my hubby and I are going to Leeds for a work thing but we have the Monday free what is there for us to do through the day? In the city centre there are just so many shops, cafes, restaurants, bars. Great shopping - Victoria Quarter (very upmarket shops + Harvey Nichols); Corn Exchange (an oval galleried building with some highly unusual if not bizarre individual units); Granary Wharf (just beind the railway station is an unusual complex, built under arches of the railway bridge and next to the canal - you can visit unusual shops, cafes and then stroll along canal, see the barges, etc.).
Next to the Town Hall is the Art Gallery plus Design Shop and Henry Moore Gallery. In the summer on the pavement in front, they have a giant chess set.
Moving only slightly out of the centre is Kirkstall Abbey and across the road from it, the Abbey House Museum (one of my favourite places) which has a reconstruction of a very atmospheric Victorian street complete with accessible shops containing the most wonderful original artefacts.
The magnificent Royal Armouries is worth a visit.
Just a little further out from the centre in the garden suburb of Roundhay is the beautiful Roundhay Park and facing its main gates you have the very beautiful "Canal Gardens" and "Tropical World" (a real tourist attraction - you HAVE to go there). You could easily move on from there for the evening to the area of Chapel Allerton which is cultivating an "upmarket village" atmosphere with lots of good restaurants and bars (mainly in the Harrogate Road/Stainbeck Lane junction).
I've only mentioned places which are near enough to do comfortably in the one day but if you can manage it there are the stately homes: Harewood House (home to the Queen's cousin Lord Harewood) is stunning, then there's Temple Newsham and Lotherton Hall to name but a few. However, I think you'll find you may not have time for those.
Next time you come to Leeds stay a little while longer - the surroundings are so beautiful and there are such interesting and picturesque places nearby to visit: Harrogate, Knaresborough, Saltaire (Salts Mill), and so on. In Leeds City Station (railway station) is an excellent Tourist Info shop so if you're coming by train it's worthwhile taking a look.
Hope you really enjoy your stay in our great city! The Royal Armouries Museum is a great place to visit i live about 20 miles away from Leeds, and have been to a few places in and around the area....
i don't know the sort of places you and your hubby like to visit, but i'll give u a few examples, and then u could maybe research them further if u like the sound of them ?
the shopping in leeds centre is really good.... in the Victoria Quater u will find loads of designer shops like Vivienne Westwood, Karen Miller and Harvey Nichols... if u like more original, unique items, try visiting the Corn Exchange.... they have lots of little shops inside the one building.. selling gemstones, retro clothing and arts and crafts...
there are a lot of parks and stately homes near leeds, but most of them are on the outskirts.... for example;
Temple Newsham - which has large parkland areas, a manor house, and a working old style farm, (farm is prahaps more interesting for kids than adults)
Lotherton hall and bird sanctuary - never been inside the hall, but they do have lovely gardens and a bird sanctuary area
The Royal Armouries - purpose built museum in the city centre that houses a national collection of arms and armour, dating from the 5th centualry BC, to the modern day.
try having a look at the Leeds Tourism page...
www.leeds.gov.uk
or
www.leeds.world-guides.com
or
www.leeds.com
hope this is of some help to u. A lovely park to go to (if the weather's nice) is Roundhay Park, or as a previous poster suggests, Temple Newsham. Both are within about 5 miles of the centre and are well signposted.
Another option is to head down towards the canal towpath and go for a walk along there for the day. There are some nice pubs along the way where you can stop off for lunch. |
