Today, Leeds city centre earned itself a coveted spot in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.
What brilliant news to end the week on, hey?
Leeds city centre was amongst eight other locations across the north and the north east to be featured on the list.
The market town of Skipton took home the dazzling first prize, but it's still nice to be included isn't it.
Here's what the judges had to say about Leeds city centre: “Leeds has five universities, the fourth largest urban economy in the UK (with job opportunities in finance, insurance and big business), a youthful vibe and a relatively affordable average house price (£285,100).
Image: Unsplash
“Stay close to the centre, where you won’t have to worry about the patchy public transport, and it all adds up to a fun-filled, fulfilled life within walking distance of stylish shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. There’s a good choice of riverside homes, where you may spot kingfishers and otters, and even the schools are good.”
In total, 72 places across the UK were selected by The Sunday Times to showcase the very best of Britain, with Norwich named the overall national winner.
The full list of locations in the north and northeast include:
Skipton
Howardian Hills, North Yorkshire
Leeds city centre
Morpeth, Northumberland
Newcastle: Gosforth
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire
York
Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, said: “This guide is a great opportunity to highlight the best places in Britain.
“It is full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community.
“Our expert team of judges visit every location on the list and talk to the locals to find out what they love about the place they live."
An exciting new venue is set to open its doors this year, marking a significant moment for the city’s nightlife scene.
Introducing Mint XL, the latest venture rom the team behind the Mint brand that represents the next evolution of a name that has been central to Leeds’ music culture since the 90’s.
Built on over three decades of experience in the industry, the team’s track record spans from intimate club spaces to major outdoor festivals.
Mint XL will build on this knowledge to bring a venue designed to operate on another level, bigger and better than ever before.
Image: Supplied
With a capacity of over 2000 across multiple rooms, Mint XL has been purpose-built to host a wide range of events. Think large-scale electronic music lineups and extended DJ sets to live performances, brand activations, and private hires.
At the heart of the venue is a focus on sound and experience. A newly-installed Funktion-One Vero system will power the main rooms, supported by high-spec production throughout.
Mint XL will also operate a strict no-phones policy during club events, keeping the focus on the music and the moment.
Images: Supplied
“Mint XL is the next chapter for the brand,” says Owner Shane Graham. “From Mint Club through to Mint Festival, we’ve spent nearly two decades building something special in Leeds, and this is a natural progression of that journey. It allows us to take everything we’ve produced over the years and deliver it at a much bigger club setting.”
Director Mikey McMahon adds: “Mint XL is a big step forward for us. It allows us to programme multi-bill lineups at a much bigger scale across multiple rooms, while also expanding beyond electronic music into live bands, private hires, and brand-led events. At its core, we’ve designed it as a fully versatile space that can adapt to different audiences and experiences under one roof.”
Cult favourite burger chain Burgerism is officially coming to Leeds this summer
Clementine Hall
An award-winning burger chain is coming to one of Leeds' suburbs.
If you don't know Burgerism, then get to know.
The Manchester-based burger chain is known by many for its incredible smash patties and quick, reliable service.
Their concept is simple: good burgers made with quality ingredients and cooked fresh to order. Delicious.
And it's not just burgers, they've also got some great wings and fries available too with a range of homemade sauces on offer for dunking, drizzling and devouring. We're a particular fan of the buffalo wings with their garlic ranch dip.
The chain used to have a dark kitchen on the outskirts of the city where people could order via Deliveroo, however this closed down and since then there's been a Burgerism-shaped hole left in our foodie scene.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Burgerism recently applied to move into a vacant shop unit in Meanwood at 605 Meanwood Road, seeking change-of-use planning permission for the former Papa Johns site which was previously only allowed to serve...well, pizzas.
And the plans have now been approved, which means Burgerism will officially be coming to Leeds. Hurray!
Burgerism's new takeaway will be walking distance from the The Meanwood Tavern, perfect for those looking for some post-pint burgers.
It will be strictly takeaway with no dine-in option available.
The brand-new Burgerism will employ 15 people from the local area with food being served between 11am and 11pm.
We'll keep you up to date as and when we find out more, but for now we're aware that Burgerism Leeds is set to open this summer.
Clementine Hall -
20th March 2026 
