Things to do in Leeds for free

The City Art Gallery is home to an important group of nineteenth- and twentieth-century prints, drawings, paintings and sculptures. There’s an understandable bias towards works by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore - both were once students at the Leeds School of Art. You will see Moore’s Reclining Woman at the steps to the gallery entrance. The building itself is a treat, which shares a resorted Victorian building alongside the Central Library. The Art Nouveau café is also a highlight, it showcases some towering marble columns.

The City Art Gallery connects with the Henry Moore Institute and showcases a collection of pieces. Despite its name, the Henry Moore Institute is not just dedicated to the work of Moore. There are temporary exhibitions featuring sculptures from various nationalities and periods of time. If you’re looking for Leeds holidays, make sure to check out our fantastic selection of breaks.

The south side of the riverbank beckons the Royal Armouries . You won’t miss its impressive glass turret. It was built as home to the armour and arms collection from the Tower of London. One of the best museums of its type in the world, its five huge galleries hold displays of weapons for war, hunting and tournaments. It also showcases armour and other artefacts which date back to the Roman times and onwards. Particularly spectacular are the reconstruction of a tiger hunt; the Indian elephant armour (the heaviest armour in the world) consisting of 8500 iron plates; fabulously decorated ceremonial suits of full plate armour; a Sikh “quoit turban” which carried a blood-curdling array of throwing quoits; garrotting wires and knives; Samurai, Mongol and Indian armour and weapons; and many ornate guns, from a reconstruction of an enormously long Essex punt gun to an exquisite Tiffany-decorated Smith and Wesson .44 Magnum. It’s one of the best free things to do in Leeds for sure.

Window shopping has never been better. Leeds is home to many stylish shops in the city centre street of Briggate. Be sure to marvel at the first ever Harvey Nichols to leave the capital. There are other places to wander around for browsing, too. Head to the Kirkgate Market, which is one the biggest indoor markets in the whole of Europe. You can have a look at fresh food and drink options while taking a look at some fine jewellery pieces.

Henry Moore’s work can also be found in the grand Yorkshire Sculpture Park . Situated close to Leeds in Wakefield, this is where the sculptor Barbara Hepworth was born. The park describes itself as a “gallery without walls”. Here you can find temporary exhibitions with artists such as Damian Hirst having had work showcased here before. An impressive visitor centre is home to a shop, restaurant and fantastic indoor gallery. This is one of the most impressive free things to do in Leeds if you like the outdoors.

Roundhay Park is one of the largest parks in Europe. It stretches to more than 700 acres of lakes, parkland, gardens and woodlands. Everything here is owned by the Leeds City Council and it attracts close to one million visitors every single year. It’s a great way to enjoy the great outdoors in Yorkshire.

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