Leeds in West Yorkshire, England is a tourist destination. It has received several accolades in the field of tourism; including being voted by Condé Nast Traveler magazine Readers' Awards as the "UK's favourite city" in 2004, "Best English city to visit outside London" in 2005, "Visitor city of the year" by The Good Britain Guide in 2005 and was described as a great place to visit by Rough Guide in 2008. The city is listed in the book 501 Must Visit Cities.
Cultura
The cultural, historical and architectural heritage of Leeds is well represented by a host of museums, theatres, stately homes and art galleries, from the national attractions of the Royal Armouries and the Thackray Medical Museum to the fine mansions of Harewood House, Temple Newsam and Lotherton Hall.
Leeds has a full calendar of events, from an exciting programme of open air public entertainment for all the family - including ‘Opera in the Park’, ‘Party in the Park’ and ‘Classical Fantasia’ - to prestigious work presented by Opera North, Phoenix Dance, the Northern Ballet Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse. The renowned West Yorkshire Playhouse stages more productions than any other theatre outside London.
As well as already being home to four renowned theatres, major national and regional attractions located in Leeds have also recently been joined by The Carriageworks - Leeds' newest theatre and conference venue, and a new £26m state-of-the-art city museum which op
Sights
Although not considered a 'traditional' tourist destination, Leeds has plenty to occupy the visitor. As well as the main sights, museums, galleries, parks etc, wandering around the buzzing city centre to take in the atmosphere and admire the fantastic blend of architectural styles from the past few hundred years is a pleasure in itself. Within the city centre, the main districts are the civic quarter, central shopping district, exchange quarter and financial district.
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443, 247, while the entire city had a population of 787, 700 (2009 est.). It should be noted that this figure includes the whole area included in the city. Some population figures, for example those given at List of English cities by population use just the urban core of the city and therefore are lower. making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.
Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area, which at the 2001 census had a population of 1. 5 million, and the Leeds city region, an economic area with Leeds at its core, had a population of 2. 9 million. Leeds is the UK's largest centre for business, legal, and financial services outside London, and its office market is the best in Europe for value.
Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Leeds can trace its recorded history to the 5th century when the Kingdom of Elmet was covered by the forest of "Loidis", the origin of the name Leeds. The name has been applied to many administrative entities over the centuries. It changed from being the appellation of a small manorial borough, in the 13th century, through several incarnations, to being the name attached to the present metropolitan borough. In the 17th and 18th centuries Leeds became a major centre for the production and trading of wool. Then, during the Industrial Revolution, Leeds developed into a major industrial centre; wool was still the dominant industry but flax, engineering, iron foundries, printing, and other industries were important. From being a compact market town in the valley of the River Aire in the 16th century Leeds expanded and absorbed the surrounding villages to become a populous urban centre by the mid-20th century.
Public transport, rail and road communications networks in the region are focused on Leeds and there are a number of twinning arrangements with towns and cities in other countries. Its assigned role in the Leeds City Region partnership recognises the city's importance to regional economic development.
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