Little Germany is the surviving fabric of Bradford's 19th-century textile exporters' quarter — about 55 grade II and II* listed warehouses packed into a few sloping streets on the north-eastern edge of the city centre. The German-Jewish merchants who built them were the city's link to continental wool markets, and they spared no money on their warehouses: cut stone, sculptured pediments, decorative ironwork, the kind of detail more usually found on banks than industrial buildings.
Many of the warehouses have been converted to offices, apartments and artists' studios. The Bradford Playhouse, the Coffee Cottage cafe, and a handful of small galleries operate in the area. A walking trail leaflet (available at the visitor information centre) guides you past the most ornate buildings. Best in good light when the sandstone glows.