Welcome to Leeds

Leeds city centre has plenty of places to shop, eat, drink and see live music and theatre. With large shopping centres and loads of eateries, Leeds is the ideal place to visit. It also hosts Europe's largest covered market, Leeds Kirkgate Market.

Leeds began as a Saxon village. By the time of the Domesday Book, it had a population of around 200. By the standards of the time, Leeds was quite a large village. Then in 1207 the Lord of the Manor, Maurice De Gant, founded a new town at Leeds. First the Lord of the Manor created a new street of houses west of the existing village and he divided the land into plots for building. Then craftsmen built houses and paid rent to the Lord for the land. The new street was called Brigg Gata. (Which is now the well know Briggate). In 1884 Marks and Spencer opened their first penny arcade in Leeds. Several new shopping arcades were built. Thorntons Arcade was built in 1878. It was followed by Queens Arcade in 1889 and Grand Arcade and Victoria Arcade in 1898. Meanwhile in 1891 Leeds gained its first electricity supply. In 1893 Leeds was made a city. In the 21st century Leeds continued to flourish. Millennium Square opened in 2000 and a new Leeds City Museum opened in 2008.

Today Leeds has something for everyone. It is widely recognised as one of the top shopping cities outside of London. With well-known shopping centres such as Trinity Leeds, St John’s and the Merrion Centre there are wide range of premium and budget options to suit all budgets. For lovers of live music Leeds has a wide variety of venues ranging from small intimate venues such as O2 Academy Leeds right up to the 14,000 capacity First Direct Arena. For those looking for a calmer evening Leeds has some of the best cuisine on offer in the North of England. These range from all the well known chains, with many located in The Light, right up to Michelin starred fine dining.

Parking with Q-Park in Leeds provides a safe and secure facility for customers to leave their car in as they explore Leeds from a central location.