Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters and RHS Harlow Carr gardens.

13 miles (21 km) away from the town centre is the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the Nidderdale AONB.

In the 17th and 18th centuries its 'chalybeate' waters (containing iron) were a popular health treatment, and the influx of wealthy but sickly visitors contributed significantly to the wealth of the town.

The first mineral spring was discovered in 1571 by William Slingsby, who found that water from the Tewit Well in High Harrogate possessed similar properties to that from springs in the Belgian town of Spa, which gave its name to spa towns.

[14] The medicinal properties of the waters were publicised by Edmund Deane; his book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain was published in 1626.

A number of inns were opened for visitors in High Harrogate in the 17th century (the Queen's Head, the Granby, the Dragon and the World's End).

[21][22] In 1870, engineering inventor Samson Fox perfected the process of creating water gas, in the basement laboratory of Grove House.

When Parliament Street became the world's first route to be lit by water-gas, newspapers commented: "Samson Fox has captured the sunlight for Harrogate."

[26] During the Second World War, Harrogate's large hotels accommodated government offices evacuated from London, paving the way for the town to become a commercial, conference, and exhibition centre.

[46] It brings in over £150 million to the local economy every year and attracts in excess of 350,000 business visitors annually.

[47] The town is home to the Great Yorkshire Showground and Pavilions of Harrogate, which are major conference destinations.

Two military installations are located to the west of Harrogate, the Army Foundation College and RAF Menwith Hill, an electronic monitoring station.

There used to be a Royal Air Force supply depot and logistics centre on St George's Road in the south-west of the town, but this closed down in 1994.

The only Grade I listed building in Harrogate is St Wilfrid, Duchy Road, which was designed by the architect Temple Lushington Moore and is often considered to be his masterpiece.

The collection includes works by William Powell Frith, Atkinson Grimshaw, Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Dame Laura Knight and Alan Davie.

The Royal Hall theatre, a Grade II listed building designed by Frank Matcham.

[59] The Royal Pump Room, just off the gardens, houses Europe's strongest sulphur well,[60] it is now a museum showcasing the town's spa history.

The Valley Gardens, in Low Harrogate, is the town's main park and covers much of the area originally known as 'Bogs Field', where a number of springs were discovered.

On 11 January 1900, Harrogate Grand Opera House, now Harrogate Theatre, opened with a charity gala in aid of British soldiers fighting the Boer War in South Africa; this was followed, on 13 January 1900, by J Tully's pantomime Dick Whittington.

In 2005, a Channel 4 TV show listed Harrogate as the UK's third best place to live; in 2006, it came fourth in the same league, where the programme claimed that it placed lower due to "a slight dip in exam results", although presenter Phil Spencer noted that it was his personal favourite.

[66] The town is also home to an underground music scene that has produced heavy metal and punk rock groups including Workshed, Acid Reign and Blood Youth.

British cyclist Mark Cavendish was forced to drop out of the race, when he crashed a few metres from the finish line and suffered a dislocated shoulder.

[72] Each event of the 2019 UCI Road World Championships finished in the town, although the entire historic county of Yorkshire was the official host.

[73] They have a historical rivalry with Harrogate Railway Athletic F.C., of the Northern Counties East Football League, located at Station View.

Harrogate RUFC is a North Premier team and formerly based at The County Ground, on Claro Road, but relocated to Rudding Lane on the south side of the town.

Until 1995, the town hosted one Yorkshire county game per year at St George's Road cricket ground.

[81] Today, much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road; however, the former station still stands and it is now surrounded by a new housing development.

[81] Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700.

It is managed by The Harrogate Bus Company;[85] the 13 stands are also used by other local operators, Flyer and National Express.

[93] A March 2013 survey from the British property website Rightmove ranked Harrogate as the "happiest place" to live in the United Kingdom; the same result was seen in 2014 and 2015.