King Richard III Visitor Centre re-opens and welcomes Visit Leicester team to Old Town

The King Richard III Visitor Centre and Visit Leicester will open their doors to visitors once again from Thursday 27th August.

Twelve months after the announcement that Visit Leicester (the tourist information centre at Gallowtree Gate) was to be co-located within the King Richard III Visitor Centre, the two teams will become one when they reopen with a full tourist information and event bookings service available from the Old Town site, as well as the award-winning exhibition telling of the incredible story of the king in the car park.

As with other museums and attractions, several COVID-19 protective measures have been put in place throughout the building including:

– the installation of Perspex screens at the entrance and in the White Boar Café
– a one-way route through the exhibition where all visitors will be expected to maintain social distancing, wear face coverings, and make use of the hand sanitiser stations newly installed throughout the building
– the introduction of timed entry tickets which must be booked in advance to support social distancing by limiting the number of visitors in the exhibition at any one time. Tickets can be booked via the website: kriii.com or by calling 0116 454 4315 from 2pm on Tuesday 25th August.

Iain Gordon, Visitor Centre director said: “We are so pleased to be able to re-open and to get back to what we do best – telling the incredible story of King Richard III. We are also excited to be re-launching Visit Leicester in its new location alongside us and to be helping visitors to the city to find out more about Leicester.

“We have been working with colleagues from across the City Council to ensure we are Covid-19 secure and, whilst we have made some changes around the building to make us a safe place to visit, the quality of the experience hasn’t been affected.”

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “Both the Visit Leicester centre and the King Richard III Visitor Centre have been at the heart of the city’s tourism offer, and it makes good sense that they are combined at one location and easy to use.

“I’m delighted that this superb tourist attraction is once again able to open its doors, as the city moves towards getting back onto its feet after the disruption of lockdown restrictions.”

Tickets for the Visitor Centre can be booked online from 2pm on Tuesday 25th August or by calling 0116 454 4315