
West Yorkshire
Leeds also offers out-of town shopping centres, universities, theatres and nightlife with transport links through its major station and the airport it shares with Bradford around 7 miles north west of the city centre at Yeadon.
Leeds is the administrative centre of the metropolitan district run by Leeds City Council. This also includes a ring of small towns around Leeds, among them
The Leeds metropolitan district is one of a ring of five metropolitan districts which make up the county of West Yorkshire, with Leeds occupying the north-eastern corner. About one-third of the West Yorkshire
City features









More information can be found at the
Leeds City Council - Libraries web pages.




Great George Street
St Anne's Cathedral is the centre of the Catholic Diocese of Leeds. The church opened in 1838 as successor to earlier chapels in Leeds and was elevated to cathedral status in 1878.
More information at the
Diocese of Leeds website.


Leeds Minster was until 2012 Leeds Parish Church. Dedicated to St Peter, it was consecrated in 1841 after the grand church was built with 1,600 seats to replace an earlier parish church as the town of Leeds grew into an industrial city.
More information at the

Entertainment
Leeds Playhouse
Playhouse Square, Quarry HillOffers a creative hub and presents local, national and international companies and artists. While still having county-wide impact among the many theatre choices within the towns and cities of West Yorkshire, the Playhouse has returned its heart to the city of Leeds after changing its name back from West Yorkshire Playhouse in June 2018.
City Varieties
Swan StreetWith a history dating back to 1865, this city centre venue once used by BBC TV's "The Good Old Days" continues the tradition of Victorian Music Hall entertainment into the 21st century.
First Direct Bank Arena
Arena WayMajor entertainment "super theatre" hosts live music, comedy, entertainment and sporting events.
Sport
Leeds United
Leeds United play in the Championship league at Elland Road, Beeston
Leeds Rhinos
Winners of the 2017 Super League Grand Final, Leeds Rhinos play at the Headingley Stadium
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Based at Headingley Cricket Ground
Universities
University of Leeds
Founded in 1904, the University of Leeds is one of the largest in the UK with a campus around Woodhouse Lane, a short walk from the city centre.
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Beckett University links its history in education back to the Leeds Mechanics Institute in 1824 but represents an amalgamation of several Leeds colleges over the years before becoming the Leeds Metropolitan University in 1992 and changing its name to Leeds Beckett University in 2014. The University is connected between a City centre campus, a Headingley Campus at Beckett Park and facilities at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium.
Leeds Trinity University
Brownberrie Lane, HorsforthLeeds Trinity University is based on a campus in Horsforth, six miles north west of Leeds city centre. It traces its establishment back to 1966 as two Catholic teacher training colleges. It gained full university status in 2012 and is building a new student accommodation block for September 2016.

University of Law
Park RowThe University of Law has established one of its centres in a seven-storey building in the heart of Leeds city centre.

Museums
Royal Armouries Museum
The Royal Armouries opened a museum in Leeds in 1996 to display some of the large national collection of arms and armour historically based at the White Tower of the Tower of London. Housed in a purpose-built modern building at Leeds Dock, near the city centre, arms and armour from Britain and across the world is exhibited in themed galleries, with a programme of live shows and demonstrations. The museum opens daily from 10am to 5pm with last admisssion at 4.30pm.
More details at the

Thackray Medical Museum
Interactive galleries show the world of medicine from the Victorian age to modern scientific breakthroughs. The museum also offers a library and resource centre.Further information at the

Leeds City Museum
Millennium SquareIncludes exhibitions centred on the life of Leeds and natural history.
Details at the

Leeds Industrial Museum
Armley Mills, Canal Road, off Kirkstall Road, ArmleyOnce the world's largest woollen mill, Armley Mills now tells the story of the rich industrial heritage of Leeds. It is located alongside the River Aire and Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Armley, about two miles from Leeds city centre.
More information at the

Places to visit
Kirkstall Abbey
Abbey Road, KirkstallThe ruins of the Cistercian Kirkstall Abbey, dating from 1152, are in public parkland alongside the River Aire at Kirkstall, 3 miles north-west of Leeds city centre.
More information at these

Find on map:

