At the end of the Calls you can turn right into Call Lane and follow it into the city centre where the Market, Town Hall and arcades are found.MUSEUM PIECESThe Leeds Industrial Museum (0113 263 7861, ) in Armley perfectly sums up the importance of industry to the city. Today, the brick and iron structure houses a clothing gallery, exhibits of machinery, a tannery and various exhibitions. Crossing back over the bridge to The Calls, continue west until you reach Number 42, then walk round to the waterfront to see the original exterior pulleys. Follow the river past the Armoury museum or linger outside its amphitheatre en route.

Cross over the bridge and turn left onto The Calls, following it west. Turn left at Centenary Footbridge, built in 1999, for views up the river to Victoria Quays. Entrance is free.LOCAL FLAVOURLegend has it that Newcastle was the first city in England to brew beer – and although this may be wishful thinking on the part of the local population, they have been brewing Newcastle Brown Ale since 1927. Starting at The Royal Armouries on the south bank of the river, head west along the waterfront.

The Armouries also marks the start of the Central Trans Pennine Trail (01226 772574; .uk), a walking and cycling route that links the Irish and North Seas. However, following the River Aire, you it’s easy to direct yourself around the original site of the city, taking in up-and-coming dockside developments of former warehouses and factories that demonstrate the city’s industrial heritage. Double rooms start at £140 per night, breakfast not included.PATHWAY TO THE PASTThe tourist office (0113 242 5242; ) organises several group walks including a “Criminals and Colourful Characters and Pubs and Yards” walk. Each room has been individually designed to a sleek, stylish finish, but retains original features such as low, wooden-beamed ceilings and exterior pulleys from the riverside. It was also the first hotel in the country to have en suite bathrooms. Double rooms – still complete with bathroom – start at £90 per night including breakfast.42 The Calls (0113 244 0099; ) is a boutique hotel located in a former 18th-century corn mill on The Calls, by the north banks of the River Aire, and was converted from near dereliction into a hotel in 1991.

Its imposing white Portland stone exterior, designed by the same architect as London’s The Dorchester, is echoed inside with grand art deco design illustrating the city’s inter-war urban renewal. The Town Hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1858 and still dominates the city centre with its clock tower and colonnaded fa?e. The Corn Exchange on Call Lane, like Victoria Quarter, exemplifies how the city’s industrial architecture has been re-evaluated.The Leeds of today is a cosmopolitan city, with a vibrant student community and an abundance of shops, bars and restaurants cheek-by-jowl with stately Victorian architecture.OLD-SCHOOL COMFORT OR URBAN COOL?The Queen’s (0113 243 1323; ) in City Square is a Grade II listed building and a Leeds landmark, opened in 1937 after the original 1863 building was demolished. Victoria Quarter, built in 1898, boasts mosaic domes, glass roofs and mahogany shop fronts.