Things to do in Harrogate

When the Yorkshire skies open, heading indoors is recommended. With boutique cinemas, gin and champagne bars, kids’ craft cafés there’s plenty to keep you occupied.

A historic spa town, Harrogate’s wells (watch out for the sulphur smells) are worth checking out, as are the nearby Ripley Castle & Gardens and Ripon’s stunning 7th century cathedral.

With art galleries and museums retracing the region’s history, including its rise as a spa town, Harrogate is full of culture. The Great Yorkshire Show and the renowned Harrogate Flower Show add a splash of colour to proceedings.

Harrogate boasts an array of exceptional theatre performances, alongside electrifying music shows and loads of belly laughs at their comedy clubs. Factor in a live blues bar and a rising football team and you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Be it pubs that date back to the Victorian era with gas lamps or bars that specialise in gin and live bands playing the blues, Harrogate has an impressively diverse range of options suiting daytime drinkers, pub grubbers and late-night dancers.

With restaurants serving up flavours from as far north as Norway and as far south as Argentina, it’s easy to eat your way around the world in 80 plates, with local produce looming large. No trip to Harrogate is complete without tea and cake at Bettys: a true Yorkshire institution.

With cobbled, pedestrianised streets full of period details and independent outlets, shopping in Harrogate is a mix of boutiques, high street classics and coffee shops.

Harrogate is home to the first Bettys Tea Room, which opened its doors nearly 100 years ago.Today it serves continental classics and a legendary afternoon tea which has been expertly refined since the 1920s.

With Leeds Bradford Airport just a short bus ride away, getting into the heart of Yorkshire couldn’t be easier. Factor in strong rail links and sprawling countryside that lends itself to walking and biking, Harrogate blends Victorian charm with impressive modern travel connections.