Culture, nature, friendliness.
Just the right amount of everything.
Sheffield isn't a place where you'll find a saturation of one aspect of life. We won't try to tell you that we've got the best of one specific thing, because truth be told it's all down to what you want to make of it. Sure, there are other cities with more Michelin star restaurants, bigger nightclubs, iconic art galleries and so on and so on.
But we don't think anywhere quite has the mix of everything that we've got, all wrapped up into one green, vibrant, energetic and down to earth place that properly feels like home.
So below you'll see some of the things that make up that mix that we know make Sheffield special to people. And the reality of it is, it's special because it comes with all the other parts alongside it too.
Music, festivals and the arts
Electric pioneers
For half a century the city has been producing a steady stream of game-changing music that has gone on to impact and shape the way electronic music sounds all across the world. Find out how it's all happened, and how we celebrate it now.
Music
Churning out pioneering music across all genres, this city lives and breathes it - even down to one of our pioneering electronic festivals, No Bounds, commissioning Mark Fell and Maltby Miners Welfare Band to play in the bus station...
Street art
As any post-industrial city will tell you, old buildings make for a great canvas. We are incredibly lucky to have so many talented artists and works dotted around the city.
Festivals
There's so much to choose from, with festivals taking place indoors and outdoors, from literature to debate and film to walking.
Theatres, museums and galleries
We have the biggest theatre complex outside of London and the most attended free gallery in the north of England - plus a shed load of grassroots and community venues to explore.
An exploding food and drink scene
There are more craft breweries here per person than in any other city in the land, making Sheffield one of the brewing capitals of the world. But we all know you need some decent grub to soak up the booze, and thankfully we've got everything from street food on the go to critically acclaimed dining. But don't worry, we're all about staying casual here and keeping things down to earth.
Get my taste buds goingHeritage across the board
"Kind of like Cannes but with less fancy frocks and more friendly faces."
Nature and greenspace
In The Outdoor City it's not a case of having to head out and find nature - it's never far away. With a fist full of hills and five rivers flowing through, there genuinely aren't many cities in the world that can give you as much as Sheffield can when it comes to greenspace.
The first City of Sanctuary
As the first City of Sanctuary, it was only fitting that we welcomed Amal on her journey from the Turkey/Syria border to highlight the realities of what refugees undertake. Her welcome - and the preparation behind it - is documented in this video.
Sport
With an unprecedented level of academies, training facilities, research bases and grassroots teams, this city is truly a home of sport whether you're into boxing, climbing, football or running. Good luck finding time for it all!
Architecture
A whole host of different styles from brutalist to modern, with lots of tree lined streets and quirky approaches to city planning (thanks to all the hills!) as well as Europe's largest Grade II listed building and Europe's largest urban glasshouse make Sheffield a city that leaves its mark on those with an architectural interest.