What's on near First Direct Arena
Sure to awaken childlike imagination in us all, experience the sweetest of treats this Christmas with Northern Ballet’s The Nutcracker.
From £23.00
‘Plant Dreaming’ gathers the work of seven contemporary artists and their thoughts on plant knowledge and ecopolitics, at Leeds Art Gallery.
Free entry
Leeds is a city best explored on foot. With a local guide leading the way, this 90-minute walking tour offers an engaging introduction to a city.
From £12.00
Northern Monk, one of Leeds’ best breweries, is kicking off the weekend with a brewery tour to kick start your Saturday afternoon.
From £20.00
Take a journey through 300 years of pub and brewing history in Leeds, with a heritage Pub and brewery tour.
From £35.00
YOU:MATTER is a spectacular audio-visual experience that explores our place in the universe and the invisible links between us and the cosmos
From £2.00
The UK’s most important visual art prize is back for its 2025 edition, with four new artist nominations in Bradford’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.
Free entry
The guided tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at the brewhouse and state-of-the-art packaging plant, giving visitors a full sense of what “real Yorkshire beer” means today.
From £15.00Where to go near First Direct Arena
Oriental dining, live music and private karaoke, the upmarket Chinese restaurant Blue Pavilion is bringing the party to Leeds.
ibis Leeds City Centre Arena is a hotel that’s Yorkshire through and through. Brewed with the very best of Leeds and Yorkshire, this hotel’s bustling and modern like the city.
An independent bookshop specialising in literature across the LGBTIQA+ spectrum.
This music hall and canteen recently opened in the former site of Leeds Children’s Palace – a three-storey recreation hall and nursery school.
Jumbo Records is Leeds’ number one independent record store, with these large premises occasionally featuring in-store events with a bountiful record collection and coffee.
With a great mix of retailers over two levels including fashion, gifts and food, plus its own secure car park, St Johns Centre makes shopping in Leeds easy
The Brunswick offers great food, shabby chic decor and a whole range of real ales and craft beers on tap.
Surfing the nouvelle vague.
The Leeds branch of the O2 Academy chain.
Vintage Tearoom’s customers are treated to a diverse range of speciality teas and cold refreshments, all served with fresh-baked scones and cakes.
Culture Guides
Winter brings a huge haul of seasonal shows, as well as productions that resolutely veer away from the fairy lights.
Manchester’s closing out the year – and looking to the new one – with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.