 and we spent a lot more time in the city itself.

Even when we lived just a stone’s throw away from the Museum Gardens in our studio apartment before we went travelling and I used to walk past the Minster almost every single day on my way to work, it still didn’t fully register with me just how lucky I was to enjoy the city’s magic every day.

Now though, I’ve really learned to fully appreciate my beloved city of York and in particular, York Minster, whose beauty appears to know no bounds and every time I walk past it, it feels like I’m in some faraway dreamy Disney set.

So, without further ado, I wanted to share my top tips on where to find the best views of York Minster in order to take excellent photos in the city.

1. City Walls – best views of York Minster

York’s City Walls is one of the best places to find the best views of York Minster. They encircle the ancient city of York and many parts of the walls offer great views of the city’s most prized possession.

2. From Station Road

One place where you’ll get an excellent view of York Minster is from the Station Road section of the Bar Walls, pretty much opposite The Grand York Hotel.

From here, you’ll see the tall towers of the cathedral and it’s a mightily impressive sight to behold, especially when you’re standing on an ancient wall that’s positively teeming with enigmatic history.

3. Behind Gray’s Court Hotel

One view of York Minster that looks like it’s been taken straight out of a storybook is from the City Walls behind Gray’s Court Hotel.

This location offers a view of the Minster in almost all its entirety, and if you’re strolling along the walls on a summer’s day, you might also get a glimpse of a fancy wedding party enjoying their day in the beautiful gardens of the hotel.

4. Bootham Bar

Almost as soon as you enter the Bootham Bar section of the City Walls, you’ll see the mighty Minster smiling down on you. The two towers are teeming with beauty from here, and you also get to see the houses with some of the best views in the city.

5. Chapter House Street

Chapter House Street offers a brief glimpse at York Minster, just next to the historic Treasurer’s House. The cobblestone street adds to the magic of this location and it provides a wonderful backdrop for taking some of the best photos in York.

6. Minster Gates

where to take the best photos of the city

In all my time living in York, I actually only photographed the Minster from this location for the first time a couple of months ago. Despite walking past it and enjoying the view many, many times, I’d never actually stopped to photograph it, so writing this post gave me an excuse to head back there and take pictures of the Minster from this angle!

7. The intersection of St Leonard’s Place, Duncombe Place, Museum Street and Blake Street

This view of York Minster is arguably one of the most famous as it gives you a clear, direct view of it as you’re driving/walking towards it from Museum Street.

The only thing about getting this shot is that it’s best taken right from the middle of the road, which is obviously not very safe… However, if you can manage to snap a quick shot when the traffic lights are red, or if you get there as early in the morning as possible to take a picture without many cars around, you’ll be in for a treat!

8. Clifford’s Tower – best views of York Minster

The last time I actually went inside Clifford’s Tower was many years ago, so I don’t have a good photo of the view of York Minster from the Tower, but it is a pretty cool place to take pictures from.

While it’s certainly not my favourite location in the city and you do really need a pretty clear-sky day to get a decent shot of the Minster from Clifford’s Tower, it’s still well worth taking your camera up and snapping away.

9. Precentor’s Court

Precentor’s Court is the area just in front of the cathedral, so it’s naturally one of the best views of York Minster as it’s so up close and personal.

You’ll need to work out how to try and fit the entirety of the Minster into your shot when you’re this close, and you probably want to avoid heading there on a busy Saturday afternoon, but if you’ve got the patience to wait for the tourist crowds to disperse to get your dream shot, you’re sure to have snapped something beautiful!

10. Lendal (outside Museum Gardens)

Just to the right of the Museum Gardens entrance on Lendal, you’ll find a lovely little cobblestone walkway that takes you down to the river; here you’ll find a great place to take photos of York Minster.

This is a great place to photograph the Minster in my opinion, as you can just see it peaking out behind you, and if you manage to get a shot without many people in, it’s sure to be one for the photo album!

11. York Minster’s Interior and Tower

While this isn’t strictly a view of the Minster, it is a view of inside the Minster, and one that’s well worth seeing (and photographing!).

During your time in the city, make sure you pay a visit to the interior of York Minster and head up to the top of the towers to get a great view of the surrounding city.

12. Minster Yard – best photos of York Minster

This might actually be one of my favourite angles of York Minster as I love how you can see so many details of the remarkable feat of architecture. The almost 1400-year-old cathedral is quite a sight to behold and it truly blows me away every time I see it. It’s hard to imagine the history that it’s been through and yet it still stands there as magnificent as ever today.

13. Exhibition Square – York Art Gallery

From Exhibition Square, pretty much right outside York Art Gallery, you can just about see the tops of the towers of York Minster.

This is a great place to see the Minster at any time, but I think I actually enjoy it the most at nighttime when it seems to twinkle in the glow of the surrounding city lights.

14. Low Petergate/ King’s Square intersection

This is yet another one of my favourite views of the Minster (I think I might have said that about nearly every location now…!), as I think it looks so majestic and imposing. I love the way that the shops and buildings frame the towers and it’s so bewildering to walk down the street (with your fish and chips from Drakes!) and see this mighty structure right in front of you.

15. College Street – best views of York Minster

If you want to get a good view of the back of the Minster, head to College Street where you’ll find the cathedral’s backside sitting there in all its glory.

The cobblestone streets that lead up to it are also worth getting in the shot, as is the York Minster Conference and Banqueting Centre to your right as you look up at the Minster.

16. Corner of Minster Yard/Precentor’s Court

This location is cheating somewhat as I’ve already listed both Minster Yard and Precentor’s Court as locations to get the best views of York Minster, but I loved this picture too much not to include it!

If you stand right on the corner of Minster Yard and Precentor’s Court, you’ll get an incredible shot of the cathedral that really showcases all its spectacularly intricate details.

17. Bonus best view of York Minster: from a hot air balloon!

Unfortunately, I don’t have any actual pictures of the view of York Minster from a hot air balloon as I’ve never been in one over York (yet!), but I’ve heard from good friends of mine that the view from above is quite magical and it’s something that I’m desperate to do in York one day!

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