Stonehenge Visitor Centre: What to Expect on Arrival

The Stonehenge Visitor Centre, opened in 2013, dramatically improved the experience of visiting the monument. Here's what you'll find and how to make the most of it after arriving from Salisbury.

Getting There

The Salisbury to Stonehenge Shuttle drops you at the visitor centre car park. Walk to the main building (approximately 3 minutes from the shuttle drop-off).

The Main Exhibition

The visitor centre's permanent exhibition is called 'The Story of Stonehenge'. It uses large scale digital displays, artefacts and models to trace Stonehenge's 5000 year history. Highlights include the 'Digital Stonehenge' a room scale projection that shows how the monument would have appeared at different points in its construction. Allow 30 to 45 minutes for a thorough pass through the exhibition.

The Neolithic Village

Immediately outside the visitor centre, a reconstruction of Neolithic dwellings shows how the people who built Stonehenge would have lived. Full-scale wattle and daub houses with authentic furnishings. Particularly good for children and younger visitors.

The Cafe

The cafe serves hot food, sandwiches, cakes and drinks. It can be busy from 12:00 to 14:00. We recommend eating before or after this window. The food is solid and reasonably priced for an English Heritage site.

The Gift Shop

The gift shop has an unusually good selection of books on archaeology, the Neolithic and prehistoric Britain alongside the standard tourist merchandise. History enthusiasts typically spend longer here than they planned to.

From the Visitor Centre to the Stones

A shuttle bus runs continuously between the visitor centre and the stone circle (10 minutes). Walking the 1.5 mile path is recommended as it allows you to approach the monument from a distance dramatically increasing the impact of seeing it for the first time.