Manchester: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
English
 In the heart of Manchester´s city centre, just 700 metres from Piccadilly Station, the hotel offers great value, with clean, comfortable en suit… MoreGBP 36 - 109 Premier Inn Manchester North (Middleton)
 Premier Inn Manchester North (Middleton) is less than 5 miles (8 km) from Manchester city centre and a short walk to Heaton Park. There is excellent a… MoreGBP 43 - 125 Premier Inn Manchester City Centre (MEN Arena)
 Just 300 metres from the M.E.N. Arena, this Premier Inn hotel offers free parking and modern rooms with king-size beds. Arndale Shopping Centre is onl… MoreGBP 43 - 125 Premier Inn Manchester City Centre (GMEX)
 Opposite the Manchester Central conference centre (formerly known as the G-MEX), this modern hotel offers great value, with comfortable, air-condition… More
 Within easy reach of Manchester Uniteds Old Trafford and next to the free 7-day city-centre shuttle-bus service, the hotel offers great value, with co… MoreGBP 43 - 125 Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre North
 Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre North is close to the Trafford Centre, with excellent bus and rail links to Manchester city centre. A bus journ… MoreGBP 43 - 125 Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre South
 Premier Inn Manchester Trafford Centre South is superbly situated inside the Trafford Centre. A bus service operates outside the Inn, providing a 40-m… MoreGBP 56 - 230 Ramada Manchester, Salford Quays
 This 4-star hotel has a dockside location and is less than a mile (1.6 km) from Old Trafford football stadium. It has free Wi-Fi, air-conditioned room… MoreGBP 77 - 209 Renaissance Manchester Hotel
 Located on Deansgate and ideal for shopping, this central hotel has spacious, air-conditioned rooms with city views. It is just 650 metres from the ME… MoreGBP 52 - 9,708 Ramada Manchester Piccadilly
 Just 750 metres from Manchester Picadilly Railway Station, the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly offers modern en suite accommodation. Rooms have pay-per-v… MoreGBP 90 - 350 Radisson Edwardian Manchester
 This 5-star luxury hotel is opposite Bridgewater Hall and Manchester Central. It has free Wi-Fi, stylish air-conditioned rooms and a 12-metre indoor p… More
 Opposite the Trafford Centre shopping complex, this Premier Inn comes with a bar and bistro, meeting facilities and rooms with very comfy beds.
Premi… MoreGBP 37 - 111 Premier Inn Manchester (West Didsbury)
 Providing comfortable, good value accommodation, Premier Inn Manchester (West Didsbury) is ideally located, just 4 miles (6.4 km) away from Manchester… MoreGBP 52 - 125 Premier Inn Manchester (Salford Quays)
 Superbly located, Premier Inn Manchester (Salford Quays) is close to the Lowry Centre and a 5-minute walk from Salford Quay Metro Link. The Manchester… MoreGBP 65 - 299 Novotel Manchester Centre
 In Manchester´s Chinatown, this Novotel is 320 metres from Manchester Central (formerly G-MEX). It has air-conditioned rooms and a gym, sauna an… MoreGBP 89 - 269 Padhotels Bloom Apartments
 A 5-minute walk from MEN Arena, these stylish, modern apartments boast a balcony with a separate communal roof terrace. Salford Central Train Station … MoreGBP 40 - 100 New Crescent Gate Hotel
 A 10-minute walk from Manchester University, New Crescent Gate faces a small park and has comfy rooms, free Wi-Fi and free parking with CCTV.
