Discover Bradford
Find your home in the UK's City of Culture for 2025.
Bradford is a place of creativity, social activism, fierce independence and rich diversity.
There's lots to do and lots to discover here, and it's all near to the University campus.
Art, music and culture
Bradford is the first UNESCO City of Film. The city has a rich film heritage and has been a popular filming location for TV shows including Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley, and The Crown.
There’s a variety of live performance venues in the city. St George’s Hall hosts concerts and comedy nights. The Alhambra Theatre is puts on musicals, ballet shows, and is home to the winter pantomime. Next door to the Alhambra is Bradford Live, a refurbished music venue, due to open in 2025.
Some of Bradford’s galleries and museums include the National Science and Media Museum, the Impressions Gallery, and Fuse Art Space.
The city hosts the Bradford Literature festival and the Yorkshire Games Festival.
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Shop
Bradford has a large variety of shops, and there’s loads of places to go depending on what you’re looking for.
For food shopping, there are supermarkets and international grocery shops close to campus.
Broadway and Kirkgate Shopping Centre has everything from clothing and footwear to gaming and stationery shops.
The Grade I listed Wool Exchange is home to the prettiest Waterstones bookshop and café.
For home and study essentials, Forster Square shopping park is a 20-minute walk from campus and has shops like Asda Living, TK Maxx and Currys.
Leisure and social
There are plenty of places to visit and things to do in the city centre.
The Bradford Leisure Exchange is home to the Hollywood Bowl and arcade. There’s also a Cineworld cinema, and an indoor inflatable theme park.
At the top of the city, there’s an archery range, mini golf, and urban axe throwing. Nearer to campus, there’s the LaserZone laser tag arena.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, Bradford Ice Arena hosts an ice-skating disco.
If you enjoy the great outdoors, Bradford has 36 parks to visit. Closer to campus there’s Peel Park and Lister Park. City Park is right in the centre of Bradford and is renowned for its award-winning water features.
Food
Bradford is a melting pot of places to eat and drink. The city’s food reflects its multicultural population.
We have some of the best curry houses in the UK, all within walking distance of our campus.
The Broadway shopping centre’s food court has all the chain restaurants and food comforts you would expect to find on the high street.
There’s also a growing trend of independent cafes on North Parade and around the city. Also, the Darley Street indoor and outdoor food market is due to open in 2024.
If you’d prefer to stay in for the night, you can always get a takeaway delivered to your accommodation.
Nightlife
Bradford has a diverse and vibrant nightlife.
At the top of Bradford is North Parade, a street full of independent bars that specialise in craft beer and real ale.
On Ivegate and the surrounding area there’s pubs, clubs and sports bars. Sports fans unite! You’ll never miss the big game again.
Hidden behind Bradford’s City Park is Sunbridgewells. The Victorian complex is a series of underground tunnels and offers places to eat, drink and dance.
There is also variety of restaurants, coffee shops and dessert parlours that stay open late dotted around the city centre and near campus.
Sport
Bradford has a long sporting history.
Bradford City AFC, also known as The Bantams, have been playing football for 120 years. The Valley Parade stadium was built in 1886, making it one of the oldest stadiums in the country. We have recently partnered with the club and are extremely proud that the ground is officially known as the University of Bradford Stadium.
Rugby League fans can visit Odsal Stadium to watch Bradford Bulls, a club with a rich history of honours. The Bulls have experienced highs and lows but are now on fighting form, and on their way back to the top.
The University's Rugby Team play their annual varsity match against rivals Huddersfield at Odsal Stadium, winning some famous victories over the years.
