Leeds

Leeds is a city that is located in West Yorkshire, England. It covers an area of two hundred and thirteen square miles and is home to more than seven hundred and seventy people. This city has a business and financial center that is second only to London and is the fastest growing city in the United Kingdom. The educational needs of the city are serviced by over two hundred primary schools, forty secondary schools and six learning centers. This city is also serviced by two universities, the University of Leeds and the Leeds Metropolitan University. Other secondary educational facilities in the city include Leeds College of Music, Leeds Trinity University College, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and the Leeds College of Art. This extensive collection of colleges give the city a rather large student population. As a result, Leeds has a lot of pubs, bars and nightclubs. It also has a number of live music venues. The city also has a nightlife scene that is customized for the gay community.

Leeds began its historical journey as a small wooded area within the Celtic Kingdom. After the Norman conquest in the eleventh century, the city gained its charter from Maurice de Gant. Eventually it would become a part of the Lancaster Duchy. The city went through an expansive period of growth throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Though it suffered a slight decline during the beginning of the twentieth century, it has since recovered and is once again experiencing a period of prosperity. Today, Leeds enjoys an economy that is fairly diverse, covering areas such as manufacturing, retail sales, financial services and the service sector. Evidence of its strength in the retail market can be witnessed by the large number of shops and department stores that are located in the city proper. Prominent shopping attractions in the city include Harvey Nichols, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Headrow Shopping Center, The Merrion Centre, Granary Wharf, White Rose Centre, Birstall Retail Park, St.John’s Centre and Leeds Shopping Plaza. There are also many unique mom and pop stores located throughout the city.

Leeds is a popular tourist city and has received several accolades over the past few years from magazines such as the Good Britain Guide and Conde Nast Traveler magazine. The tourism trade in the city is believed to support over twenty thousand workers and the city of Leeds attracts over a million tourist a year. One of the more popular attractions in the city is the Leeds City Museum. The Leeds City Museum was founded in 1819, but was closed in 1965. As of 2008, it has now been opened once again to the public after a period of restoration. This museum contains many exhibits. Some of the key ones include the The Leeds Tiger, the Isurium Brigantum, Hellenistic Greek tomb doors and the Leeds Mummy. Other popular museums in the city include Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Thwaite Mills Watermill Museum, Royal Armouries Museum, Otley Museum, Horsforth Village Museum, the University of Leeds Textile Archive and Fulneck Moravian Settlement Museum. The city is also home to the Leeds Art Gallery. This art gallery was founded in 1888 and includes works by notable artists such as William Holman Hunt, Anthony Gormley, Elizabeth Thompson, Henry Moore, James Tissot, Barbara Hepworth, J.W. Waterhouse and Graham Sutherland.

The most popular attraction in the city of Leeds is Roundhay Park. Roundhay Park covers an area of over four hundred acres and is one of the largest city parks in all of Europe. This park contains large areas of grass, woodland, gardens and lakes. Originally, this park got its start as a hunting ground for the De Lacy family during the thirteenth century. It was passed through a number of hands, until it was granted to the Leeds City Council. Besides the beautiful scenery, the park also has a number of key features. These include Tropical World, Canal Gardens, Soldiers’ Field and Mansion House. Tropical World is a set of greenhouses that represent the different climates of the world. It contains the largest collection of tropical plants in the United Kingdom. It also includes aquariums and a butterfly house. Canal Gardens contains an area of trees which are decorated around Christmas, flower gardens placed around a three hundred foot lake and a walled garden that contains many roses. Mansion House is a stone three story house that was constructed in the Greek Revival Style during the early nineteenth century. This house is often leased out for banquets and wedding parties, and there are current plans for part of this house to be converted into a catering business.

Another popular attraction in the city of Leeds is the Middleton Railway. Middleton Railway is the oldest working railway in the world that was founded in 1758 and has been in operation ever since. It offers passenger service between Moor Road and the outskirts of Middleton Park. This railway is also a heritage site and features historical representations of various locomotives. Locomotives located here include Peckett and Sons, Hudswell Clarke, Brush/Beyer Peacock, Hunslet and Manning Wardle locomotives. Other attractions located in this city include Harewood House, Temple Newsham, Bramham Park, Golden Acre Park, The Hollies Arboretum, Kirkstall Abbey, City Varieties, Civic Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Grand Theatre, Hyde Park, Headingley, Wetherby Racecourse, Horsforth, Otley and Chapel Allerton.

Prominent landmarks in the city of Leeds include Fairburn Ings RSPB Reserve, Millenium Square, Morley Town Hall, Tower Works, Bardsey Parish Church, Bridgewater Place, Headingley Stadium, White Rose Centre, Elland Road and Sky Plaza.The city is also home to a number of restaurants and hotels. Popular restaurants in the city include Bibis Italianissimo, Las Iguanas, Malmaison Leeds, The Living Room, The Queens Hotel, Chaophraya Thai Restaurant and the Room Restaurant. Popular hotels in the city include Radisson SAS Hotel, Quebecs Hotel Leeds, Merrion Hotel, Hilton Leeds City Hotel, City Inn Hotel Leeds, The Queen’s Hotel, Novotel, Hotel Metropole and Premier Inn. There are also many low budget hotels and hostels available throughout the city, as well as just outside the city limits.