The New… MoreGBP 35 - 80 New Central Guest House
 The New Central Guest House is a family-run B&B in a quiet suburb 2 miles (3 km) north of the city centre. It has free Wi-Fi and free parking on site.… MoreGBP 100 - 700 My-Places Luxury Serviced Apartment
 In Manchester city centre, My-Places Luxury Serviced Apartments have free Wi-Fi and spacious living areas. Piccadilly and Victoria rail stations are b… MoreGBP 89 - 495 Padhotels Deansgate Apartments
 In the heart of the city, Padhotels Apartments are a 3-minute walk from the Deansgate shopping area. The G-Mex Centre and MEN Arena are within a few m… MoreGBP 48 - 145 Park Inn Manchester, Victoria
 This modern 4-star hotel is opposite the MEN Arena and Manchester Victoria Rail Station. It has a pool, a gym, a sauna and air-conditioned rooms with … MoreGBP 43 - 135 Premier Inn Manchester (Old Trafford)
 Opposite Old Trafford football stadium, this modern Premier Inn hotel offers lots of free parking, superb transport links, comfortable en suite rooms … MoreGBP 37 - 106 Premier Inn Manchester (Prestwich)
 With free on-site parking and easy motorway access, this Premier Inn hotel is near Prestwich Metrolink Station, offering a regular service to Manchest… MoreGBP 36 - 105 Premier Inn Manchester (Heaton Park)
 Ideally situated, Premier Inn Manchester (Heaton Park) is near Metro BowkerVale, offering a regular service to Manchester city centre. Heaton Park is … MoreGBP 36 - 108 Premier Inn Manchester (Denton)
 Premier Inn Manchester (Denton) provides comfortable, good value accommodation, a short walk from Denton town centre and Denton Golf Club. Manchester … More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manchester: Guide
Manchester is one of the major cities in the UK. It is the main city in the North West (England)|North West of England. For most of the last two hundred years it was the largest city in Lancashire, but is now the centre of its own sub-region of Greater Manchester, which has a population of over 2.5 million.
Manchester is world-renowned for its influence on the histories of industry and music, and for its sporting connections. It is one of the most gay-friendly and multicultural cities in Europe, and boasts the largest university in Britain.
In addition to Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale and Wigan. It is administered independently, but parts of it are often considered to be in their former counties, Lancashire and Cheshire.
Districts
Manchester is located in the centre of the Northwest of England, about equidistant from Liverpool and Leeds. Due to its proximity to the Pennines, it receives more than its fair share of wet weather. Make sure you have an umbrella if you're visiting Manchester, even in the summer!
Manchester used to have a reputation for being a dirty and boring city, but things have dramatically changed in the last decade and it is now a more pleasant, open, clean and exciting place, and well worth a visit, even if just for a day.
The adjective associated with Manchester is Mancunian or simply Manc.
Manchester Visitor Information Centre, Town Hall Extension, St. Peter's Square, +44 (0) 871 222 8223 ( fax: +44 (0) 161 236 9900) M-F 10AM-5.15PM (recorded information available by phone outside these times). The Visitor Centre has up-to-date lists of places to eat and sleep.
Manchester was the site of the Roman Fort Mamucium (breast-shaped) in AD 79 but a town was not built until the 13th Century. A priests' college and church (now Chetham's school & library and the Cathedral) were established in Manchester in 1421. It was not until the start of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th Centuries that this small Medieval town would build its fortune.
The wet climate and presence of an existing cloth trade, coupled with the mechanisation of industry being invented in nearby Bolton (England)|Bolton created a thriving cotton industry in Manchester and in Trafford, which became the first industrial estate in the world. Manchester's success during the Victorian era and before is evident everywhere you look. Grandiose neo-Gothic buildings line the old financial district around King Street, and public institutions such as the University and the many libraries are dotted around everywhere. There is even a statue of Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln Square (Brazennose Street, straight across Albert Square from the Town Hall main entrance) commemorating his personal thanks for Manchester's support during a cotton crisis created by the American Civil War.
Manchester was instrumental in the establishment of socialism in the UK, and was the birthplace of the Trades Union Congress which led to the creation of the Labour Party. It was also home to a number of philanthropists of the industrial age such as John Owens and John Dalton, who bequeathed large parts of their fortunes to improving the city.
In more recent times Manchester has been famous for its influence on the world music scene. The Madchester movement of the early 1980s, started by Factory Records and Joy Division led to the creation of the Haçienda nightclub (now unfortunately demolished after standing empty for many years) and the birth of modern club culture. Manchester has given life to many hugely successful musicians, among them The Stone Roses, The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, The Happy Mondays, Oasis, James and Badly Drawn Boy.
In 1996 Manchester's city centre was rocked by a huge IRA bomb blast. Although preliminary intelligence managed to clear people from the scene enough for there to be no fatalities, the very heart of the city was ripped to shreds. A huge amount of money and effort was put into regenerating the blasted region of the centre, redubbed the Millennium Quarter. The area has renewed interest in the centre and contains the entertainment and shopping heart of the city.
Manchester is home to two of the largest universities in the UK, The University of Manchester (formerly Victoria University and UMIST) and Manchester Metropolitan University (aka 'Man Met') as well as the Royal Northern College of Music. There is also a university in Salford. Together they create a body of over 65 thousand students living full-time in the city.
