Leeds

Introduction

Leeds, Harewood House

© cheriechen

Once the heart of industrial Yorkshire, Leeds has recently reinvented itself as a vibrant, young city with thriving culture and commerce. With its central position, Leeds makes a good base for exploring northern England.

Leeds is only twenty miles from the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, many of the streets are pedestrianised, so you can walk around safely. The city has a great reputation for it's shopping, nightlife; tons of award winning restaurants, bars and a good number of theatres, cinemas and tourist attractions.

Neighbourhoods

• Central Leeds
• Civic quarter - north of the railway station, focussed on Millennium Square. Many museums and galleries can be found in this area as well as two major educational institutions.
• Central shopping district - north and north east of the railway station
• Exchange quarter - east of the railway station, centred on the Corn Exchange. Home to many quirky independents, bars and cafes.
• Gay Village - east of the railway station around Lower Briggate
• Financial district - north west of the railway station. The attractive Georgian Park Square is at the centre
• Riverside - south of the railway station. The converted granaries are now home to shops and restaurants, while new developments bring upmarket shopping to Leeds. The Royal Armouries museum can be found at Clarence Dock.
• Holbeck - south of the railway station. Once the industrial heart of Leeds, this district has been regenerated into a creative industries quarter with trendy bars spilling into cosy public spaces.
• Headingley - the lively student and sports district
• Chapel Allerton - trendy north Leeds area bursting with al fresco bars and restaurants
• Roundhay - attractive, leafy and well-heeled district of north Leeds, home to the vast and beautiful Roundhay Park, Tropical World, and a small selection of exclusive shops and eateries supplemented by those in nearby Oakwood.

Sights and Activities

• Leeds Art Gallery
• Corn Exchange
• Kirkgate Market
• Royal Armouries Museum
• Millenium Square - home to the Christmas Market during December
• Victoria Quarter
• Tropical World at Roundhay Park
• Leeds City Museum
• Thackray Medical Museum
• Brewery Wharf
• Leeds Town Hall
• Kirkstall Abbey
• Temple Newsam
• Roundhay Park
• Lotherton Hall
• Leeds-Liverpool Canal (Walks)
• Hyde Park Skatepark

Events and Festivals

Leeds Festival Camp Site 2004

© emmet

• The Leeds Film Festival - Largest film festival in England outside of London, during November
• Leeds Festival - A huge 3-day rock festival, during August
• Free music events - Party and Opera in the Park take place every July at Temple Newsam
• Christkindelmarkt - Christmas market German style during November and December at Millennium Square
• Leeds Ice Cube - Outdoors ice rink from January - March.
• Leeds Waterfront Festival - Live music, BBQ's and food stalls along the Leeds waterfront every June.
• Leeds Loves Food Festival - Various foodie events through out the week around the city centre in July.
• Leeds Beer, Cider and Perry Festival 2011

Weather

It's always fairly likely to rain in Yorkshire, so always plan some alternative indoor activities just in case. In general, summers from June to August are relatively warm with temperatures around 20-22 °C during the day and around 10-12 °C at night. Winters from December to February are around 7 °C during the day and around 2-3 °C at night. Precipitation is around 750 mm a year, quite evenly distributed troughout the year, though winters tend to be a little wetter.

Getting There

By Plane

Leeds Bradford International Aiport (LBA) is closest - 45 minutes away by bus. Alternatively, there are direct trains connecting Leeds to Manchester airport. About a dozen of airlines, including Ryanair serve the airport, with destinations including London, Brussels, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Geneva, Belfast, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Prague, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Dublin, Riga, Malta, Vilnius, Munich and many beach destinations in southern Europe.

By Train

Leeds is a central hub of the cross-country network and it's possible to catch fast, direct trains to many major cities. Leeds is also the starting point for the unique and scenic Leeds-Settle-Carlisle railway.

By Car

The M1 and M62 motorways pass close to Leeds. Leeds is the starting-point of the A62, A63, A64, A65 and A660 roads, and is also situated on the A58 and A61.

By Bus

Direct services from London and other UK cities with National Express or Megabus. Buses leave from near the busstation at Dyer Street. Buses out of the city are mainly provided by FirstBus and Arriva Yorkshire. Harrogate & District provides a service to Harrogate and Ripon. Keighley & District provides a service to Shipley, Bingley and Keighley. The Yorkshire Coastliner service runs from Leeds to Bridlington, Filey, Scarborough and Whitby via York and Malton. Stagecoach provides a service to Hull via Goole.

