My course is taught on city campus, and I live in the city too – so it’s fair to say I spend a lot of time wandering the streets of Leeds. There are so many places which I love to visit, so it was quite hard for me to narrow it down to just a few of my favourites, but here goes!

Social Learning Space - Rose Bowl

My favourite places to work and relax on campus are where it’s busy and full of life. This picture is of the ‘Social Learning Space’ in the Rose Bowl building. It’s a room of computers where you can always find a spot to finish off your assignment, but what’s special about it is that there are also sofas on which you can gather with your friends or course mates too. It’s nice to come here to work sometimes rather than working from home, as you always hear interesting snippets of other people’s conversations and you tend to bump into people you know.

Social Learning space, sofas, Rose Bowl

Gaia Café - Leslie Silver building

Here’s my second favourite campus spot – Gaia Café in the Leslie Silver building. It’s a great place to come to work while you enjoy a coffee. Again, it’s really busy and you can always have a chat. I find it easier to work where there’s the buzz of people around rather than in silence, but that’s just me. There are plenty of more relaxed spaces on campus to work from if that’s your thing, like the quiet rooms in the library.

Gaia cafe on city campus, people reading

Dry Dock

The Dry Dock is the real-life docked boat bar that’s next to our city campus buildings. I find myself in here a lot after lectures, it's a nice place to chill out after a long day. Food is also super cheap, and really tasty. Here’s a picture of a breakfast my friends and I enjoyed in here recently.

Dry Dock pub breakfast, sandwiches and tea, by Jenny

Kitty Café

This one is quite new to Leeds, and it’s super popular. You can go in, grab a comfy sofa, sip a hot drink and play with all the adorable cats. What better way to relax after a stressful day? You can often see queues of people gathered outside, which just shows how popular it is. As you can see, the cats in here are literally everywhere – including up above your head!

Inside of Kitty Cafe, Leeds city centre

Leeds City Museum

One for the arty people, Leeds Museum is amazing. It’s totally free to visit, and as well as lots of exhibitions, they also have free adult craft sessions every month. One of the great things about being a student in Leeds is that there’s loads of free places to visit and things to do – just a quick search online will show you these.

Outside of Leeds City Museum

Victoria Quarter

I love it here! Victoria Quarter is a shopping arcade in the centre of the city which is full designer stores. The architecture is beautiful – I could easily spend the day in there just wandering around and admiring it. It’s also a great place to take visitors if you really want to impress them.

Ceiling design of Victoria Quarter, Leeds city centre

Waterstones Café

This one is a bit of a hidden gem. Inside Waterstones book shop, there’s a lovely cosy café on the second floor. It’s a great place for a student on a tight budget to spend a relaxing afternoon – you can pick up any book, grab a seat and a drink and just spend the day there. All you need is a couple of pounds for your drink. I love doing this - I flick through loads of books and create a long list of all of the ones I want to buy.

Cafe within Waterstones, Leeds city centre

Kirkgate Market

Inside Kirkgate Market, there’s a selection of street food vendors serving delicious food. This place, Banh & Me, serves Vietnamese food which is perfect for a student budget. The whole place is really relaxed, and perfect if you’re with an indecisive group. You and your friends can all grab a different dish and then you take a seat on the benches in the middle.

Street food vendor within Kirkgate Market

Sky Lounge

And finally, the last place on my list is Sky Lounge. It’s a rooftop cocktail bar inside the Hilton Hotel, which is on Granary Wharf - so right beside the water. Sky Lounge has huge windows, with views that look out onto the entire city. What I like about here is that there’s always something going on, no matter what time you visit. In the day, you can get breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea. In the evenings, there’s usually live music or a DJ playing, so it's always really fun.

View of Leeds City Centre from Sky Lounge bar

Jenny

My name is Jenny, I’m from Halifax and am studying Speech and Language Therapy. I enjoy travelling and am very lucky to have had lots of opportunities to do this - exploring new cultures and seeing animals from around the world makes me so happy. I absolutely love Leeds, it’s a wonderful city that always has something going on and loads of places to explore - I am super proud of saying I live here and study at Leeds Beckett!

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