Middleton Railway
Moor Road, Hunslet, LeedsThe world's oldest working railway is now operated by volunteers who run trains mostly at weekends. The railway was first opened as a horse-drawn colliery railway in 1758 and was the first to successfully use steam locomotives commercially in 1812. The line was not built as a passenger railway, but solely for carrying coal. Passengers can now make the journey between Moor Road station and Park Halt at the edge of the attractive woodland of Middleton Park, where there are displays about the past coal mining in the area. The line has a timetable of diesel and steam operating days and special events and the engine shed is a celebration of the numerous manufacturers, among them Hudson, Hudswell Clarke and Manning Wardle, which once made Leeds the biggest producer of railway locomotives in the country. The railway is about 2 miles south of Leeds city centre close to Junctions 5 & 6 of the M621.
More information at the

Roundhay Park and Tropical World
Prince's Avenue, RoundhayRoundhay Park is a popular large park 3 miles north of Leeds city centre, owned by Leeds City Council, with more than 280 hectares of parkland, woodland, lakes and gardens. It also has cafes and is the location of Tropical World, which holds a large collection of tropical plants, birds and reptiles, a butterfly house, aquariums and other animal enclosures, including the ever-popular meerkats.
Further details at the

Temple Newsam House
Temple Newsam Road, off Selby Road, near Colton, Temple Newsam House dates from Tudor and Jacobean times and is surrounded by more than 600 hectares of parkland and gardens, which include a rare breeds farm. The gardens were designed by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown in the 1760s. Leeds City Council now own the country house and estate, which is open to the public. The house has previously been used as an art museum but there has now been refurbishment of rooms to period styles to match the outstanding restored exterior of this Grade I listed building. There are fees for admission to the house and to the farm.
More information at the




Travel
Leeds station
Leeds City Station is a major rail hub for inter-city, regional and local services with around 29 million passenger journeys a year, making it the UK's third busiest railway station outside London.
Station managed by: NETWORK RAIL. Operator/s: NORTHERN, TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS, LNER, CROSS COUNTRY, EAST MIDLANDS RAILWAY.

External link to National Rail live departure board for services at this station (opens in new tab).
Leeds City Bus Station
A range of bus services to surrounding cities and towns operates from the Leeds City Bus Station. Many bus services also operate to the districts of Leeds from stops in city centre streets.
Road travel
Leeds city centre is just a few miles from the
Leeds Bradford Airport
Offers national, European and international flights. The airport is around 7 miles north west of Leeds city centre (8.5 miles by road).
A Flyer A1 bus runs from Leeds city bus station and from outside the railway station to the airport in just over half an hour.

Emergency services
West Yorkshire Police 
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Local government
Metropolitan district council

The City of Leeds authority covers an area extending several miles beyond the city itself, including areas of agricutural land with widely spaced villages to the north east and several separate small towns including
Leeds is just one of a ring five metropolitan councils covering the many cities, towns and villages of the conurbation of West Yorkshire. Around one-third of the West Yorkshire population live in the Leeds metropolitan district, just over ¾ million at the time of the 2011 census.
In the City of Leeds metropolitan district a total of 99 councillors are elected. There are three councillors per ward across 33 wards. Councillors are usually elected for four-year terms, one councillor being elected in each of three years out of four. A Lord Mayor of Leeds is elected from the council each year.
Political composition after May 2023 election:
99 members
External link to
Leeds City Council website.



County strategic authority
West Yorkshire Combined AuthorityCovers some combined services of the five metropolitan district councils of






Elected mayor:

Police and Crime Commissioner
The Police and Crime Commissioner for West YorkshireThis role has become one of the many responsibilities of the West Yorkshire elected mayor since May 2021.

Fire Authority
West Yorkshire Fire AuthorityThe fire authority is made up of elected members of each of the five metropolitan district councils of West Yorkshire - Bradford, Calderdale, Leeds, Kirklees and Wakefield.

Parliamentary constituencies
Listed are constituencies which include areas within 2 miles of the centre of Leeds.(New Leeds North West constituency no longer includes inner city — see
Leeds Central and Headingley
Elected MP:
Leeds North East
Elected MP:
Leeds East
Elected MP:
Leeds South
Elected MP:
Leeds South West and Morley
Elected MP:
Leeds West and Pudsey
Elected MP:
National government region
Yorkshire and the HumberCeremonial county
West YorkshireHistoric
Municipal borough 1836-1889County borough 1889-1974 (within the West Riding of Yorkshire)
City charter from 1893