By Boat

Ferry services to Leeds are available via Hull. North Sea ferries to the UK from Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

West Yorkshire Metro provides public transport in Leeds as well. The city has an extensive bus network, operated by First Leeds and Arriva Yorkshire.
A limited number of locations are served by the local Metro train services. A free bus, the FreeCity Bus service, runs from the city train station, to Leeds General Infirmary, the universities and around the city centre. Leeds is one of the few UK cities that has a free bus service. Leeds City bus station is at Dyer Street and is used by bus services to towns and cities in Yorkshire, plus a small number of local services.

By Foot

The city centre is compact enough to cover on foot.

By Bike

Leeds is a very hilly place indeed. If you are planning to cycle around Leeds you will become extremely fit and healthy after a month or so of tackling the hills. There are less direct routes to take enabling you to avoid busy main roads. Consult a good Cycling Map for Leeds

Eat

• Zizzi - Italian restaurant near the Corn Exchange.
• La Tasca - Spanish restaurant with delicious food in the business district.
• Chaophraya - Popular Thai Restaurant with a fabulous atmosphere.
• Maxi's - Chinese restaurant in the Light.
• Casa Mia - Italian, nice small restaurant near Millennium Square
• Nash's - Fish and Chips restaurant, Leeds style!
• Spice Quarter - Chinese, Italian, Indian or Thai. Watch the chefs cook the food
• Jamie's Italian - No booking, have to queue but good Italian food.

Drink

• North Bar - beers from around the world, unique bar.
• Ha Ha - sit outside in the Millennium Square, watch the giant TV screen.
• Becketts Bank - good meeting point, no music, so you can hear yourself talk.
• The Lounge - great bar with a good atmosphere.
• Whitelocks- the oldest pub in Leeds (formally the Turks Head) from 1719!
• Dry Dock - a canal boat in the middle of the road. Yes, really.
• The Courtyard - good venue for outside drinking.
• The Adelphi - traditional pub, interesting rooms go check them out.
• Brewery Tap - near the train station, good choice of beers from Leeds Brewery.
• The Wrens - real ale pub and a good selection of guest ales.
• The Fab Cafe - A unique bar and club located on Woodhouse Lane next to Morrisons. Sci-Fi themed with excellent decor!

Sleep

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Live

• Unipol Student Homes - Unipol is a charity working nationally to improve training, standards and professionalism in student housing.
• University of Leeds Accommodation
• Leeds Metropolitan University Accommodation
• Student Accommodation in Leeds
• Apartments in Leeds
• Accommodation for Students in Leeds
• Spareroom - Large flatshare portal offering a wide range of rooms.

Work

• Jobs 4 Leeds
• My Leeds Jobs

Learn

• University of Leeds
• Leeds Metropolitan University
• Leeds Trinity University College
• Leeds City Library and others in the area
• Open University in Yorkshire

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés can be found in many cities and towns. All UK public libraries provide access, often branded as "People's Network", usually at no or little charge, though there is usually a time limit. Some hotels/hostels also offer internet access, including wifi, but most times at a cost. Using the internet on your personal phone can become expensive very quickly, with carriers charging 100's of times the local rate for data. To avoid these expensive roaming charges, you can hunt for wifi at a local cafe or hotel, or rent a mobile hotspot via several providers including DATAPiXY, and XCOM Global.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The country calling code to the United Kingdom is: 44. To make an international call from the United Kingdom, the code is: 00

In case of emergency, call 999 or 112 from any phone. Such calls are free and will be answered by an emergency services operator who will ask you for your location, and the service(s) you need (police, fire, ambulance, coastguard or mountain rescue). You can call this number from any mobile telephone as well, even if you do not have roaming.

Although the number is declining, you can still find payphones in many public areas, especially stations, airports etc. You can usually pay with cash and sometimes by creditcard or, for international calls, special phonecards are still available.

Mobile phones are heavily used. The main networks are T-Mobile, Vodafone, Orange and O2. 3G data services are available, usually priced per megabyte and coverage is usually very good in the UK, however it may lack in rural areas. Roaming on your personal phone plan can be expensive. To manage costs, consider purchasing a local UK SIM card for your phone. Several companies offer local SIM cards including Telestial, and CellularAbroad.

Post

The Royal Mail provides postal services in the United Kingdom. The Royal Mail's store fronts are called Post Office and offer services ranging from sending letters and packages to foreign currency exchange. Use the branch locator to find the nearest Post Office branch. There will be at least one post office in any town/city and there are quite often post offices in larger villages. It's common for a post office to be incorporated into a grocery store, where there will be a small counter located at the back of the store for dealing with post related matters. All post offices are marked with signs that say 'post office' in red lettering. Post boxes can be found at any post office and standalone large red post boxes on the streets or red boxes in the sides of public buildings.
For sending packages overseas, it might be a good idea to check prices and services with international companies like TNT, UPS or DHL.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website