Things to do in Sheffield

Things to do in Sheffield, sorted the way people actually plan a day out: free days out, indoor ideas for a rainy day, places to take kids, walks on the Peak District edge and nights out in town.

Every idea below is a pin on the Sheffield map with opening hours, an address and a link to the official site. Add the ones you fancy to your day out and the planner will put them in walking order.

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Top things to do in Sheffield

If it is your first visit, these are the places people come to Sheffield for — all of them within a short walk or tram ride of the city centre.

Illustration of the arched timber glasshouse of Sheffield Winter Garden
Landmarks

Sheffield Winter Garden

A vast timber-arched glasshouse in the city centre, home to more than 2,000 plants and free to walk through.

Illustration of the bright white interior of the Millennium Gallery
Museums & galleries

Millennium Gallery

Free city-centre gallery showing Sheffield's metalwork collection alongside major touring exhibitions.

Illustration of the great River Don steam engine inside Kelham Island Museum
Museums & galleries

Kelham Island Museum

Industrial museum on a man-made island, home to the thundering River Don Engine.

Illustration of the curved Victorian glass pavilions at Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Parks & gardens

Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Nineteen acres of Grade II* listed gardens with restored Victorian glass pavilions, free to visit.

Illustration of children playing in the fountains of Sheffield's Peace Gardens
Parks & gardens

Peace Gardens

The city's front room: fountains, lawns and cascades beside the Town Hall, busy all summer.

Illustration of Weston Park Museum's classical facade behind park trees
Museums & galleries

Weston Park Museum

Sheffield's main museum — history, archaeology and natural history — set in a Victorian park near the university.

Illustration of the Crucible Theatre frontage on Tudor Square at night
Theatre & music

Crucible Theatre

Sheffield's famous thrust-stage theatre and the spiritual home of world championship snooker.

Illustration of Sheffield Cathedral's tower and spire above the city streets
Landmarks

Sheffield Cathedral

The city's oldest building still in use, with 900 years of architecture under one roof.

Illustration of the Porter Brook and woodland path through Endcliffe Park
Sport & outdoors

Endcliffe Park

The gateway to the Porter Valley walk — a riverside park leading all the way to the moors.

Free things to do in Sheffield

Almost all of Sheffield's best-known attractions cost nothing: the museums and galleries are free to enter, and so are the parks, gardens and the moors on the city's doorstep.

Illustration of the arched timber glasshouse of Sheffield Winter Garden
Landmarks

Sheffield Winter Garden

A vast timber-arched glasshouse in the city centre, home to more than 2,000 plants and free to walk through.

Illustration of the bright white interior of the Millennium Gallery
Museums & galleries

Millennium Gallery

Free city-centre gallery showing Sheffield's metalwork collection alongside major touring exhibitions.

Illustration of Weston Park Museum's classical facade behind park trees
Museums & galleries

Weston Park Museum

Sheffield's main museum — history, archaeology and natural history — set in a Victorian park near the university.

Illustration of a quiet gallery room hung with paintings
Museums & galleries

Graves Gallery

Sheffield's free art gallery on the top floor of the Central Library, strong on British modern art.

Illustration of the curved Victorian glass pavilions at Sheffield Botanical Gardens
Parks & gardens

Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Nineteen acres of Grade II* listed gardens with restored Victorian glass pavilions, free to visit.

Illustration of children playing in the fountains of Sheffield's Peace Gardens
Parks & gardens

Peace Gardens

The city's front room: fountains, lawns and cascades beside the Town Hall, busy all summer.

Illustration of a wooded Victorian cemetery with an Egyptian-style stone gateway
Parks & gardens

Sheffield General Cemetery

A wooded Victorian garden cemetery of Egyptian gateways and tumbling gravestones, now a nature reserve.

Illustration of a stone workshop with a wooden waterwheel in woodland
Museums & galleries

Shepherd Wheel Workshop

A working water-powered knife-grinding workshop in the woods, free to visit.