Manchester is often compared with South Manchester are geared towards students; eating and drinking in Manchester can be very inexpensive due to the high competition that goes on between these establishments.
However, if you don't like hanging around with students, there are many places which are not frequented by students, although you may have to be prepared to pay a little extra. Also, because of the high numbers of students, some places have a strictly over-21s only policy, so it would do to take identification with you when you go out if you look like you might be under 21.
Manchester is famous all over Europe thanks to its two world-class football clubs, Manchester United (Old Trafford) and Manchester City (City of Manchester Stadium, Sportcity).
Old Trafford is also home to the Lancashire Country Cricket Club.
In 2002 Manchester was the host to the Commonwealth Games, and a large area of East Manchester was converted into a new Sportcity, the centrepiece of which is the new athletics and football stadium.
Manchester is a very mixed city. Many races and religions have communities in the city, and it has a long history of being more tolerant than most cities to people of any background. Bear in mind, however, that it's not very used to tourists so you might get the occasional funny look if you're dressed in a backpack and trying to read this guide in a loud voice.
Manchester is also very gay-friendly. The Village is an area concentrated around Canal Street and is very popular with people of all sexualities. It is also home to an annual Pride festival and Mardi Gras. Thanks to its high homosexual population, most Mancunians have grown up with gay people and homophobia is rare but not unheard-of in the centre.
Manchester International Airport () (). in the South of the city is the largest airport in the UK outside of London. Nearly 100 operators fly to and from hundreds of locations worldwide, including most major cities in Europe.
Direct trains run from the airport station (reached by Skyway, between terminals 1 and 2) to Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations about every 20 minutes and cost about £3. Taxis are available from outside each terminal, costing about £15 and taking about 30-45 minutes.
Jet2, is one of several 'low cost airlines' that operate between Manchester and a large number of major European cities and resorts.
John Lennon Airport, in Liverpool is served by budget carriers Easyjet and Ryanair and is also relatively conveniently located for access to Manchester. A coach service runs connecting the airport to Manchester's central coach station and takes about 45 minutes. Some airlines will provide this service for free.
Manchester city centre is served by two major railway stations, Victoria in the north and Piccadilly in the south. These stations are well-connected with the rest of the UK. Fares vary dramatically depending on time of day and rail operator.
Other stations close to the centre are Deansgate/G-Mex, Oxford Road and Salford Central but generally only local services will stop at these stations.
Connections from London run from Euston to Piccadilly on the Virgin Voyager service, which can take between 2 and 3 hours, depending on whether Virgin is running its flagship Pendolino train which does not need to slow down when going round corners. The Voyager is a very expensive service, but dramatically cheaper fares are available online if you book well enough in advance (at least 14 days is advisable).
The outer ring road of the Manchester conurbation is the M60. It is accessible from Leeds or Liverpool by the M62, and from Scotland and the South by the M6 (followed by M61 and M56 from the North or South respectively).
Bear in mind that parking in the city centre of Manchester can be very expensive (£10-20 per day). Avoid the multi-storey car parks if you can and look for some open-air car parks just outside the centre, such as in Castlefield or on Bridge Street in Salford. Ladywell Park & Ride is situated near Eccles (M602, Junction 2); the car park is free and there is a tram station. Similarly, parking at the Trafford Centre (M60, junctions 9 and 10) is free and there are buses to the centre and Stretford tram station.
Chorlton Street Coach Station is the central coach station in Manchester, located close to the centre, between Chinatown and The Village. Coaches run from all over the country and are generally the most reasonably-priced way to get into Manchester. London to Manchester on the coach can take about 4 hours, but it depends on the time of day and number of stops.
National Express is a comfortable and frequent service which runs 24 hours a day from some cities, including London.
Transport in Greater Manchester is overseen and co-ordinated by the GMPTE (Information: 0870 608 2 608) . GMPTE sells a number of tickets which are valid for multiple operators, such as the any bus day ticket or the Wayfarer. If you are planning to do a lot of travelling in one day, these might be your cheapest option.
Once found, the elusive maps are very handy for navigating all regions of the centre, even as far south as the universities. Your position is marked by a blue circle.
Most of the buses in Greater Manchester are operated by First or Stagecoach and serve most places you are likely to want to go in the conurbation. The main bus station for the south is Piccadilly Gardens and a new state-of-the-art £24 million interchange has been built at Shudehill for the north.
Metroshuttle is a free minibus run jointly by the local council and First. It runs three lines that bewtween them cover most of the major areas in the city centre as well as all the stations and many of the larger car parks.
