Things to do in West Yorkshire
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Akbar's
Bit of an Egyptian theme going on at this exceptionally popular Indian restaurant – sarcophagi and cat-gods watch over the cutting-edge decor beneath a 'night-in-the-desert' ceiling. The traditional curry dishes come in pyramid-size portions, and they don't take bookings – expect to wait 30 minutes for a table on weekend nights.
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Salt's Mill
Saltaire, a Victorian-era landmark and UNESCO World Heritage site, was an industrial village purpose-built in 1851 by philanthropic wool baron and teetotaller Titus Salt. The village's factory is now Salts Mill, a splendidly bright and airy cathedral-like building where the main draw is a permanent exhibition of work by Bradford-born artist David Hockney.
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Anthony's
Probably the most talked-about restaurant in town, Anthony's serves top-notch Modern British cuisine (try sea bream with smoked potatoes, peas and mint jelly) to a clientele so eager that they'll think nothing of booking a month in advance. If you go at any other time except Saturday evening, you'll get away with making your reservations a day or so earlier.
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Baby Jupiter
A retro gem with lots of purple velvet, hanging fishbowls and a very funky soundtrack, this was - at the time of writing - the 'in' place with those who make it their business to define what 'in' actually is.
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Brontë Parsonage Museum
Set in a pretty garden overlooking the church and graveyard, the house where the Brontë family lived from 1820 till 1861 is now a museum. The rooms are meticulously furnished and decorated exactly as they were in the Brontë era, with many personal possessions on display. There's also a neat and informative exhibition, which includes the fascinating miniature books the Brontës wrote as children.
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Royal Armouries
Leeds' most interesting museum is undoubtedly the Royal Armouries, beside the snazzy Clarence Dock residential development. It was originally built to house the armour and weapons from the Tower of London but was subsequently expanded to cover 3000-years'-worth of fighting and self-defence. It all sounds a bit macho, but the exhibits are as varied as they are fascinating: films, live-action demonstrations and hands-on technology can awaken interests you never thought you had, from jousting to Indian elephant armour – we dare you not to learn something! To get here, walk east along the river from Centenary Footbridge (10 minutes), or take bus 28 from Albion St.
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Walking
Haworth is surrounded by the moors of the South Pennines - immediately familiar to Brontë fans - and the tourist office has leaflets on local walks to endless Brontë features. A 6.5-mile favourite leads to Top Withins, a ruined farm thought to have inspired Wuthering Heights, even though a plaque clearly states that the farmhouse bore no resemblance to the one Emily wrote about. Other walks can be worked around the Brontë Way, a longer route linking Bradford and Colne via Haworth. Alternatively, the Pennine Way runs west of Haworth and can be followed south to Hebden Bridge. There's also a direct walking route between Haworth and Hebden Bridge, via the scenic valleys of…
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City Art Gallery
If you're starved of a bit of high culture, get yourself to the City Art Gallery as soon as possible. It is packed with a host of 19th- and 20th-century British heavyweights - Turner, Constable, Stanley Spencer, Wyndham Lewis et al - along with more recent arrivals like Antony Gormley, sculptor of the Angel of the North. Pride of place, however, goes to the outstanding genius of Henry Moore (1898-1986), who graduated from the Leeds School of Art.
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National Media Museum
Five fab, exhibit-packed floors in Bradford's top attraction tell the story of photography, film, television, radio and the web from 19th-century cameras and early animation to digital technology and the psychology of advertising. There's lots of hands-on stuff too: you can film yourself in a bedroom scene or play at being a TV newsreader. The IMAX screen shows the usual in-your-face nature films and space documentaries; regular films are also screened.
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Leeds Industrial Museum
One of the world's largest textile mills has been transformed into the Leeds Industrial Museum, telling the story of Leeds' industrial past, both glorious and ignominious. The city became rich off the sheep's back, but at some cost in human terms – working conditions were, well, Dickensian. As well as a selection of working machinery, there's a particularly informative display on how cloth is made. Take bus 5 from the train station to get here.
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Haworth Parish Church
Your first stop should be Haworth Parish Church, a lovely old place of worship built in the late 19th century on the site of the older church that the Brontë sisters knew, which was demolished in 1879. In the surrounding churchyard, gravestones are covered in moss or thrust to one side by gnarled tree roots, giving the place a tremendous feeling of age.