Illustration of an open city lawn with a skate park and colourful murals behind
Parks & gardens

Devonshire Green

The city centre's green lawn and skate park, ringed by independent shops and street art.

Things to do in Sheffield when it rains

Indoor things to do in Sheffield — museums, galleries, cinema, climbing and swimming, all under a roof.

Illustration of the bright white interior of the Millennium Gallery
Museums & galleries

Millennium Gallery

Free city-centre gallery showing Sheffield's metalwork collection alongside major touring exhibitions.

Illustration of a bright museum room filled with playable arcade cabinets
Museums & galleries

National Videogame Museum

A hands-on museum of playable games, from arcade cabinets to the machines that built the industry.

Illustration of Weston Park Museum's classical facade behind park trees
Museums & galleries

Weston Park Museum

Sheffield's main museum — history, archaeology and natural history — set in a Victorian park near the university.

Illustration of vintage fire engines inside an old fire station
Museums & galleries

National Emergency Services Museum

Fire engines, police cells and ambulances in a Victorian police and fire station you can climb over.

Illustration of an art deco cinema frontage lit at night
Theatre & music

Showroom Cinema

One of the largest independent cinemas in Europe, in an art deco former car showroom.

Illustration of climbers on a colourful indoor bouldering wall
Sport & outdoors

The Climbing Works

One of the world's largest bouldering centres, in the city that invented modern gritstone climbing.

Illustration of a large indoor Olympic swimming pool with diving boards
Sport & outdoors

Ponds Forge

An Olympic-standard 50-metre pool and diving complex in the city centre, open to the public.

Illustration of a bustling indoor food hall with long communal tables and market stalls
Food & drink

Kommune

A food hall in the old Castle House co-op building, with a dozen independent kitchens under one roof.

Illustration of a contemporary gallery space with a large video projection
Theatre & music

Site Gallery

Contemporary art space in the Cultural Industries Quarter, focused on moving image and new media.

Things to do in Sheffield with kids

Family days out in and around Sheffield — farms, play, animals and hands-on museums.

Illustration of a small city farm with goats and vegetable gardens
Parks & gardens

Heeley City Farm

A free community farm with animals, gardens and a vegetarian cafe, minutes from the centre.

Illustration of rare breed sheep and rolling meadows at Graves Park
Parks & gardens

Graves Park

Sheffield's largest park, with a rare breeds animal farm that is free to visit.

Illustration of a bright museum room filled with playable arcade cabinets
Museums & galleries

National Videogame Museum

A hands-on museum of playable games, from arcade cabinets to the machines that built the industry.

Illustration of a wildlife park with polar bears and giraffes in large reserves
Parks & gardens

Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Polar bears, lions and giraffes in huge reserves — a regional day trip near Doncaster.

Illustration of a huge dark steelworks hall used as a science centre
Museums & galleries

Magna Science Adventure Centre

A vast former steelworks turned hands-on science centre, with a fire-breathing arc furnace show.

Illustration of a large indoor trampoline park
Sport & outdoors

Jump Inc Sheffield

A big trampoline and inflatable park beside Meadowhall, built for rainy days with children.

Illustration of a modern city park with water jets and children playing
Parks & gardens

Pound's Park

A brand-new city-centre park with water jets, play equipment and lawns, built on an old fire station site.

Outdoor things to do in Sheffield

A third of Sheffield sits inside the Peak District, so the walks, edges and reservoirs are as much a part of the city as the centre.

Illustration of a long gritstone escarpment above moorland at golden hour
Sport & outdoors

Stanage Edge

The four-mile gritstone escarpment on Sheffield's doorstep — the spiritual home of British climbing.

Illustration of a woodland mill pond with a path alongside
Parks & gardens

Porter Valley & Forge Dam

A green corridor of old mill dams and woodland running from the suburbs to the moor edge.

Illustration of a moorland valley with gritstone edges and a flat-topped tor
Parks & gardens

Burbage Valley & Higger Tor

Gritstone edges, a flat-topped tor and an Iron Age fort, fifteen minutes from the city.

