Art and Arcades in Leeds City Centre

In Brief.

An earlier blog visited the extensively renovated Leeds Waterfront, anchored by the Royal Armouries Museum,  whereas this reports on a visit to the City Centre, for which the Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds City Museum were the target destinations. I walked up from the waterfront, and overall Leeds City Centre gives a good impression; it is much larger than I had expected, and includes an interesting blend of historic buildings and modern shops, offices and flats. The museum and art gallery provide pleasant modern exhibition spaces, though they aren't huge, and there are many retail opportunities, especially in some grand historic arcades.

The Victoria Quarter

What's Here?

The rather austere frontage of the Leeds City Museum opens into spaces that sympathetically combine the existing historic building with modern galleries and a light, spacious coffee shop. The museum is not on the same scale as, say the World Museum in Liverpool, but contains an interesting history of Leeds from Geology, through Wool to wider manufacturing, and a worthwhile ancient civilisations gallery that groups Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts by theme (art, utensils, religion, ...). 

Leeds City Museum overlooks the large and varied Millennium Square.

The more modern Leeds Art Gallery is particularly light and airy inside; the walls are either white or brightly adorned.  The lobby hosts a gift shop and the popular and impressive Tiled Cafe, and provides access to a collection of galleries and the stairs to an upper level. The gallery seems mostly to host temporary exhibitions, which is perhaps just as well, as it saves me having to pass comment on the mixed bag of 19th century and more recent curiosities that were on show during my visit.

The museum and art gallery are close to other civic buildings in Leeds City Centre, and adjacent to the shopping area. The centre has many modern buildings, and there is lots of building going on, but this redevelopment tends to sit comfortably alongside modernised historical buildings. For shoppers, there seems to be a lot of choice, including in a variety of old and new arcades; I am not a dedicated shopper, but if I was then I would certainly fancy a day exploring the shops in Leeds.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 47 miles

Drive Time: 1 hour 25 mins

Price: Free: Both the Leeds Art Gallery and Leeds City Museum are Free.

Parking: I parked at Citypark Leeds Dock, which is clean and modern, though with city centre prices.

Food and Drink: There is an airy cafe in the Leeds City Museum with decent cake and satisfactory coffee, and the Tiled Hall Cafe at the Art Gallery is spectacular and bustling.

Retail Therapy: Both the Museum and Art Gallery have shops; I forgot to visit the former, the latter seems like fairly standard souvenirs. The city centre is nearby.

Child Friendly: There is an activity space in the Art Gallery.

Toilets: Yes.

Do it justice in: an hour each for Museum and Gallery.

Inside-Outside: 90:10

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