Another excellent place if your in Durham a real palace although some areas are difficult for wheelchair users. Self guided or guided tours are available and the entrance price is sensible. Norman castle in the city of Durham, England, which has been occupied since 1837 by University College, Durham after its previous role as the residence of the Bishops of Durham. Designated since 1986 as a cultural World Heritage Site in England

Well worth a visit and right next to the cathedral. we went on a guided tour as the students were there which I think actually made it better. What a place for the lucky uni students to eat lunch! Our guide Jack was excellent, really interesting facts and tales put over in a way that a non history buff like myself could follow. Tickets were only £5 so it’s fantastic value, and the tour lasted about 40 minutes, so perfect amount of time. As a side note we picked up our tour lanyards from the library next door and they have loads of info, guides etc if you are looking for things to see and do in this lovely city-really helpful staff!

Highly recommend. It always helps having an expert with you. Nuggets of information or inferences from people who live the place makes the tour wonderfully informative. Laura, was great, from the flying staircase, chapel and great hall. The cathedral and castle are must see tours.

We went on the tour, costing £5 and free to durham uni students. It was really informative and the castle itself has many stories. The medieval church was amazing and held much history. It was really interesting.

Directly opposite Durham Cathedral. The courses are run by students (I think), and our guide, Joseph Jack, was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The castle is now part of Durham university/halls of residence and the tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. Your guide takes you through the grounds of the castle, up to the chapel, and then through to the Hogwarts style dining area, telling about the history of the place. My review doesn't make it sound very interesting, but it is. And it's only £5.00.

I went to this castle with my family. I visited this castle on the 5th of March. I was shocked to find out that half of the castle is lived in by students who go to the Durham university. So you have to buy tickets to be taken on the tour. Our tour guide was lovely. However it is bit of shame feeling rushed through the castle and I felt we couldn’t see much of the castle. However what we did get to see, was pretty awesome!

Have to book your tour on line and at ,£5 per person worth every penny. You have to collect lanyard from library next to castle entrance. You can only do castle tour with a guide due to it being used by students from the University for day to day use plus accommodation. Our guide had amazing knowledge of the place and made the tour very interesting indeed . Tour lasts about 1hr and I can't recommend enough . Great value for money deffo recommend it.

Booked a tour with the family during a flying visit to Durham. Very reasonably priced at £5 for adults and free for kids. Note that you can only book about a week in advance and the online booking system is not very good it does not show all the time slots on a day. Recommend phoning up to book - very helpful staff then you just collect passes from the Palace Green Library next door before your tour. The tour itself was excellent. Our guide was very knowledgeable, interesting and informative. Talked for a bit in each location then allowed time to explore and take photographs. Beautiful old building with an interesting and unique history. Well worth the money.

The Castle in Durham is a truly magical place: one can easily imagine Harry Potter appearing for breakfast in the Great Hall. It is steeped in history and its current incarnation as University College, the most spectacular and famous of the colleges which make up Durham University, has not spoilt its historic past or appearance. Paired with the Cathedral, they form a UNESCO world heritage site and it is easy to see why. You can easily spend a day around Palace Green and it will be a day full of splendour, history and majesty.

I have often missed this place when visiting the cathedral. So I made a special effort to visit this time. Sadly, there were no guided tours, but you could do a self-guided tour, and there were people in each room to answer your questions. The rooms are amazing- especially the Great Hall. There is so much history here. Aĺow time to take it all in.