An industrial city in northern England at the foot of the Pennine Mountains. Its center, concentrated on a relatively small area, is full of neoclassical and eclectic tenements with shopping arcades.
Leeds was founded in the early Middle Ages and it quickly became an important fabric center. Over time, the manufactories' production changed into large factories and textile factories, whose buildings are still visible in the city. The center of Leeds is largely closed to car traffic. Between the tenement houses from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century there are pedestrian streets with many restaurants, cafes and shops. In several places you can see the old shopping arcades decorated with Art Nouveau and eclectic decorations. You can learn about the industrial past of the city at the Armley Mills Museum and the Abbey House Museum.
The most valuable monument of Leeds are the ruins of the Kirkstall Cistercian Abbey from the twelfth century located in the suburbs. You can also see the seventeenth-century church of St. John and the former royal armory, in which the oldest National Museum in Great Britain operates.
