City of Leeds
In Leeds you will find a city brimming with culture, sporting heritage, excellent food, an exciting nightlife and superb shopping. Leeds is a popular city break destination with lots to offer visitors from the UK and abroad. It truly is a world class city that caters for all tastes and budgets.
Local and regional highlights include
Royal Armouries Museum - Bringing 3000 years of warfare to life, see demonstrations of everything from sword-fighting to jousting, alongside a sprawling collection of ancient weaponry from the Tower of London at the world-class Royal Armouries (http://royalarmouries.org/home).
Kirkstall Abbey - Explore one of the most complete examples of a medieval Cistercian abbey in Britain. Set in wonderful parkland along the banks of the River Aire, the abbey boasts historic architecture amid a haven of wildlife and greenery (http://www.leeds.gov.uk/museumsandgalleries/Pages/Kirkstall-Abbey.aspx).
Art and Sculpture - Leeds is the only English city outside of London with its own repertory theatre, opera house and ballet companies. Celebrating the Leeds College of Art's most famous graduate, the Henry Moore Institute is one of the city's cultural highlights, home of the Yorkshire Sculpture a Triangle and boasting the largest sculpture collection in Europe. The Institute is housed in modern extension to Leeds City Art Gallery, which itself boasts a fine collection of work by 19th and 20th century British painters. You can also visit The Yorkshire Sculpture Park within 20 Miles of the city centre (http://www.ysp.co.uk/).
Architecture - There are more listed buildings in Leeds than in any English city outside London, with highlights including the Victoria Quarter, Leeds Corn Exchange and Harewood House, home of the Queen's cousin.
Yorkshire Dales National Park - Leeds is the ideal gateway to the Yorkshire region, the Yorkshire Dales are just 20 Miles away, and features some of the country's most beautiful landscapes. Yorkshire is the largest county in the UK, with incredible scenery from inspiring moorlands of stunning coastlines.
Shopping
The rough guide to Britain named shopping in Leeds as one the top thirty things to do in the UK, and with five miles of shopping streets and one the country's largest pedestrianized zones it's easy to see why. Leeds city centre is easy to get around on foot, perfect for dedicated shoppers. The recent Trinity Leeds shopping and leisure centre is worth a visit. The ornate Victoria Quarter, housed beneath stained-glass ceilings, is home to designer brands including Vivenne Westood, Louis Vuitton and The Kloopes, as well as the designer flagship Harvey Nichols.
Open since 1822 and home to the Marks & Spencer Penny Bazaar, the Leeds Kirkgate Market is the largest covered market in Europe.
Nightlife and Eating Out
Leeds also has an excellent nightlife scene, with numerous restaurants and independent bars, and is one of the UK's best cities for dining out according to Which? The Good Food Guide. The First Direct Arena, opened in September 2013, is the latest of many developments to reinvigorate the city centre, and has already played host to luminaries such as Bruce Springsteen and Elton John.
Tourist information
Leeds is easy to explore with its compact and vibrant city centre, attracting visitors for its world class live music, sport, culture, heritage and food and drink scene. For Leeds tourist information, please visit www.visitleeds.co.uk; and for further afield visit the Welcome to Yorkshire website http://www.yorkshire.com/ .
The Leeds Visitor Centre (Tourist Information Centre in Leeds) is situated in the Railway Station and is open; Monday, 10.00-17.30, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.00-17.30; Sunday 10.00-16.00