Leisurely Days Out in Leeds

16th March 2017

Head to Leeds and experience one of the most cultural cities in the North.

If you’re looking for a family-friendly city to visit, Leeds is one of the best. It offers so much, whether you have toddlers, school-aged kids or teenagers. From learning about the past at inspiring educational attractions to discovering fun-filled adventures just a short bus ride out of town, head to Leeds and experience one of the most cultural cities in the North. Small and manageable in size, most of the city’s attractions are situated in the centre along with a whole host of restaurants and cafes to refuel at.

Creative Culture

You can easily spend a couple of hours at Leeds City Museum, located on Millennium Square. It’s an interactive museum with craft workshops for kids on Fridays and Saturdays plus extra activities during the school holidays. Kids will enjoy finding out all about Leeds’ past, making their own Roman mosaics, digging up fossils and learning about the galaxy we live in.

For some battle-orientated fun, the Royal Armouries Leeds has armour and weaponry from around the world and is the best museum of its kind in the UK. As well as it’s wonderful collections and exhibits, there’s a soft play area for babies and toddlers and a Jester’s Yard play area for school-aged children. They can make crowns and swords, and dress up as princesses and knights before exploring their very own play castle. Older children and adults can have a go at firing a crossbow and the whole family can enjoy falconry, jousting and archery shows in the tiltyard. Other attractions in Leeds worth checking out include the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills and the Thackray Museum.

A Shopper’s Dream

If you have fashionistas in your family, one of the first places they’ll want to check out is the glitzy Victoria Shopping Centre which opened in October 2016, bringing together Victoria Gate and Victoria Quarter. It has all the big names in fashion as well as smaller boutiques, so you can shop for all occasions and to suit every budget. There are also lots of family-friendly places to eat if you’re feeling peckish.

Further Afield

If you have time (and your visit is during the school holidays or on a weekend), it’s worth making the trip to Middleton Railway to ride on the oldest working railway in the world. The steam trains are in pristine condition and afterwards you can explore Middleton Park too. Your little ones might also enjoy seeing the baby animals at Swithens Farm, in Rothwell which also boasts a great farm shop, café and indoor play barn. Roundhay Park and Tropical World located a short bus ride out of the city centre are also well worth a visit, boasting plenty of beautiful green spaces, exotic wildlife, sports facilities and a family friendly café.

Avoid the traffic and high price of parking tickets by travelling to Leeds by train, allowing you plenty of time to explore the museums, shop ‘til you drop at Victoria Shopping Centre, and fit in an afternoon just out of the city at one of the many natural attractions.

With all this on offer see how much you could save with our journey planner and make tracks to Leeds. And with Railcard.co.uk, it could all workout much cheaper than you realise.

Our Pinterest board offers even more inspiration for things to do and see in Leeds.