Leeds, England — Activities
Leeds Culture
Leeds is a city that holds its leisure time dearly and is proud of its thriving performing arts scene. For theater try the West Yorkshire Playhouse (tel: (0113) 213 7700; website: www.wyp.org.uk) on Playhouse Square in the east of the city or The Carriageworks (tel: (0113) 224 3801; website: www.carriageworkstheater.co.uk) in the Electric Press development on Millennium Square in the northeast of the city. Opera North (tel: (0113) 244 5326; website: www.operanorth.co.uk) is a touring company based in Leeds that regularly performs at the spectacular Grand Theater Leeds (tel: 0844 848 2706; website: www.leedsgrandtheater.com) on New Briggate; the group has an excellent reputation for staging works that challenge the preconceptions of what opera should be.
The Northern Ballet Theater (tel: (0113) 274 5355; website: www.northernballettheater.co.uk) stages a number of dance productions ranging from classic works to contemporary pieces.
A great venue to watch live music is the Leeds Met Students Union (tel: (0113) 209 8435; website: www.leedsmetevents.co.uk) located a short walk north of the city center.
The city also boasts a great comedy scene and visitors have two comedy venues to choose from in the city - Jongleurs (tel: 0844 499 4068; website: www.jongleurs.com) on Albion Street and The Hi-Fi Club (tel: (0113) 242 7353; website: www.thehificlub.co.uk) on Central Road, which serves up a pre-club comedy night every Saturday.
For quieter nights at the movies, there's a Vue Leeds The Light (tel: 08712 240 240; website: www.myvue.com) cinema on The Headrow that shows all the latest releases. For art house films, visitors will have to travel out to the wonderful old Hyde Park Picture House (tel: (0113) 275 2045; website: www.hydeparkpicturehouse.co.uk) on Brundenell Road northwest of the city center.
Leeds Tours
Leeds’ relatively compact center makes it perfect for exploring on foot. Free maps can be picked up from the tourist office and it’s a quick and easy city to get acquainted with and find your way around. But to get a real sense of Leeds’ history with all its quirky eccentricities and unusual anecdotes, the services of a local guide are invaluable. Michael Barber (tel: (0113) 271 3421) and Ken Goor (tel: (0113) 252 6807) are both registered tour guides who have plenty of local knowledge and can put together tailor-made tours of the city. The Tourist Information Center (tel: (0113) 242 5242; website: www.leedsliveitloveit.com) can help with organizing a tour guide.
