Things to do in Leeds when it rains
Leeds was built for wet weather: the Victoria Quarter arcades, Kirkgate Market, the Corn Exchange and Trinity are all under glass, and the Armouries, the art gallery and the city museum are free and indoors.
16 picks that fit, best first. The order assumes the conditions in the title; the live forecast only nudges it.
Royal Armouries
Leeds Dock
The national collection of arms and armour, with live combat demonstrations, free, on the dock.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. 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.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Victoria Quarter and the arcades
Briggate
Marble, mosaic and stained glass: the Victorian arcades that made Leeds a shopping city.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen
Cross Belgrave Street
Three floors of pizza, burgers, gigs and a rooftop terrace in a former working men’s club.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Kirkgate Market
Kirkgate
One of the largest covered markets in Europe, where Marks and Spencer started, with a street-food hall.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Leeds City Museum
Millennium Square
The Leeds Tiger, an Egyptian mummy and the story of the city, free, in a converted institute.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. 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.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Hyde Park Picture House
Hyde Park
A gas-lit Edwardian cinema showing independent and classic films, restored and reopened.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Thackray Museum of Medicine
Harehills
A recreated Victorian slum, a surgical theatre and a lot of interactive gore, for older children especially.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Elland Road stadium tour
Beeston
Behind the scenes at Leeds United, from the dressing rooms to the dugout.
Mostly under cover.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Leeds Minster
Kirkgate
A grand Victorian parish church with a famous choir and Saxon crosses, free, beside the market.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Trinity Leeds
Briggate
A glass-roofed shopping centre in the middle of town, with a food hall and a cinema.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Call Lane and the Corn Exchange quarter
Call Lane
The city’s densest run of bars and restaurants, from cocktail cellars to late-night rooftops.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills
Armley
Once the biggest woollen mill in the world, now a museum of textiles, printing and a tiny cinema.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Leeds Grand Theatre
New Briggate
A gilded Victorian theatre that is home to Opera North and the big touring musicals.
Comes alive in the evening.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Leeds Playhouse
Quarry Hill
One of the country’s best producing theatres, with new work and big revivals on two stages.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Good to know
What can you do in Leeds on a rainy day?
Head indoors. Leeds has 16 rain-proof picks on this list, from free museums and galleries to covered markets and food halls. The list is re-ordered for the live forecast, so the strongest indoor options come first when it is actually raining.
Are there free indoor things to do in Leeds?
Yes. Look for the "Free" label on the cards. The Royal Armouries, Leeds Art Gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, the City Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and Roundhay Park are all free.