Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Scarborough
Wondering what to do in Scarborough? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
Aquariums
1.3 mi from Scarborough
SEA LIFE Scarborough
SEA LIFE Scarborough is an indoor and outdoor aquarium where you can get close to more than 2500 creatures. Highlights include a walk-through Humboldt penguin colony on Penguin Isl...
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Museums & Galleries
0.2 mi from Scarborough
Maritime Heritage
Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre is a community-run museum dedicated to saving Scarborough's maritime history, based at 45 Eastborough in the heart of town. Here you'll find a...
0.3 mi from Scarborough
Rotunda Museum
The Rotunda Museum is a historic, purpose-built museum on the Yorkshire coast, exploring coastal heritage and geology. Inside its Georgian gallery you'll find a frieze depicting lo...
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4.1 mi from Scarborough
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum brings together vintage cars, steam engines, fairground rides and mechanical organs, including a mighty Wurlitzer Organ i...
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6.7 mi from Scarborough
Filey Museum
Filey Museum sits in the town's old town, tucked near the 12th-century St Oswald's Church, and is housed in two former cottages dating back to 1696, believed to be the oldest domes...
11.5 mi from Scarborough
Yorkshire Coast Dinosaur And Fossil Museum
15.3 mi from Scarborough
Bayle Museum
The Bayle Museum occupies a Grade I listed former gatehouse in Bridlington's Old Town, once part of Bridlington Priory and later used as a prison, courtroom and garrison. Today it...
15.5 mi from Scarborough
Beck Isle Museum
Beck Isle Museum sits at the heart of Pickering, a market town on the edge of the North York Moors, and tells the story of the area through a collection of 50,000 objects across 25...
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16.4 mi from Scarborough
Museum of the Wagoners' Special Reserve
Museum in Sledmere, England, United Kingdom
16.4 mi from Scarborough
Cholmley House
Abbey House is a historic building in Whitby, a town in North Yorkshire, England. — Wikipedia
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16.5 mi from Scarborough
Captain Cook Memorial Museum
This small museum in Whitby tells the story of Captain Cook, housed in the 17th-century building where he lodged as an apprentice seaman. Inside, you'll find collections charting h...
16.6 mi from Scarborough
Whitby Museum
Whitby Museum is an independent museum founded in 1823, set in Pannett Park in Whitby, North Yorkshire. Inside you'll find gigantic fossils and dinosaur footprints, displays on the...
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16.6 mi from Scarborough
Pannett Art Gallery
Art gallery and museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
17.8 mi from Scarborough
Eden Camp Museum
Eden Camp Modern History Museum is a large Second World War-related museum near Malton in North Yorkshire in England. — Wikipedia
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18.8 mi from Scarborough
Norton and Malton Heritage Centre
The Malton and Norton Heritage Centre is home to the Woodhams Stone Collection, a volunteer-run local history archive covering the market towns of Malton and Norton from 1900 to 19...
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19.1 mi from Scarborough
Malton Museum
Malton Museum tells the story of Malton's past, with an exhibition exploring Monks, Merchants & Medicine and a collection of selected objects to discover. You can join a town tour,...
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19.1 mi from Scarborough
Dickens Museum & Scrooges Counting House
The building was the office of Charles Smithson, the Malton solicitor with whom Dickens formed a close friendship. Dickens frequently visited Smithson in the town, and is said to h...
Zoos & Wildlife
15.7 mi from Scarborough
Sewerby Zoo
Sewerby Zoo is a family-friendly zoo within Sewerby Hall and Gardens, home to a mix of domestic and wild animals from pygmy goats and llamas to capuchin monkeys, raccoon dogs and H...
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Where to stay near Scarborough
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Scarborough
Itineraries
- A weekend in Yorkshire: an accessible itinerary · 2 days
- A weekend in Yorkshire with the kids · 2 days
- A weekend in Yorkshire · 2 days
Haunted Britain
Scarborough makes an easy base for a few days out, partly because so much sits within easy reach of it: the harbour towns, the small heritage museums that tell you how this coast earned its living, and a run of bigger collections inland at York. With 82 places to stay on BritStays in the region, you can pick somewhere central and treat each day as a short loop out and back.
Best for families
If you have children to keep busy, start with Scarborough Sea Life Centre. It is the sort of place that works whatever the sky is doing, and it gives you a fixed point to build the rest of the day around.
For something different, The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum at Filey tends to appeal across the ages — older visitors for the vehicles, younger ones for the sheer scale and noise of it all. Tocketts Watermill, over towards Whitby, is another good one with children: working machinery is far easier to explain when you can watch it turning.