The number 250 bus goes from Piccadilly Gardens to the Trafford Centre and is much more reasonably-priced and convenient than the tram.
The South Manchester corridor that begins with Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road is the most-served bus route in Europe. Buses connect the centre with the universities and Rusholme as often as every 1 minute. The general rule on this street is to get on any bus that is not operated by Stagecoach, and your fare is likely to be under £1. Some buses have a student fare, which they will charge you if you look like a student, regardless of whether you ask for it or not.
Currently, Metrolink runs two lines, Altrincham-Bury (every 6 minutes at peak times, every 12 off-peak, at peak times trams either terminate at Piccadilly or do not stop at Piccadilly Gardens or Piccadilly at all) and Piccadilly-Eccles (every 12 minutes at peak times, every 15 off-peak). A small part of the city centre from Piccadilly to Cornbrook is shared between the two lines. There are plans to extend the system to 5 lines, with the three new destinations at Oldham/Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne/Tameside and the airport, but these have been hit by major setbacks, including the withdrawal of several million pounds pledged by the government owing to the sponsors being unable to guarantee that building costs could be kept under control.
In part due to its financial difficulties, Metrolink is quite expensive to travel on. If you are going to be using it for more than one journey in a day, your best bet is to buy a Metromax ticket. Tickets must be purchased in advance from the automated vending machines at each station. Press the required destination followed by the required ticket type and then insert your money - most machines accept notes. Change is not guaranteed over £7 at any machines, or at all at some machines with the appropriate warning lamp.
The following stations might be useful to you:
Piccadilly and Victoria - the city's two main rail stations are joined only by tram.
Taxis are considerably cheaper than in London. As a general rule, you should be able to get anywhere you need to go within the city for £5-10. You may only flag down the black cabs (London-style Hackney carriages) - other taxis must be booked in advance over the phone, and are marked with the yellow Manchester City Council sign on the bonnet, and the firm's phone number (again on a yellow strip) on the sides.
You may find it difficult to get a black cab after the pubs shut on Friday and Saturday nights in the city centre, so it serves to have a back-up plan for getting back to your accommodation. The black cabs with the amber "TAXI" sign illuminated are the ones that are looking for fares.
Local rail services run regularly, and to most places in the surrounding area and beyond. Most trains will pass through Piccadilly or Victoria, but it will do to call National Rail Enquiries (08457 48 49 50) to find out which one before setting off.
National Rail have a , inlcuding trams and overground.
The Northern Quarter was home to the city centre's textile industry in the 19th and 20th Centuries, and out of this has grown the über-cool home of Manchester's independent clothing boutiques, avant-garde cafés and everything that caters for people with less-than-ordinary tastes. At first glance it could easily be dismissed as a run-down, derelict part of the city, but look more closely at the old buildings - nowhere is more teeming with life.
Albert Square is the home of the front entrance to the Town Hall and is a large pleasant public space lined with cafés and restaurants. Things to see here include Manchester Town Hall, Manchester Art Gallery, Central Library & Theatre and. St Mary's The Hidden Gem
Peter's Fields, also known as the Exhibition Quarter is the home of Manchester's exhibition, conference and concert halls, as well as the almost-deserted Great Northern shopping and entertainment centre and two of the city's most luxurious hotels. The giant glass tower at the rear of Peter's Fields is The Betham Tower, which is home to Manchester's Hilton hotel and is the tallest building in the UK outside of London.
Manchester's Chinatown around George Street and Faulkner Street has been a feature of Manchester since the late 1970s. It's a genuine experience - you'll find people on the streets of Chinatown speaking Chinese to each other and most of the signs are bilingual. It's home to the bulk of Manchester's east-Asian restaurants as well as many traders in Chinese food and goods.
The Village, also known as the Gay Village, has built up around Canal Street out of the many cotton warehouses in the area. It is home to one of the oldest and most-established gay communities in Europe and is known for its tolerance toward all kinds of people. Many of Manchester's most famous bars and clubs are to be found here, most of which are as popular with heterosexual party-animals as they are with the gay crowd. The Village hosts a major Pride festival every year, when the whole region of town is closed to the public for an expensive and exclusive weekend for gay and gay-friendly people from all over the UK.
St Ann's Square is the centre of Manchester's main shopping district. It is usually packed with shoppers and usually the odd one or two street entertainers. The Council holds many events in the square, including specialist markets and musical events.
