What to do in... Leeds

I love Leeds. Back in the high school times, I used to carry a tote bag with those three words almost everywhere. It perfectly shows how long this romance has been going on. Even though I first went there because of my massive teenage obsession with one certain Leeds band, I quickly realised that it has so much to offer. It is, in fact, quite a great example of an ideal city. Lively, but not too crowdy, with amazing architecture and great connections to both western and southern beaches. I remember shedding a few tears when I was leaving it for the first time. I thought I won't have a chance to come back there ever again. Now, thanks to the thing called destiny (and my boyfriend living just half an hour away), I visit Leeds almost every month. A perfect scenario, isn't it?

What I can't understand is why my friends (and my boyfriend) don't understand the ongoing romance I have with Leeds. "Your precious Leeds is dead", like Jarman brothers once said. And because I always defend things (or people) I love the most, I came up with the idea of an ultimate Leeds guide - both for people who just don't get the charm of Leeds and for those, who have a spare 24/48 h and are thinking about visiting it.

STARTING EARLY (A.K.A. BREAKFAST/BRUNCH)

Mrs Atha's
If your breakfast place of choice is a little crowded coffee shop, Mrs Atha's is definitely a place for you. With a variety of breakfast choices, it's one of those places that can satisfy both tratitional British beans-on-toast/sausage sandwich lovers and more fussy eaters. If you have a sweet tooth, they also have a massive selection of different confectionery that is a perfect match with a freshly brewed coffee. And the amazing interior design! The walls bedecked with old paintings, vintage mugs and pots, flowers in nice vases. It's a perfect place for those who like to spend a few more quid for a nice atmosphere.

Central Road, Leeds LS1 6DE

The Picture House
Feeling less spendy & have a massive craving for a full English? The Picture House is there for you. Just round the corner from St John's centre, it has a typical pub atmosphere & breakfast choices starting from £3,50. Yes, £3,50. For all-you-can-eat. It was a place where I discovered that full English might actually be tasty and I still go there every time I'm in Leeds.

Woodhouse Ln (Merrion Centre), Leeds LS2 8BT

DINING

Almost Famous
I'm not gonna lie - Almost Famous is in the top three of my favourite burger places in the whole wide world (because you simply can't beat NYC's Shake Shack). Starting from the name of the restaurant, everything there is just uber cool - the photobooth (!), the tables with American candies inside, the music. The burgers though! They both sound and taste amazing (three words - River. Phoenix. Burger.). It's a must for all the burger lovers.

23-25 Great George St, Leeds LS1 3AL (near Millenium Square)

Trinity Kitchen
Once again - if you don't want to spend too much money but at the same time feel like eating a street food from various places in the world, Trinity Kitchen will be your heaven. Filled with over 40 cafe's with foods from all parts of the globe, it makes you want to try everything. Favourite places: Duck & Roll, Chicago Rib Shack and Tortilla.

Albion St, Leeds LS1 5AT (inside Trinity Centre)

WINING

Nation of Shopkeepers
One of Leeds' most hip places to drink at. Settled just round the corner from Millenium Square, Nation of Shopkeepers is a place that perfectly combines three things - food, booze & live music. And though I'm still yet to experience a gig there (missed on Skaters & Spring King already…), I loved the atmosphere so much that I totally understand why it's so popular.

29 Cockridge St, Leeds LS2 3AG (just outside Millenium Square)

Belgrave Music Hall & Canteen
Belgrave is definitely my favourite bar in Leeds. It got me with its rooftop terrace, where you can watch the city skyline while sipping your drink. It's always loud and full of people, but it doesn't make you feel claustrophobic. A perfect place to go when you're visiting Leeds in the summer!

1-1A Cross Belgrave St, Leeds LS2 8JP

Headrow House
Owned by the same people as Belgrave, Headrow House is quite a new addition to Leeds' pub map. They've done a massive work there, changing it from a scary, abandoned places to an independent club. So independent that it's one of the very few bars outside Czech Republic that sell Pilsner Urquell beer. It also hosts a lot of music events, including Beacons Metro - a metropolitan festival that takes place in Leeds and Manchester in October & December.

