First Date Ideas in Leeds That Aren't a Bar: Galleries, a Gaslit Cinema and an Abbey

Why a non-bar first date works in Leeds

A first date with something to look at gives you both an easy way into conversation and an easy way out. Leeds has a cluster of galleries and museums on The Headrow and around Millennium Square, all within a short walk of each other, plus a cinema, an abbey and a large park a bus ride away.

Several of the council-run venues work on a Give What You Can basis, with a suggested donation of £5 per person, so you can decide on the day what to pay. The thing to watch is Mondays. Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum, Kirkstall Abbey and the Henry Moore Institute's galleries are all closed on Mondays, and the Royal Armouries is closed on Mondays in term time. The hours below are the ones each venue published when this guide was checked.

The Headrow: Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute

Leeds Art Gallery is on The Headrow, LS1 3AA, about 0.4 miles from Leeds railway station. It is closed on Mondays. From Tuesday to Saturday it is open from 10am to 5pm, though the upper galleries close at 4pm on Saturdays, and on Sundays it is open from 11am to 3pm. There is no fixed entry fee: the gallery runs on Give What You Can, with a suggested donation of £5 per person, payable by contactless, chip and PIN, cash or online.

The gallery's Tiled Hall Café is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm and on Sunday from 11am to 2.30pm, so it is somewhere to sit and talk once you have seen the rooms. Upcoming exhibitions listed by Leeds Museums and Galleries include Steve McQueen: Resistance, from 6 November 2026 to 25 April 2027, and the gallery's Plant Dreaming exhibition explores plants, fungi and connected ecosystems.

The Henry Moore Institute is next door at 74 The Headrow, LS1 3AH. Its galleries are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, and its research library is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and on Saturday from 1pm to 5pm. The institute's visit page doesn't state an admission price, so check before you go. Pairing the two makes an easy hour or two in the centre.

• Leeds Art GalleryArt gallery

  The Headrow, LS1 3AA

  Tue–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 11am–3pm, closed Mon; Give What You Can, suggested £5; Tiled Hall Café.

• Henry Moore InstituteSculpture gallery and library

  74 The Headrow, LS1 3AH

  Galleries Tue–Sun 10am–5pm; library Tue–Fri 10am–5pm and Sat 1pm–5pm.

Leeds City Museum

Leeds City Museum is on Millennium Square, LS2 8BH. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, and on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from 11am to 5pm. It is closed on Mondays. Like the art gallery, it is Give What You Can, with a suggested £5 donation that you can make on arrival, at Tap to Give points or online.

The museum has the Herbarium Café on site. When this guide was checked it listed an exhibition called It Takes a Community, running from 2 October to 20 June, and events for Light Night in late October. Special events are ticketed through Leeds Ticket Hub, so check the listing if you are planning around one.

• Leeds City MuseumMuseum

  Millennium Square, LS2 8BH

  Tue–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat, Sun and bank holidays 11am–5pm, closed Mon; Give What You Can, suggested £5.

A film at Hyde Park Picture House

Hyde Park Picture House is at 73 Brudenell Road, LS6 1JD. According to Wikipedia it opened on 7 November 1914, has been Grade II listed since 1996, and is believed to be the only remaining gaslit cinema in the world. It keeps its modesty gas lights, which were designed so the auditorium was never completely dark. A £2.3 million National Lottery grant paid for a restoration that began in 2021, and the cinema reopened on 30 June 2023 with a second screen in the basement.

Both screens have reserved seating, and the cinema recommends booking ahead. A full-price ticket is £10.50, and concessions are £8.50. Weekday matinees before 4.30pm cost £6.50, and the concession saver on Mondays and Tuesdays is also £6.50. Members aged 15 to 25 pay £7. The cinema says it still projects some films from 35mm prints and offers building and projection room tours.

The Café Bar is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 4pm to 10pm, on Thursdays from 2pm to 10pm, and on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30am to 10pm. It serves local beers, local wines and coffee, so you can meet there before the film. The venue is nut- and shellfish-free. A film is a good first date if you are nervous about conversation: you get two hours of shared experience and something to talk about straight afterwards.

• Hyde Park Picture HouseCinema

  73 Brudenell Road, LS6 1JD

  Gaslit 1914 cinema, two screens; full price £10.50, weekday matinee £6.50; Café Bar.

