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Things to do in Leeds
For those who love to shop, Leeds is pure paradise. The city's retail areas include the Victoria Quarter, Corn Exchange, The Core, and Trinity Leeds, all packed with top-quality, big-name stores. With development ongoing, shopping opportunities are continually getting bigger and better.
For cultural enthusiasts, Leeds offers major national and international theatre, dance, opera, and music events in a variety of top-class venues, as well as a major art gallery housing an important collection of traditional and contemporary British art.
Among the city's dozens of museums there is the intriguing Thackray, offering a vivid insight into Victorian medical practices; the Amley Mills, housed in an old woollen mill and demonstrating industrial and railway history; and the Royal Armouries, the oldest museum in the UK, containing a fascinating collection of ancient weaponry and torture instruments.
Plenty to see and do means there is never a dull moment in Leeds, and at night the action shifts to the hundreds of pubs, bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Some of the live band venues, such as The Wardrobe, are internationally renowned. Leeds is also recognised as one of the UK's clubbing capitals.
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills was a working cloth mill until 1969, when the City Council turned it into an award-winning industrial museum. In fact, it was once the w…
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
The Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills was a working cloth mill until 1969, when the City Council turned it into an award-winning industrial museum. In fact, it was once the world's largest wool mill. Exhibits trace the history of textiles, clothing, engineering, and locomotive manufacture in Yorkshire. Particularly interesting is a section devoted to the 1920s silent movie projectors, operating water wheels and the huge spinning mules that were in use in the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum has an unexpectedly lovely riverside setting and is the ideal place to learn about the industries that the city of Leeds was built on.
Website www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-industrial-museum/
Thackray Museum
There is surely no more interesting day out in Leeds than a visit to the Thackray Museum, which tells the story of medical advances through the ages. A recreated Victorian street, …
Thackray Museum
There is surely no more interesting day out in Leeds than a visit to the Thackray Museum, which tells the story of medical advances through the ages. A recreated Victorian street, complete with sights, sounds, and smells, highlights the lives, ailments, and treatment of a bygone era in vivid clarity, and visitors can also step inside the human body in an interactive gallery. The museum was the vision of Paul Thackray, a former director of a medical supplies company, and since its opening in 1997 has become one of Britain's best museums as well as one of the largest medical museums in the UK.
Website www.thackraymuseum.co.uk
Leeds Art Gallery
In the heart of the city, the Leeds Art Gallery offers a feast for art lovers, its collections covering everything from traditional prints, watercolours, paintings and sculpture to…
Leeds Art Gallery
In the heart of the city, the Leeds Art Gallery offers a feast for art lovers, its collections covering everything from traditional prints, watercolours, paintings and sculpture to weird and wonderful contemporary works. The gallery is renowned for having the best collection of British art outside of London, a fiercely contested accolade. Adjoining the gallery is the Henry Moore Institute, with its acclaimed sculpture study centre, and a full programme of sculpture exhibitions that run all year round. There is no admission charge for the Leeds Art Gallery and the collection could easily captivate visitors for a few hours.
Website www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-art-gallery/
Royal Armouries Museum
This fun, lively museum contains ten themed galleries, filled with interactive displays, dramatic interpretations, action scenarios, and some really exciting exhibits. The themes i…
Royal Armouries Museum
This fun, lively museum contains ten themed galleries, filled with interactive displays, dramatic interpretations, action scenarios, and some really exciting exhibits. The themes include Hunting, Oriental, Self-Defence, Make Believe, The Swords of Middle Earth, Tournament, War Gallery, A Farewell to Arms, Tiltyard, and Hall of Steel. There is a crossbow range and an escape room for adventurous visitors. This is more a cross between a theme park and a museum, bringing history alive in many unique ways, from watching gunmakers ply their craft to demonstrations of English traditions such as falconry and horsemanship. Those interested in weaponry and military history will be thrilled by the extensive collection of the museum and the chance to witness things previously only read about.
Website www.royalarmouries.org
Abbey House Museum
The entertaining Abbey House Museum is contained in the gatehouse of the picturesque, ruined Kirkstall Abbey, dating from 1152. Abbey House allows visitors to walk around the stree…
Abbey House Museum
The entertaining Abbey House Museum is contained in the gatehouse of the picturesque, ruined Kirkstall Abbey, dating from 1152. Abbey House allows visitors to walk around the streets of 1880s Leeds, while the upstairs section features galleries detailing the history of Kirkstall Abbey and the social history of the area. The museum has won awards for being family-friendly and fun for children. There is a restaurant and a gift shop at the museum. What is left of Kirkstall Abbey is set in lovely grounds by the Aire River and it would be a great pity to visit the museum without exploring the ruins. There is a small playground for children outside the museum.
Website www.museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/abbey-house-museum/