Illustration of a National Trust moorland estate with woods and a stone lodge
Parks & gardens

Longshaw Estate

A National Trust estate of woods, moor and parkland on the Peak edge, with a tearoom.

Illustration of a wooded river valley with a small waterfall and stepping stones
Parks & gardens

Rivelin Valley

A wooded river valley of waterfalls and old mill ponds on the western edge of the city.

Illustration of a sunlit ancient woodland path among tall trees
Parks & gardens

Ecclesall Woods

Sheffield's largest ancient woodland, 350 acres of oak and birch with waymarked trails.

Illustration of a rocky stream falling through dense conifer woodland
Parks & gardens

Wyming Brook Nature Reserve

A steep rocky stream tumbling through conifer woodland, one of the wildest walks inside the city.

Illustration of a riverside walking path beside a weir and old mill buildings
Sport & outdoors

Five Weirs Walk

A riverside path along the Don, past the weirs and mills that powered the steel city.

Things to do in Sheffield at night

Evenings out in Sheffield: theatre, gigs, independent bars and the food halls that stay busy late.

Illustration of the Crucible Theatre frontage on Tudor Square at night
Theatre & music

Crucible Theatre

Sheffield's famous thrust-stage theatre and the spiritual home of world championship snooker.

Illustration of the ornate Edwardian Lyceum Theatre with its corner dome
Theatre & music

Lyceum Theatre

A gilded Edwardian playhouse on Tudor Square hosting West End tours, opera and pantomime.

Illustration of a brick music venue at night with a glowing sign and a queue outside
Theatre & music

The Leadmill

Sheffield's most famous independent music venue, where Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys cut their teeth.

Illustration of a busy music venue with a crowd and stage lights
Theatre & music

O2 Academy Sheffield

The city centre's main mid-size gig venue, hosting touring bands most nights of the week.

Illustration of a large indoor arena filled with a crowd
Sport & outdoors

Utilita Arena Sheffield

The city's 13,600-capacity arena for big-name concerts, comedy and ice hockey.

Illustration of a 1930s concert hall with a tall columned portico at dusk
Theatre & music

Sheffield City Hall

Grand 1930s concert hall behind a Corinthian colonnade, hosting touring music and comedy.

Illustration of a lively city street of bars lit at night
Food & drink

West Street

Sheffield's best-known night-out street, lined with bars, pubs and late kitchens.

Illustration of a courtyard of restaurants with outdoor tables and festoon lights
Food & drink

Leopold Square

A courtyard of restaurants and bars in a converted Victorian grammar school.

Things to do in Sheffield: common questions

What are the best things to do in Sheffield?
The Winter Garden and Peace Gardens, the Millennium Gallery, Kelham Island Museum, the Botanical Gardens, Weston Park Museum and a walk up the Porter Valley to Forge Dam cover the city in a day. Add Stanage Edge or Higger Tor for the Peak District side of Sheffield.
What free things are there to do in Sheffield?
Most of them. The Millennium Gallery, Graves Gallery, Weston Park Museum, Kelham Island's outdoor areas, the Winter Garden, the Botanical Gardens and every public park are free, as are the moors and edges on the city boundary.
What is there to do in Sheffield when it is raining?
Head indoors to the Millennium Gallery, the National Videogame Museum, Weston Park Museum, the National Emergency Services Museum, the Showroom cinema, Ponds Forge pool or The Climbing Works.
What can you do in Sheffield with kids?
Heeley City Farm, Graves Park's animal farm, the Tropical Butterfly House, Gulliver's Valley, Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Magna and the National Videogame Museum are the usual family days out, plus Pounds Park in the city centre.
Is Sheffield worth visiting for a day out?
Yes — the centre is compact enough to walk, the main museums and galleries are free, and you can be on the edge of the Peak District within half an hour of the station.
What is there to do in Sheffield this weekend?
Check the Crucible, Lyceum, City Hall, Leadmill and Utilita Arena listings for what is on, then build a route around them with the day-out planner on this site.

Plan your day out