Leeds Kirkgate Market, Leeds (must see)

Here is the big market to end all big markets. The Kirkgate Market on Vicar Lane and George Street is the largest covered market in all of Europe. It has about 170 traders selling a huge variety of goods and foods. There are exotic fruits and vegetables, a fish market and a meat sector, and bakeries. Flowers, clothing, and novelties can also be found here.

There is a Chinese supermarket, a Polish deli. Shawarmas, chapattis, crepes and real Yorkshire pudding can be had. There is a South Asian bazaar on Wednesdays with a range of South Asian foods, silk saris and Indian bracelets. The events space holds festivals, concerts and fashion shows. Some 800 stalls serve 100,000 customers a week.

The market building opened in 1904. There are several halls, all connected. The oldest is the 1875 hall, sandwiched in among the 1904 hall and the 1976 and 1981 halls. Butchers' Row, at the northern end, leads to the 1976 hall. Fish and game, at the southern end, leads to the 1981 hall.

The 1904 Hall is ornate. It has a glass roof and a balcony. It is a cast-iron structure decorated in a Flemish Art Nouveau style. The 1904 hall is the only part of the market to escape the ravages of the disastrous 1975 fire.

The 1976 Hall is a large open-plan hall with a latticed roof. The Outdoor Market is accessed from the 1976 and 1981 halls. There are three blocks of stalls including greengrocers, computers, clothing and electrical goods.