One of the biggest cities in the UK’s largest county, Yorkshire, Leeds is a lively modern city on the River Aire with a prominent university, good nightlife and some beautiful rural scenery on its periphery. Although previously considered an industrial city, Leeds has managed to reinvent itself in recent years, resulting in a greater influx of visitors as redevelopment has accelerated.
Like many cities and towns in Yorkshire, Leeds offers its visitors a warm, friendly welcome which tourists unfamiliar with the North of England find instantly endearing when compared to the south of the country. Leeds features a growing number of small museums like the Royal Armouries Museum and Thackray’s Medical Museum. A number of mansions and stately homes within touching distance are hugely popular, especially in the summer, including the magnificent Harewood House, Bramham Park and Lotherton. All are centuries old and feature expansive grounds and wildlife.
As a university city, Leeds offers a hugely varied and lively nightlife which attracts people from across the north of England, with its many night clubs in particularly high demand. The Northern Quarter has recently been turned into the newest after hours entertainment area. Call Lane is the center of the well-established gay night scene featuring numerous bars and clubs.
Highlights
Royal Armouries Museum: previously housed in the Tower of London, this exhibition traces the UK’s long military history and is one of the oldest exhibitions in the world.
Harewood House: is among the top ten foremost stately homes in England, dating back to the middle of the 18th century and featuring a Himalayan Garden with a stupa and a bird garden.
Victoria Quarter: housed in buildings more than 100 years old, this collection of stores is considered one of the best, and most upscale, shopping centers in the north of England.
Kirkstall Abbey: founded in the mid-12th century, this ruined abbey is just on the outskirts of the city.