Favourite things to do in Leeds | Guest Post

As the weather gets warmer I find myself taking more day trips and, in the Summer months, weekends away. I enjoy staycations and exploring my “own back yard”, especially places in the UK I haven’t visited yet. There’s so much to see and do from big cities to small seaside towns.

Today the lovely Jess is talking about her favourite things to do in her hometown of Leeds. Jess is a lifestyle blogger who talks about fashion, travel, food and her life.

[Missed a post in my staycation series? Catch up here.]

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Favourite things to do in Leeds

Guest post by Jess

Hi Guys! I’m Jess from jessrigg.com. Welcome to my guest post on my favourite place in the UK. I’m going to be chatting about my hometown, Leeds. I’ve lived here for 18 years and so feel quite qualified to recommend some places to visit. Whether you’re here for a day or a week theres so many things to see in the city and surrounding areas. I’ve organised my suggestions into categories for your convenience – let me know if you have any further ideas or if you try any of these out!

Food and Drink:

• Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen is the best place for pizza in the city! It has a roof terrace, snug bar area suitable for kids and a downstairs space with a well stocked bar, Patty Smith burgers, fries and, Dough Boy’s pizzas – I recommend the Queen brie.

• Little Tokyo is a Japanese restaurant whose name doesn’t refer to it’s portions! For great food at a good price, eat here.

• Mrs Atha’s is a cute cafe which does the best pancakes ever. It offers vegan and gluten free cakes and is great for a catch-up with a friend, or a rest from all the shopping.

• The Kitty Cafe is my final recommendation, the food isn’t amazing but the cats make up for it! They foster the cats that live there and if you fall in love with one, you can apply to adopt one..or three. Worth it for the instagram alone.

Culture:

• Hyde Park Picture House is one of the oldest cinemas in the UK. It has great prices and the film selection is exceptional – from blockbusters, Oscar winners and Foreign-Language films theres something for everyone. They also do bring your baby, captioned and audio description showings as well as memory matinees for those with Alzheimers.

• Stanley and Aubrey Burton Gallery can be found in the university clock tower. It’s small but mighty and can make a lovely afternoon musing, after you’ve seen the art, you can go across the road to Coffee Rand to grab a drink and a snack!

• Leeds City Museum is a great one for kids and adults alike. Explore the animal kingdom as well as ancient worlds. General admission is free however they sometimes have festivals, events or special exhibitions on which may cost more. Another museum in the city is The Royal Armoires which provides endless entertainment for kids interested in historical warfare.

• The Henry Moore Institute showcases some of the best Yorkshire artists’ work. It’s a delightful gallery and I would highly suggest visiting whether you have 10 minutes or 3 hours!

Shopping:

• Victoria Quarter is still a new addition to Leeds’ shopping scene. It’s got a John Lewis as well as a few other carefully curated shops and restaurants. It also has an arcade extension with further shops.

• Trinity Leeds is one for those who love the high street. It has every shop you could want, and a few more. It also has a bunch of food options, whatever cuisine you want – it’s got it!

• The Arcades are a beautiful part of Leeds’ history and hold designer and higher end shops. They are fun to visit and see, even if you’re just window shopping.

Nearby:

• The Hepworth Gallery is in the bordering city of Wakefield and won Museum of the year 2018. It’s currently renovating a garden and has a brilliant permanent collection as well as new exhibitions every few months. The cafe is also amazing!

• Ilkley Cow and Calf. If you want to experience nature, then you can walk on the moors or clamber up the rocks known as ‘cow and calf’ and finish your day off with an afternoon tea at Betty’s in the town centre.

• Temple Newsam is perfect for kids. There’s a stately home and gardens if you wish to visit those however there is also plenty of activities to get involved in and a small farm to visit.

I hope this post has given you some places to visit, or made you want to visit Leeds! You can find my blog at jessrigg.com or all my social medias are @jessrigg_ (click here for instagram, here for twitter and here for pinterest).

Bye for now!

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I hope you enjoyed Jess’ post, it has definitely inspired me to visit Leeds. I’ve only been there once which was to see Wicked at the theatre. Have you ever been to Leeds? Let me know in the comments. 😊