Bramleys Yard, 19 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PU




Brudenell Social Club
Ok, I agree - Brudenell might be quite far away from the town centre, but this place is absolutely legendary. First of all - it hosts gigs. Second - it gives you an opportunity to play games while waiting for the gig. It has everything you need - darts, Pinball & quite a few pool tables. And third - the spirits are just dead cheap. It's worth a trek (and a taxi is just a few quid)!

33 Queens Rd, Leeds LS6 1NY

SHOPPING

Corn Exchange 
...a.k.a. a masterpiece. Corn Exchange is for all those who love tiny, independent shops. You can find anything you want in there - cameras, homeware, clothes, jewellery, music equipment - or even get yourself a tattoo. It's one of Leeds' most significant buildings from the Victorian Era. What's even better - every week it hosts a special event like a vintage market, record fair or free dance lessons. You simply can't go to Leeds and not visit it.

Call Lane, Leeds LS1 7BR




Vintage clothes shops 
Although I'm still a bit outraged by the idea of second hand clothes being as pricey as new ones (seriously, visit Poland and get to know what a REAL thrift shop looks like), I like to stroll around the racks of clothes in Blue Rinse or Pop Boutique. Their selection of old dresses, jackets and furs definitely makes me wanna pull a Zoolander!

Blue Rinse - 9-11 Call Lane, Leeds LS1 7DH (near Corn Exchange)
Pop Boutique - 12-14 Central Road, Leeds LS1 6DE (outside House of Fraser)



Jumbo Records
Jumbo sells everything a music lover could possibly want. They have all those CDs and vinyl that you won't even dream to find in HMV, gig tickets to every event hosted in Leeds and in the surroundings and if you ask nicely, they will even treat you with a spare poster of your favourite band's gig (THANK YOU for bringing me hope after my unsuccessful trials of nicking the Father John Misty poster from Brudenell!). Come on, who doesn't love tiny record shops?

St John's Centre, Merrion St, Leeds LS2 8LQ (top floor)

CATCHING THE VIEWS

Millenium Square
You might think that it's just a boringly normal square. But I swear to God - every single time I was there, there was something big happening. The Vaccines played a massive gig there back in 2013. You can have a ride on a big wheel in the summer, watch Wimbledon on a comfy deck chair or drink a nice cup of hot chocolate at the Christmas Market. It's also a place where I first met the boy who later became my own personal honeybear. Go there - you might be as lucky as me!

Kirkstall Abbey 
I probably would never know about this architectural gem if not for the Kaiser Chiefs. I first visited the Abbey a few weeks before their gig there, during my brief stay at the nearby Kirkstall Brewery. Even though it's all ruins, the view is... quite something. Especially when it's all misty, what makes you feel almost spiritual (or spooky). It is indeed a bit of a trek from the city centre, but believe me - the stunning architecture & the close proximity of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal makes it extremelly appealing.





Riverside (Granary Wharf/Calls Landing)
If (like me) you're a fan of chilling by the river, Leeds has a few pretty top notch places to do so. River Aire is just a few steps away from the centre and it's a perfect place to cut off and enjoy the silence (pardon the pun) and the breathtaking views. You can sip your drink looking at the beautiful Calls Landing or just have a walk/jog near the water.





Arcades
One of Leeds' most stunning places are the shopping arcades. "Shopping" might be a bit of a strong word (most of the shops are waaaay too expensive), but they are worth a visit if only for the amazing ceilings. Every single one has quite a long history too - Grand Arcade dates back to 1897, Queen's Arcade - 1889, Thornton's Arcade - 1878 and the famous Victoria Quarter - 1900.

Grand Arcade - Merrion St, Leeds LS1 6PG
Queen's Arcade - between Briggate and Lands Lane (next to American Apparel)
Thornton's Arcade - also between Briggate and Lands Lane (next to Starbucks)
Victoria Quarter - 4 Cross Arcade, Leeds LS1 6AZ

Hopefully, you'll find my advices useful and start loving Leeds as much as I do!

