Leeds has a buzzing city centre with lively squares and many areas to wander and people watch. Great swathes of the city have been rejuvenated and pedestrianised, including the fine Leeds Waterfront and the Victorian Quarter. The latter also offers the city’s best shopping. Must-see attractions include Kirkstall Abbey and Leeds City Art Gallery.

Kirkstall Abbey
Although outside town, it is well worth the trek out to Kirkstall Abbey as it is the city’s most impressive medieval building. The abbey was founded in the 1100s and like the rest of England’s abbeys was dissolved and plundered under Henry VIII. It still lies in its ruined state but is evocative nonetheless. 
Phone: +44 113 263 7861; www.kirkstall.org.uk/abbey  

Leeds City Art Gallery
The City Art Gallery is Leeds’ most prominent centre for arts and features a comprehensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century British paintings by Turner, Henry Moore, Wyndham Lewis, Constable, and Stanley Spencer. There are also impressive contemporary works by Antony Gormley—creator of Newcastle’s The Angel of the North. 
Phone: +44 113 247 8248; www.leeds.gov.uk/artgallery  

Leeds City Square
One of the best places for people watching in the city, Leeds City Square is a bustling plaza opposite the railway station in the city centre. It features many grand old buildings as well as newer structures and has the statue of the Black Prince as its focal point. Come here for a break from shopping and sightseeing.

Leeds Millennium Square
Leeds Millennium Square is another of Leeds’ prominent squares in the heart of town that is loaded with fine buildings and makes for a great picture. Home to the likes of the Civic Hall, this area is most popular during festivals and concerts and can hold in excess of 20,000. In addition, there are many nearby shops and the delightful Nelson Mandela Gardens.

Leeds Waterfront
Like many other waterfront cities in the UK, Leeds Waterfront has had vast amounts of money spent on it and is totally rejuvenated. Factories and warehouses have been turned into apartment blocks, shops and restaurants, new footbridges have been erected and there are miles of footpaths. Speciality shops, quaint cafés and restaurants and bars are all around and the Waterfront Heritage Trail goes through here to boot.

Victorian Quarter
The Victorian Quarter of Leeds is another popular rejuvenated area of the city which used to be home to dirty yards and ugly alleys. Today it has covered shopping arcades and a certain air of sophistication. County Arcade and Briggate are two of the most prominent shopping arcades, where you can find designer-wear stores like Hugo Boss and Harvey Nichols.

LeedsCard
This discount card provides savings to many of Leeds’ attractions, shops, restaurants, and theatres. The LeedsCard also allows free entry to Temple Newsam House. Those under 19 years can make use of the even more lucrative BreezeCard.