- Scarborough Sea Life Centre — the reliable all-weather choice
- The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum, Filey
- Tocketts Watermill, near Whitby
- York Castle Museum, if you are heading inland for the day
Rainy days
This is a region that copes well with bad weather, because the museums are plentiful and mostly small enough to enjoy in an hour or so. In Whitby, Pannett Art Gallery and the Sir James Knott Lifeboat Museum sit alongside the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, so you can string two or three together without ever being caught far from shelter. Land of Iron covers the industrial side of the story.
In York, the choice widens considerably: Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum are the big draws, with Bar Convent Museum, the Quilters' Guild, the Kohima Museum, Catton Heritage Museum and the Dickens Museum & Scrooges Counting House offering smaller, quieter alternatives when the main attractions are busy. Rievaulx Abbey Museum is also listed under York, so worth checking if you are planning a day that way.
Outdoors and along the coast
The best outdoor days here are walking days that use the museums as punctuation rather than the main event. Bridlington suits this well: the Harbour Heritage Museum and the Bayle Museum both sit in the town, so you can walk the harbour and duck inside when your hands get cold. Whitby works the same way, with Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum giving you a reason to explore beyond the town itself.
For heritage of a grander kind, Hackness Hall is the stately home in this region. Check what is open and when before you set off, as houses of this sort often keep limited seasons.
Grouping it into a sensible day
The mistake is trying to combine the coast and York in one go. Keep them separate and you will enjoy both.
- A Whitby day: Captain Cook Memorial Museum, then Pannett Art Gallery, lunch, then the Sir James Knott Lifeboat Museum or Land of Iron if you want the industrial angle.
- A Bridlington day: Harbour Heritage Museum and the Bayle Museum, with a long walk in between and a pub stop at the end.
- A York day: Yorkshire Museum in the morning, York Castle Museum after lunch, and one small museum — Bar Convent Museum or the Quilters' Guild — if energy allows.
- A slower day: Hackness Hall, Tocketts Watermill, and not much else.
Where to eat
Pubs do the heavy lifting here. The Angel Hotel, The Albert, the Duke of York and The Goathland all hold five-star hygiene ratings, which is a reasonable first filter when you are eating somewhere unfamiliar. Book ahead at weekends and in school holidays, or eat early.
For breakfast, picnic lunches or something to eat on a bench by the water, Cooplands is the practical option — handy when you have a museum booked and no time for a sit-down meal.
Making it a short break
Three nights is the sweet spot: one coastal day, one York day, and one day left deliberately loose for weather, tiredness or a place you liked enough to return to. Four nights lets you add Filey and The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum without rushing.
Practical notes
Ring or check online for opening days before you travel — the smaller museums, such as Bayle Museum, Catton Heritage Museum and the Kohima Museum, often open on restricted days rather than daily. Carry cash as a backup, wear shoes you can walk harbour cobbles in, and pack a waterproof even on a bright morning. Park once and walk where you can; the coastal towns reward it, and you will see more on foot than through a windscreen.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Scarborough itself on a wet day?
Scarborough Sea Life Centre is the main indoor attraction in the town and works whatever the weather. If you are willing to travel a little, the museums at Whitby, Bridlington and York give you plenty more indoor options, and most are small enough to see in an hour or so.
Which attractions are best for children?
Scarborough Sea Life Centre is the obvious starting point. The Scarborough Fair Collection and Vintage Transport Museum at Filey and Tocketts Watermill near Whitby also tend to hold children's attention, and York Castle Museum is worth including if you are spending a day inland.
Where can I find out about Captain Cook in this region?
There are two options, both in the Whitby area: the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, and Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum. You could pair one with Pannett Art Gallery or the Sir James Knott Lifeboat Museum to fill a day.
Is there a stately home to visit near Scarborough?
Hackness Hall is the stately home listed in this region. Houses like this often open on a limited seasonal basis, so check what is open before you set off rather than turning up on spec.
Where should we eat?
The Angel Hotel, The Albert, the Duke of York and The Goathland are all pubs and inns with five-star hygiene ratings. For breakfast, a packed lunch or something quick between museums, Cooplands is a bakery option. Book pub tables ahead at weekends and in school holidays.
How many nights do I need for a proper short break?
Three nights works well: one day on the coast, one day at the York museums such as Yorkshire Museum and York Castle Museum, and one day kept free for the weather or a return visit. Four nights lets you add Filey and The Scarborough Fair Collection and Vintage Transport Museum without rushing. There are 82 places to stay on BritStays in the region.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Scarborough.