I love my vegemite, it's strong as hell and black as night

A (little bit more than) few snaps taken when my parents did what they were promising for a few years and took me for a trip Down Under. As you may guess, we took it as a perfect opportunity to chanel our inner Griswolds and unintentionally got into way too many funny situations, like getting a bit too drunk while sitting next to the Opera House, being lost in Sydney in the middle of the night, eating breakfasts with kangaroos, visiting more ZOO's than a normal person would probably have in their lifetime and getting into a real life hazard situation while trying to drive the other (wrong) side of the road than in Europe. I've also learnt that koalas are as soft as you'd imagine them to be, Aussies don't say "cheers mate" that often, UGGs are unfortunately still in fashion, you don't have to eat sushi in a fancy restaurant and Canberra actually is the biggest shithole of them all. And even though it's hard to top New York, Sydney is very high on my "cities I could peacefully die in" list. I'll definitely be back soon! P.S. The Garden are AMAZING live. Fact.

    

overseas she'll be, in the land of opportunity

Times Square at night

I miss New York. Constantly. I don't think there was a day that I didn't have a single thought about this place. There is something about this city that just makes you wanna come back. That makes you miss it the very second you leave it. I know it sounds cliché, but it's just how it is. It's that kind of place that  will haunt you forever. In the best possible way.

The best burgers in NYC/nothing matters when you're wearing fur (not even your tangled hair)/recreating the cover of one of the best albums ever/Beach Fossils live @ Baby's All Right/Manhattan Bridge

It isn't the easiest of cities to fall in love with though. It is, indeed, enormously big, majestic and full of life, but it also needs time to enchant you. I used to hate it with my whole heart after my first visit. I guess it just wasn't the right time for me to be there. I was a little girl back then, I spent the whole trip with my Clifton-NJ-based aunts and a cousin (who are all a very questionable choice of city guides, if I may add), I haven't even seen the Central Park and to make things worse, I sprained my ankle after several days of endlessly walking around the city. When I came back home, I told my parents I'd rather stay in Poland till the end of my life than come back there. Luckily enough, I've grown up and decided to give it a second shot, even if it took me another 10 years. And when I finally came back, I never wanted to leave this place ever again.  That's just how New York is - it beats you up the first time you go to it, but after awhile it doesn't.

Bleecker St/Splashh @ Baby's All Right/the view from East River State Park/the stage at Kasabian @ Terminal 5 a few minutes before the gig/Garment District and Hudson River seen from the ESB

Right now, I can't think of any possible reason to hate this city. True, I might be annoyed with the lack of "countdown clocks", message boards or at least decent timetables at the subway stations that are so common in the UK and would prevent making me wait for ages for another train (the perks of living in Brooklyn), but at the end of the day I'm still gonna think it's worth to be there. It's worth bursting through the countless amount of tourist (that are always, regardless of time and weather, annoyingly standing still) just to see the Times Square at night or paying more than 30$ to see the sights from the Empire State Building. It's worth all the pain to just be there. After you realise that, you'll see that New York truly is the greatest city of them all, just like my NYC friend told me one night in San Francisco. It just has so much to offer.

Catfish & The Bottlemen @ Baby's All Right/Rough Trade NYC/photobooth addict/6th Ave & W 51 St/Chinatown

I won't lie if I tell you that I took from New York much more than it (financially or mentally) took from me. Except of letting me see all the marvelous visual aspects it has to offer, New York made me experience the best things about living in a big city. Strolling around the streets, spending hours in the greatest record stores looking through the endless amounts of CDs and vinyls of bands that not many people in Europe have heard about, sitting in the little cafes listening to people talking about the enormous rents they have to pay for their flats, searching for the nicest clothes and best eats, meeting inspiring people and going out to see the coolest bands playing at the coolest venues and having the longest and nicest chats with them afterwards. NYC taught me about what I really want to do with my life. It gave me a sense of living the actual dream.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, Central Park/SKATERS from NYC winning the night at Underground Arts, Philly/insanely good piece of lemon square and coffee at Bakeri/26-28 Carmine St, Greenwich Village/Halloween lampshades spotted on my way back from laundromat, Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn 

After all, the thing I love the most about New York is that it feels like home while being so far away from your actual one. That's why my new goal is to make it my home - no matter if it's only for a few months, few years or a lifetime. I just have to be there, no matter what, no matter how.

the view at Turtle Bay from the ESB

I also made a little playlist that contains the bands that somehow kept me company during my stay in NYC. Not all of them are actually from New York, but listening to these tunes never fails to bring me back to the happy times I spent there.



Loads of love,
Kate