Leeds & Bradford are the perfect double date for a cultural break in 2025
Leeds has a compact, walkable city centre packed with cultural gems, equally home to world famous museums, galleries and cultural institutions – including the Henry Moore Institute, Opera North, Northern Ballet and Leeds Playhouse – as it is to independent artists and venues. For generations Leeds has cultivated the culture and creativity that can be felt throughout the city today making it an exciting and dynamic destination for a cultural city-break.
This year visitors can get twice the experience by also taking in Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture just a 16-minute train ride from Leeds.
This suggested 48-hour itinerary highlights key cultural events and regional gems, specifically for those keen to explore the neighbouring cities and experience the collaborative creative energy of Leeds and Bradford in 2025.
Day One
Spend the morning at Leeds' Cultural Quarter...
The civic cultural quarter is where you’ll find many of the city’s key culture and heritage sites. You can explore both classic and contemporary art exhibitions at Leeds Art Gallery, work by the best international sculptors at the Henry Moore Institute and discover the best contemporary craft from across Yorkshire at Craft Leeds. While here you can enjoy the stunning architecture of Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Central Library and Tiled Hall.
...followed by exploring Leeds' Street Art
From there, explore Leeds’ world class public street art and sculptures spread across the city centre with our Interactive Street Art Trail. Be sure to take in Hibiscus Rising by Yinka Shonibare CBE RA located at Aire Park, set to become to UK’s largest new public park.
Lunch
Go to independent local legends Laynes Cafe or Things in Bread to enjoy a coffee and delicious baked goods. Once you’ve re-fueled, you can easily walk to Leeds Train Station (both are less than five mins walk from the station) and jump on the train to Bradford Interchange. Trains leave every 11 minutes and take approximately 20 minutes.
Afternoon
‘The Tower of Now’, a temporary sculpture in the newly landscaped city centre explores what it means to be British and celebrates Bradford’s remarkable diversity. It is a five minute walk from Bradford Interchange train station, opposite the stunning town hall at Hall Ings. Then you can jump on one of the regular buses to Civic art gallery Cartwright Hall, where this year’s Turner Prize exhibition – showing work by some of the world’s most exciting international artists – is being held as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture (27 Sept – 22 Feb 2026). Before returning back to Leeds.
Evening
Complete your day of culture with a night at the opera. Opera North’s new Autumn season of extraordinary productions (including world premieres) all begin at their home, the stunning Leeds Grand Theatre, from September 2025 to February 2026. This season includes Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro reimagined on on English country estate, Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes and the hugely popular La Boheme by Puccini.
Day Two
Morning - follow in the footsteps of the Brontes...
Following breakfast (we recommend Olive & Rye in the stunning Queens Arcade), take a train to Keighley from Leeds Train Station (approx. journey time 30 mins) where you can get the Keighley & Worth Valley Steam train to the beautiful village of Haworth, famously home to the Brontes.
Walk in the footsteps of the iconic literary family at the Brontë Parsonage Museum and explore the rooms where they lived, wrote – and died.
...followed by an art & sound walk in the Wild Uplands
From the Museum, it’s an easy walk up to the windswept moorlands that so inspired Emily, Anne and Charlotte Brontë. A new sculpture trail, Wild Uplands is in place until October with four new contemporary installations by national and international artists and at the same time, you can download an immersive sound walk created in partnership with Opera North featuring music from Bradford-born Delius alongside new works from three international composers in Earth & Sky. Both pieces are original commissions as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
.... then head back to Leeds to soak up the Victorian archictecture
Once you arrive back in Leeds, take an self guided Architectural Tour of the city. The city is home to several stunning Victorian Arcades, one of which houses the largest modern stained-glass roof in Britain. The Victoria Quarter was originally designed by architect Frank Matcham. He used rich marbles, gilded mosaics, handsome cast and wrought iron, as well as carved and polished mahogany, to create two streets, two arcades and the Empire Theatre (now Harvey Nichols). Today Matcham’s work has been sympathetically restored to its original splendour, introducing the style and creativity of the present.
A visit to the iconic Leeds Corn Exchange. is a must. Built in 1863 as a traditional corn exchange and reopened in the late 1980s, this round building is now packed with independent retailers and is a joy to walk around.
Just around the corner from the Corn Exchange is Kirkgate Market, another must-see in Leeds. One of Europe’s largest indoor markets, is also the birthplace of Marks & Spencer, commemorated by the iconic Market Clock in the ornate 1904 hall.
Evening
To round off your two days, you can catch a fantastic show at City Varieties Music Hall – the longest running Victorian music hall in the country. For dinner you can take your pick between popular city centre restaurant Empire Café for cocktails, rotisserie chicken and seasonal small plates, or White Cloth Hall for a casual dining experience.