Free things to do in Leeds
The Royal Armouries, Leeds Art Gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, the City Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and Roundhay Park are all free.
12 picks that fit, best first. The order follows the live forecast and the time of day.
Royal Armouries
Leeds Dock
The national collection of arms and armour, with live combat demonstrations, free, on the dock.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute
The Headrow
A strong twentieth-century British collection and a sculpture institute next door, both free.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Roundhay Park and Tropical World
Roundhay
Seven hundred acres of lakes, woods and lawns, with a tropical glasshouse of butterflies and meerkats.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Park free; Tropical World cheap
Victoria Quarter and the arcades
Briggate
Marble, mosaic and stained glass: the Victorian arcades that made Leeds a shopping city.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Kirkstall Abbey
Kirkstall
The ruins of a Cistercian abbey in a riverside park, free, with a museum of Victorian streets over the road.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Leeds City Museum
Millennium Square
The Leeds Tiger, an Egyptian mummy and the story of the city, free, in a converted institute.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Leeds Corn Exchange
Call Lane
A Victorian domed trading hall full of independent shops, cafés and makers.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Leeds Dock and the waterfront
Leeds Dock
A walk along the Aire and the canal from the station to the dock, with bars on the water.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Leeds Minster
Kirkgate
A grand Victorian parish church with a famous choir and Saxon crosses, free, beside the market.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Meanwood Valley Trail
Meanwood
A wooded valley walk from the edge of the city out to the countryside, with a farm and a pub on the way.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Otley Chevin
Otley
A forest park on a ridge above Otley with a view over Wharfedale and the airport’s planes.
Go now, before the rain arrives. Free.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
Trinity Leeds
Briggate
A glass-roofed shopping centre in the middle of town, with a food hall and a cinema.
Rain is due later, and this is under cover. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Good to know
What are the best free things to do in Leeds?
The Royal Armouries, Leeds Art Gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, the City Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and Roundhay Park are all free. There are 12 free picks here, and the order changes with the weather: on a wet day the free museums and galleries come first, on a fine day the parks and viewpoints do.
Do free attractions in Leeds need booking?
Some do, at busy times. Where a place is free but asks you to book a slot, the card says so, and the official site link takes you to the booking page.