Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd o...
Due to extreme laziness I'm virtually retired from Ciao, although I'll still read and post the odd op every now and then......
Member since:16.01.2001
Reviews:369
Members who trust:124
I've just returned from a day out in Leeds and was not initially very impressed. It's not that Leeds is particularly bad, it's just that nothing seems to grab you, until you look a bit further . Maybe it was because I only had a day there, and was on foot, but my first couple of hours there left me about to give up on the place. However despite the huge amount of , for want of a better word, "adequacy" , in the city centre there are some gems to be found within walking distance of the train station.
It's on the east coast railway route so is easy to access by train, and is close to the M1/A1 and M62 for both east/west and north/south access.
The City centre contains a lot of medium sized shopping malls, sort of "Arndale" centres , that seem to fall between two stools,. The seem to take up a lot of space , but not contain much that is interesting . There are all the usual suspects (HMV, Virgin, BHS , Mothercare etc), but its nothing you couldn't find elsewhere. You think, "I can get all this at home, so why bother coming to Leeds". I also visited Granary Wharf, which has a wonderfully spooky approach through a railway tunnel, crossing the river twice. However when you get there is a small mostly deserted market , a sushi bar, two cafes (one upmarket, one not), and it's not very impressive at all. It will be excellent once it's fully tenanted , but as yet it is a let down and feels rather empty. After a few hours I was considering going home early , however...
~~~ Some Good Bits
Bear in mind I only had a day here, so hopefully the Leeds natives can add to the good bits that I found.
Anyway there are a lot of linked Arcades (Queen Elizabeth , Victoria) that contain a lot of specialist shops (e.g. clothes, jewellery etc.) in airy pleasant surroundings. There are also a few coffee bars in these arcades that are extremely pleasant.
Check out the Corn Exchange which is architecturally impressive, and contains a lot of small shops over three floors selling lots of esoteric goods. There is a large cafe on the basement floor but we didn't venture down there.
There is a Harvey Nichols, complete with extravagantly uniformed, and extremely friendly and pleasant doorman. You can spend a fortune in here, but as an example of what preconception can do to you, in their soft drinks department I spotted a bottle of water (250 ml) for 60 GBP!!! On closer examination I saw that it was 0.60 GBP, I'd overpriced it a hundredfold. Their food department is very reasonable , and you get a decent Harvey Nichols' carrier bag.
The guy in HMV's classical department pointed me in the direction of a pub called "The Angel" , which is down a narrow alley and spread over three floors. This place is superb , and do excellent food at reasonable prices and the service is also excellent. I had a Mexican salad which cost 5.50 GBP and they have an excellent range of Samuel Smith's Beers.
The central square outside the station has some impressive statues including "The Black Prince", and this against the backdrop of The Queen's Hotel gives a vaguely Eastern European feel.
We finished up in The Parisa Bar, which again was excellent. It has a range of 250 wines , but they serve tea , coffee and food as well. There is one in Newcastle that is fairly snooty, but the one in Leeds was very friendly and I'd recommend it to all.
The people were all friendly, and although I'll not be rushing back, would recommend it to anyone.
The main information web site is
http://www.leeds.co.uk/
and provides a lot of information for visitors.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Thanks for the info. We have often driven past Leeds, but have not actually stopped to take a look around. - Thanks Donna.
Freddydog 04.04.2001 18:23
Off to Leeds tomorrow. For the area it does have a very good selection of shops and the nightlife is excellent. I don't remember the statue outside the Queens, will have a look tomorrow, I know something is there but have never taken it in.
LostWitness 04.04.2001 18:05
As you quite rightly said, I think you would find more to the city if you spent more time there.
Certainly the night life was quite buzzing when i stayed there - I ate in a fantastic Italian restuarant and went to a wicked club.
Alas, both names escape me...
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Apr 4th, 2001
(Apr 5th, 2001)
very helpful by (87%):
helpful by (13%):