After the devastation of the 1996 IRA bombing, the area around Exchange Square has been completely redesigned and rebuilt as the Millennium Quarter. The square itself is a juxtaposition of Manchester's industrial heritage with the height of modern art and architecture. The ultra-modern Urbis centre stands side-by-side with the medieval Cathedral and the renovated Triangle shopping centre, once Manchester's corn exchange.
the Quays ]]
Deansgate is like the spine of Manchester, a mile-long perfectly-straight road that joins the site of Roman Mamucium in Castlefield to the site of Medieval Manchester at the Cathedral, connecting all the districts of the city centre together. About half way along Deansgate is the beginnings of Manchester's new business district, Spinningfields, which is mostly building sites at the moment, but by 2007 will be an impressive district of open spaces and glass-fronted buildings. Of particular interest here are John Rylands library and the People's History Museum.
Castlefield is the site of the original Roman settlement Mamucium and has been known as Castlefield since Medieval times. It is the centre of Manchester's canal network and includes the Castlefield Basin, which joins the Rochdale and Bridgewater canals. Very important in industrial times, it became run down in post-war times until it was completely regenerated in the 1990s and designated Britain's first Urban Heritage site. These days it is like a small country oasis in the heart of the city, with regular events and a handful of great pubs around the canals and the neighbouring streets. It is also the only place to see wildlife in Manchester's centre. The Museum of Science and Industry is situated here.
As you would expect from such a cosmopolitan city, Manchester has a huge selection of restaurants and eateries that serve a vast array of cuisines.
There are plenty of Chinese restaurants and all-you-can-eat buffets in Chinatown. Outside of Chinatown there is also Moso Moso on Oxford Road.
Fusion Noodle Bar in Fallowfield does very good noodles.
Yechan Foods, 95 Mauldeth Road, Manchester M14 6SR, ph: (0161) 225 4447
Wagamama's (located in the Printworks) is one of the new Japanese resteraunts poping up all over the country. Wagamama's serve the best ramen, ebi gyoza and many other different Japanese cooked dishes... perfect with a hot flask of sake!
The club scene in Manchester is varied with the dance-orientated clubs you'd expect from a city sitting comfortably alonside indie, rock and gay clubs. For the commercial dance music fan, the 'place to be' would be Deansgate Locks where the clubs and bars can be expensive but are always full of fashionable types and members of the local student population. More eclectic dance music styles are played at the Music Box near Jillys, and The Phoenix on Oxford Road.
For fans of rock music, Jillys on Oxford Road is something of an institution. On a Thursday is costs just £1 to get in, whilst Friday's see them open until 6 or 7 am. It has three rooms incorperating punk, ska, metal, goth and everything in between. Also check out Rock Kitchen on a Saturday night at the Manchester Metropolitan University Student's Union, again on Oxford Road. Next door to Jilly's is Music Box, home to the very good (and increasingly famous) Mr Scruff. Come here once a month to hae a good dance and a cup of tea!
For fans of indie and alternative music there are a whole host of new exciting clubs opening, to keep up to date with what's one it pays to purchase a copy of the weekly City Life listings guide, which is very complete and always up-to-date. Current successful nights being championed by include on the last Thursday of the month at the Retro Bar on Sackville Street, with a playlist that includes Blondie, The Ramones and Le Tigre. at Joshua Brooks is also another of these nights, falling on the last Friday of the month. Again, expect a mix of indie, electro, punk and rock. Weekly, Smile at the is something of a local indie institution with a great playlist but be warned, it sells out very early and can often be unbearably busy as a result of this. Saturday's also play host to Tiger Lounge at the Tiger Lounge near the Town Hall. This plays more in the way of lounge alongside experimental and indie sounds.
To enjoy Gay Manchester it is probably best just to visit Canal Street with its concentration of bars and clubs and visit places that appeal along the way. Just off Canal Street the most popular gay clubs are , a multi-floor super-club open until the early hours and , a two-room pop and indie club held at Mutz Nutz every Tuesday and Saturday night. Although entry can be expensive, this is usually reflected in a reduced price bar inside the club.
For bars, try the so-hip-it-hasn't-got-a-sign cocktail lounge Socio Rehab on Edge Street (ask a taxi driver where it is) and Gaia or Tribeca, both on Sackville Street (on the edege of the Gay Village).
Many countries have consulates and commissions in Manchester, for others, you may have to travel to London.
Australian Consulate Chatsworth House, