The charming northern county of West Yorkshire promises vibrant cities, industrial heritage towns and pretty Pennine villages in equal doses. There’s no shortage of things to do in West Yorkshire. Drop into cosmopolitan Leeds for museums and galleries and elegant shopping centres, feel the wind in your hair on Pennine trails and cycle ways, visit Bradford for Victorian industrial heritage and grand city parks, or pack a copy of Wuthering Heights and head to Haworth to explore Brontë-country villages and vales in this inspiring literary county. With so many places to visit in West Yorkshire, you’ll soon be planning your return trip.
Places to visit in West Yorkshire
24 hours in Leeds
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Victorian warehouses and shiny 21st-century architecture collide to awesome effect in this gritty Yorkshire city.
Life in Victorian Bradford
Founded by Sir Titus Salt in 1853, Saltaire is a UNESCO World Heritage site and remains a living, working 19th century village.
Location: Saltaire, West Yorkshire
Ride the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
This exciting heritage steam railway runs through the picturesque Yorkshire countryside where the classic movie The Railway Children was filmed.
Location: Keighley, West Yorkshire
Walk in the footsteps of the famous Brontë sisters
Visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum and explore the beautiful home and surroundings that inspired classic Brontë novels.
Location: Haworth, West Yorkshire
Rainy Day Activities: Discover military history at The Royal Armouries
Britain’s national museum of arms and armour is home to a fascinating and unique collection, including the only existing suit of armour built for an elephant.
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Visit England’s highest, longest and deepest canal tunnel
All aboard! Take a seat on the glass topped boat and take a journey into the highest, longest and deepest canal tunnel in the country.
Location: Marsden, West Yorkshire
Industry meets art at Salts Mill
Packed to its Victorian rafters with independent traders and the largest collection of David Hockney’s work.
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
Make yourself at home at Harewood House
This 18th century home is filled with fine art and surrounded by gardens and parkland that is home to many animals including flamingos and penguins.
Location: Harewood, West Yorkshire
Explore the magnificent ruins of Kirkstall Abbey
This atmospheric 12th-century abbey is one of the most complete Cistercian monasteries in Britain, surrounded by tranquil tree-filled parkland.
Location: Leeds, Yorkshire
Rainy Day Activities: Hop from gallery to shop at the Salts Mill
Found near Bradford, the Yorkshire Salts Mill is an indoor hive of art galleries and indie shops, set within the culturally rich World Heritage Site of Saltaire.
Location: Saltaire, West Yorkshire
Feel like a duke or duchess for the day but without the price tag
You don’t have to be as rich as a lord to visit East Riddlesden Hall, near Keighley, former home of the 17th century cloth merchant James Murgatroyd.
Location: Keighley, West Yorkshire
Experience life as a Victorian Mill Worker
Be transported back to the 1800s and experience Bradford when it was the ‘Wool Capital of the World’.
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
Enjoy an afternoon tea in the house the Brontës loved
Enjoy a luxurious afternoon tea at the historic house the Brontës knew and loved, then take a tour of the real-life setting for Wuthering Heights.
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
Shop in style in the beautiful Victoria Quarter
Marvel at this collection of beautifully restored Victorian shopping arcades in Leeds and browse the luxury shops within them.
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Wander around one of England’s oldest medieval houses
Dating back to 1420, timber-framed Shibden Hall lets you peek into the fascinating life of Anne Lister, as made famous by the BBC ONE / HBO drama ‘Gentleman Jack’.
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire
Relive the Industrial Revolution
Mills, canals, tunnels and follies in steep-sided valleys and rolling hills tell the tale of Calderdale’s key role in the Industrial Revolution.
Location: Calderdale, West Yorkshire
Follow the trail of the Brontë sisters in Birstall
Visit Red House and Oakwell Hall in Birstall, both frequented by the Brontë sisters and which featured in Charlotte Brontë’s famous novel Shirley.
Location: Birstall, West Yorkshire