Posted on: Saturday 15 July 2017

How to spend: 24 hours in Leeds


Four hours and thirty minutes from London and we arrived at our destination. We only spent a short amount of time in Leeds, but it was really exciting exploring somewhere new and seeing what the city had to offer.

Leeds is pretty similar to London, it's very hip and has a buzzing atmosphere. Theres tons of amazing options for food, the night life is great and it's perfect for some good old' retail therapy. One thing that really differentiates Leeds from London is that everyone is SO friendly, from the hotel staff, shop assistants and even strangers on the street. It's a breath of fresh air for someone you don't know to say hello or even smile as you casually walk by sipping your chai latte...


Where to stay: The Village Hotel.

I haven't come across 'The Village' hotels before, but there are quite a few dotted around the UK. Joe and I loved our stay here, the rooms are super stylish and modern. We had the comfiest bed in the world and I had the best night's sleep I've had in months. Also, the rainfall shower was a delight to use in the morning. (I desperately want one in my future home!)

There were also many perks to our stay, we got to use the gym, swimming pool and sauna free of charge. AND we got a complimentary fry up the following morning. As well as this, there was a little Starbucks inside our hotel. I'm more of a Costa girl myself, but it's super convenient for all the Starbucks lovers out there.


Where to eat: Friends of Ham

Ok I have to admit the name of this restaurant drew me in... Hell yes, I'm friends with Ham. This quirky little place serves a variety of interesting beers and has a wide selection of charcuterie and cheeses.

Joe and I shared a heavenly meaty platter. We had an assortment of different types of ham, Culaccia di Parma, Serrano Gran Reserva, Carne Salata Beef which came with baby gherkins (adorable), and Old Winchester cheese paired with these interesting looking crackers.

We had a lovely time here, food was delicious and the staff were so helpful and lovely.

If you're not in to charcuterie and cheeses, another option would be to visit Trinity Kitchen for incredible street food - they have food trucks who sell Vietnamese, Italian, Indian, BBQ and more.



Where to go for coffeeOpposite - the hidden gem of caffeine goodness. Tucked away near Leeds University, this coffee shop is the bomb dot com. My chai latte was perfect, honestly one of the most deliciously creamy chai latte's I've had in a long time. Joe had a cappuccino and he was super impressed too! Highly recommend stopping by.

Things to do: Shop until your credit card statement makes you want to cry...

I've been on a bit of a spending ban recently, well since I got into the whole 'minimalism thing' a few months ago - which I'm sure I'll talk about in another post at some point. But sometimes, you just need a bit of a splurge to spice up your wardrobe every now and again.

Trinity is a great shopping centre with all my (and possibly yours) favourite high street brands, they have TOPSHOP, PRIMARK, New Look, H&M, Mango, River Island and much more. I treated myself to some really pretty midi and maxi dresses, two pairs of wide legged culottes (big fan of these), the most gorgeous polka-dot jumpsuit, a pair of tanned sandals and a few more basic tops.



Also, visit the beautiful Roundhay Park, it's utterly stunning and is said to be one of the biggest city parks in Europe. You could catch some rays and enjoy a picnic here if the weather is nice (damn you unpredictable UK weather).

So there we have it - a mini guide on what to do in Leeds in 24 hours! Hope this was somewhat helpful to anyone interested in visiting the hip city. If anyone has any recommendations on other restaurants and things to do please leave them in the comments section below.

Follow me @zoeyoliviablog to see what I get up to daily. You can also reach me on twitter: @zoeyoliviablog. Or, if you like Bloglovin', I'm kind of new to it but follow me on there. I also have Pinterest, I'm often procrastinating and pinning my life away... So do get in touch :).

No comments:

Post a Comment