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Babycream
Cool drips off the white walls and onto the white leather furniture, where you and your party are gathered to share, fondue-style, in a platter of delicacies from around the globe. As you eat, the background music makes you tap your feet, and before you know it you've settled in for the day and moved on to cocktails. It's the Cream experience, and it's pretty good...
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The Elbow Room
Part of a franchise with branches in London and Bristol, The Elbow Room in Leeds offers pool tables and live music or DJs every night. It's all effortlessly appealing: there's pop art on the walls, purple pool tables and laid-back music that matches the clientele. Don't worry about getting hustled, you're more likely to meet Yorkshire Phil than Minnesota Fats.
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SDC Colour Museum
The oft-overlooked SDC Colour Museum, run by the Society of Dyers and Colourists, is a little gem, just a 10-minute walk from the centre. It tells the story of Bradford's wool-dying trade, and has a fascinating section on how our eyes perceive colour, including a display contrasting the visual sense of different species (what's blue to you isn't blue to Fido).
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Abbey House Museum
Across the road from Kirkstall Abbey, the Abbey House Museum, once the Great Gate House to the abbey, contains meticulously reconstructed shops and houses recalling Victorian Leeds. The impressive attention to detail is lit by flickering candlelike light. Children will enjoy it, and there are displays giving an interesting insight into monastic life as well.
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Grand Theatre & Opera House
The Grand Theatre & Opera House presents a diverse array of entertainment, including plays, musicals, opera and ballet. Resident companies are the internationally successful Northern Ballet Theatre and the acclaimed Opera North. This is the place to see stars just before they make it big and you have to pay the earth just to glimpse them.
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Bradford Industrial Museum
Bradford Industrial Museum, 3 miles out of the centre, gives a hint of what a Yorkshire textile spinning mill was like at the peak of the Industrial Revolution. Other exhibits include various steam engines (sometimes working), transport from the last 100 years, and a horse-drawn tram to give a quick 'step back in history' round the car park.
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City Varieties
This old-fashioned music hall features anything from clairvoyants to comedy acts to country music. Recently closed for major.
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Brasserie 44
Brasserie 44 is regarded as one of the best restaurants in Leeds. Like the Michelin-starred Pool Court, it is attached to the hotel 42 The Calls, but this place is less formal than its sister operation. It serves up excellent Modern British/Continental food in surrounds featuring leaf and leopardskin.
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St John's Church
Tucked away off northern Briggate in the centre of Leeds is St John's Church, a one-off masterpiece of 17th-century design. It's decked out with elaborate box-pews and a spectacular screen resplendent with huge carvings of the arms of James I and of Charles I as Prince of Wales.
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Kashmir
Bradford's oldest curry house has top tucker, served with no frills or booze (it's BYO). Whatever you do, go for a table upstairs, as the soul-destroying, windowless basement has all the character of a public toilet. It's just around the corner from the NMPFT.
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Dr Wu's
Small and chock-full of black leather seats, this grungy bar would slot comfortably into New York's East Village, and don't the punters just know it. The vibe is studied cool and the DJs play a suitable blend of eclectic (but always alternative) sounds.
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No 3 York Place
Any debate over which is the best restaurant in town will feature this superb French eatery, with its regularly changing menu of Gallic delicacies with an English bent - how about roast of lamb with Savoy cabbage, olive mash and a Niçoise sauce?
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Japanic
Take a traditional English pub and combine it with a modern, hi-tech karaoke bar and you get Japanic, where students flock to share a bottle of sake, knock back a few ales and take to the microphone. What's not to like? It's just north of the centre.
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Kirkstall Abbey
Leeds' most impressive medieval structure is the beautiful Kirkstall Abbey, founded in 1152 by Cistercian monks from Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, and one of the best-preserved medieval abbeys in Britain. Across the road, the Abbey House Museum once the Great Gate House to the abbey, contains meticulously reconstructed shops and houses that evoke Victorian Leeds, and displays that give an interesting insight into monastic life.
The abbey and museum are off the A65, 3 miles northwest of the centre; take bus 33, 33A or 757.
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