Sheffield has always been a city without pretension about money, and that extends to what it costs to have a good time here. The free cultural offer in Sheffield is genuinely exceptional – it is not the free-to-enter-but-gift-shop-nudging experience of some national institutions, but proper, substantive museums and spaces that you could spend a full day in without being made to feel you owe anything more than your presence.

The Winter Gardens in the city centre is free to enter, houses one of the largest urban glasshouses in Europe, and is a genuinely beautiful space to spend an hour or longer. Tropical plants, a cafe, regular events, and a connection through to the Peace Gardens make it the centrepiece of a city centre afternoon that costs nothing. The Peace Gardens themselves – with the fountains active in warmer months – extend the free outdoor offer.

The Millennium Gallery on Arundel Gate is free to visit and covers Sheffield’s metalwork and design heritage alongside a programme of temporary exhibitions on loan from the V&A and other national collections. The permanent Metalwork collection is a direct engagement with Sheffield’s industrial identity and the craftsmanship of the cutlery and silverware trade. Weston Park Museum, near the universities, is also free – natural history, local history, and a collection that makes it worth an afternoon particularly for visitors with children.

Kelham Island Museum charges admission at a price that reflects its independence and the quality of what it houses – four pounds for adults at the time of writing, which is about the cheapest paid museum admission in England for a collection of that quality. The Bessemer converter, the River Don Engine, and the full story of Sheffield’s steel and cutlery industries are worth considerably more than the admission fee.

Endcliffe Park, Graves Park, the Botanical Gardens, and the Rivelin Valley are all free. The hiking and walking in the Peak District, accessible from Sheffield in 30 minutes by car, is mostly free. Beer in Kelham Island pubs is cheaper than in Manchester city centre. Sheffield on a budget is not a hardship exercise – it is just Sheffield.