Leeds Museums and Galleries: The Complete Guide
Which are free, which ask for a fiver, which are worth the bus ride, and what to look for when you get there: the Leeds museums, straight.
By Only Leeds Editorial
The essential Leeds museums and galleries are Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute on The Headrow, Leeds City Museum on Millennium Square, and the Royal Armouries at Leeds Dock, all free or Give What You Can. Beyond the centre, add Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey House, the Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills and Temple Newsam. Most council-run venues close on Mondays, so plan round that. Hours and prices were checked in October 2026.
Leeds Art Gallery
On The Headrow, Leeds Art Gallery is run by Leeds Museums and Galleries and is Give What You Can, with a suggested donation of £5. It opens Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, with the upper galleries closing at 4pm on Saturdays, and Sunday 11am to 3pm. It is closed on Mondays. The gallery has staged a major exhibition of John Atkinson Grimshaw, the Leeds artist. The Tiled Hall Cafe links the gallery to the Central Library: it was the original reading room of George Corson's 1884 Municipal Buildings, and its tiles, roof and marble pillars were uncovered again in a 2007 restoration. It serves cake and coffee Monday to Saturday 10am to 4.30pm and Sunday 11am to 2.30pm. Details are on the Leeds Museums and Galleries site.
The Henry Moore Institute
Next door at 74 The Headrow, linked to the art gallery by a bridge, the Henry Moore Institute opened in 1993 in three former wool merchants' offices converted by Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones. Entry is free and the galleries open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm, with changing exhibitions of sculpture. There is also a research library and an archive of sculptors' papers, and the institute's staff look after Leeds Art Gallery's sculpture collection. Do the two together.
Leeds City Museum
In Cuthbert Brodrick's former Mechanics' Institute on Millennium Square, built in the 1860s and home to the museum since 2008. Opening is Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and weekends and bank holidays 11am to 5pm, with a suggested £5 donation. The galleries run from Life on Earth and Ancient Worlds to the Leeds Story. Look for the Leeds Tiger, a Bengal tiger in the city since 1862, and Nesyamun, a 3,000 year old mummy who survived the 1941 bombing and is shown with a reconstruction of his face.
The Royal Armouries
The Royal Armouries opened its Leeds museum at Leeds Dock in 1996. Entry is free, but book a free ticket on the Royal Armouries site. It opens 10am to 5pm, Tuesday to Sunday in term time and every day during school and bank holidays. The Hall of Steel staircase holds 2,500 objects in trophy displays; Henry VIII's 235-part foot combat armour was never finished after a late change to tournament rules in 1520; and the Indian elephant armour, at 118kg, holds a Guinness World Record. Daily combats and shows are included. For a pint after, Thornbridge Brewery Tap is on the dock.
The Thackray Museum of Medicine
At 141 Beckett Street, beside St James's Hospital, the Thackray is an independent museum and charity. It opens daily except Tuesdays, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3.15pm, and every day in Leeds school holidays. Tickets are choose your own price: £9, £12 recommended or £16, with children six and under free. Allow at least two hours.
Kirkstall Abbey and Abbey House Museum
Kirkstall Abbey, on Abbey Road, was founded by Cistercian monks around 1152 and surrendered in 1539. It is Give What You Can, open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm from October to March and until 4.30pm from April to September. Opposite, Abbey House Museum on Abbey Walk has recreated Victorian streets and childhood galleries; adults £7.35, children £3.60, family £16.25, closed Mondays except bank holidays.
Leeds Industrial Museum
At Armley Mills on Canal Road, the industrial museum puts you among the spinning wheels and looms behind the industries Leeds was known for. It opens Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and weekends 12 to 5pm, last entry 4pm. Adults pay £6.40 and children £3.50, and households in LS3, LS4, LS5 and LS12 can get in for £1 with proof of address.
Temple Newsam
The house at Temple Newsam opens Tuesday to Sunday 10.30am to 5pm, with winter tours from 11am to 3pm between October and February half-terms. Adults pay £10.50 for the house and children £4.50; Home Farm is open daily and costs £9. The estate has belonged to Leeds City Council since 1922 and the parkland is open all year.
University galleries
On the University of Leeds campus, the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery and the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery are free and open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, with no need to book. Good for a quiet hour on a weekday.