2 Best Sights in Leeds, Yorkshire

These distinctive, slightly skewed concrete blocks by architect David Chipperfield form the largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom outside London. Overlooking the River Calder, they house an impressive permanent collection of important works by 20th-century British artists, notably sculptors such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth; painters that include  L. S. Lowry, Ben Nicholson, and Frank Auerbach; and photographers like Martin Parr. Rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary art are displayed in the Calder gallery. The museum is in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off the M1.

This outdoor exhibition space near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The galleries in the park, garden, and three indoor spaces cut into a hillside are filled with a carefully curated collection that includes works by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as modern sculptors like Antony Gormley, Anthony Caro, and David Nash. A visitor center has a café, a self-service restaurant, a table-service restaurant, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and information about the ecology and history of the estate. You can get here easily from Leeds by train or car.