Kirkstall Abbey

Kirkstall Abbey is on Abbey Road, Kirkstall, LS5 3EH. It is closed on Mondays. From April to September it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4.30pm, and from October to March it closes at 4pm. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, and it opens at normal hours on bank holidays. Admission is Give What You Can, with a suggested £5 donation, and general admission tickets can be booked on site.

Getting there is straightforward. Buses 33, 34 and 757 stop outside, and Kirkstall Forge and Headingley stations are each about a mile away. There is a large free car park on Abbey Walk. The abbey has a café, and when this guide was checked it was running Reflective Walks in the autumn, including a poetry and silent walk. Walking round a ruin is a relaxed first date because there is always something to point at.

• Kirkstall AbbeyAbbey ruins and museum

  Abbey Road, Kirkstall, LS5 3EH

  Tue–Sun 10am–4pm (Oct–Mar) or 4.30pm (Apr–Sep), closed Mon; suggested £5 donation; buses 33, 34, 757.

Royal Armouries at Leeds Dock

The Royal Armouries is at Leeds Dock, LS10 1LT. Entry is free, but you need to book a free ticket online. It is open from 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday in term time and every day during school holidays and on bank holidays. The museum suggests allowing two to three hours.

It is a good choice if one of you likes history and the other likes a spectacle, and because it is free you can leave after an hour without feeling you have wasted money if conversation runs out.

• Royal ArmouriesMuseum

  Leeds Dock, LS10 1LT

  Free with a bookable ticket; 10am–5pm, Tue–Sun in term time, daily in school and bank holidays.

Kirkgate Market and Roundhay Park

Kirkgate Market is on Vicar Lane, next to Leeds City bus station and linked to Briggate through the Victoria Quarter. Wikipedia describes it as the largest covered market in Europe, with about 800 stalls and more than 100,000 visitors a week, in a Grade I listed building. It began as an open-air market in 1822, with covered halls built between 1850 and 1875. Marks & Spencer was founded there as a penny bazaar in 1884, and a centenary clock in the 1904 hall marks the connection. This guide could not confirm current market hours from an official page, so check before you go.

Roundhay Park covers more than 700 acres of parkland with lakes, woodland, formal gardens, cafés and the Tropical World attraction. Leeds City Council says the specialist gardens are open daily from 9am to 3.30pm, and the Tropical World café is open from 10am to 5pm, or until 3.30pm in winter. A land train runs every 15 minutes from about 11am on weekends and in school holidays, weather permitting, for £1.50 single or £2 return. A walk around Waterloo Lake is free and makes an easy daytime first date.

• Kirkgate MarketCovered market

  Vicar Lane

  About 800 stalls in a Grade I listed building; birthplace of Marks & Spencer in 1884.

• Roundhay ParkPark

  Roundhay

  700+ acres with lakes, woodland, gardens and Tropical World; land train £1.50 single.

Before you go

• Most Leeds museums are closed on Mondays; the Royal Armouries is closed on Mondays in term time.
• Leeds Art Gallery closes at 3pm on Sundays, and its upper galleries close at 4pm on Saturdays.
• Book Hyde Park Picture House ahead: both screens have reserved seating and shows can sell out.
• Give What You Can venues suggest £5 each; they take contactless, chip and PIN or cash.
• Kirkgate Market hours weren't published on a page we could check, so confirm before you go.

Questions people ask

What is a cheap first date in Leeds?

The Royal Armouries is free. Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum and Kirkstall Abbey ask for a donation, suggested at £5 each, and a walk round Roundhay Park costs nothing.

Is Leeds Art Gallery free?

It has no fixed fee. It runs on Give What You Can, with a suggested donation of £5 per person. It is closed on Mondays.

How much is Hyde Park Picture House?

A full-price ticket is £10.50 and a concession is £8.50. Weekday matinees before 4.30pm and the Monday and Tuesday concession saver are £6.50.

Are Leeds museums open on Mondays?

Mostly not. Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum and Kirkstall Abbey close on Mondays. The Royal Armouries opens on Mondays only in school and bank holidays.

Where can we go on a rainy first date in Leeds?

Leeds Art Gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds City Museum, the Royal Armouries, Hyde Park Picture House and the covered Kirkgate Market are all indoors.