Leeds

Best things to do in Leeds

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   1. York (day trip)

   • A full day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Couples
   • Families
   • Rainy day

   A cathedral city in North Yorkshire with Roman origins, 27 miles north-east of Leeds. Its minster, castle and city walls are all Grade I listed.

   Check train times and any attraction tickets before you go.

   39,698 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, York

2. 

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   2. Harewood House

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples

   A country house just north of Leeds, designed by John Carr and Robert Adam and built between 1759 and 1771 for Edwin Lascelles, a wealthy plantation owner. Its 1,000 acres of landscape were designed by Capability Brown.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   7,415 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Harewood House

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   3. Saltaire (day trip)

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Couples
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   A Victorian model village near Shipley, built by Titus Salt between 1851 and 1871 so his mill workers could live in better conditions than the slums of Bradford. The village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Salts Mill now holds an art gallery and restaurants.

   Check opening times for Salts Mill and its gallery before you go.

   5,792 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Saltaire

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   4. Fountains Abbey (day trip)

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples
   • Active

   A ruined Cistercian monastery near Ripon, founded in 1132 and once one of the wealthiest monasteries in England. It was dissolved in 1539 and now sits within the landscaped garden of Studley Royal Park.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   4,365 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Fountains Abbey

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   5. Bolton Abbey estate (day trip)

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Active
   • Couples

   An estate in Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales named after a 12th-century Augustinian priory, which was closed in the Dissolution of 1539. It belongs to the Duke of Devonshire.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   3,375 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Bolton Abbey

6. 

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   6. Temple Newsam

   • 2 to 4 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples

   A Tudor-Jacobean house in Leeds, listed Grade I, with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. It is one of eight Leeds Museums and Galleries sites.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   2,155 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Temple Newsam

7. 

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   7. Roundhay Park

   • 2 to 3 hours
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Active
   • Couples

   A large urban park on the north-east edge of Leeds, covering more than 700 acres of parkland, lakes, woodland and gardens. It is one of the most popular attractions in the city, with nearly a million visitors a year.

   2,059 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Roundhay Park

8. 

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   8. Kirkstall Abbey

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Couples
   • No car needed

   A ruined Cistercian monastery north-west of Leeds city centre, set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded around 1152 and closed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   1,660 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Kirkstall Abbey

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   9. Royal Armouries Museum

   • 2 to 4 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   A national museum in Leeds that holds the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries, which also has sites at the Tower of London and Fort Nelson in Hampshire.

   Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

   1,600 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Royal Armouries Museum

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    10. Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth (day trip)

    • 2 to 3 hours
    • Check entry rules before you go
    • Couples
    • Rainy day

    A writer's house museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the former family home where the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne spent most of their lives and wrote their famous novels.

    Check opening times and ticket arrangements with the operator before you go.

    1,563 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, Bront%C3%AB Parsonage Museum

Just missed the list: Leeds Town Hall (11th by readers; a Grade I listed Victorian building on The Headrow, now mainly a concert and events venue); Leeds Minster (12th by readers; the city's minster church, rebuilt in the Gothic Revival style and completed in 1841)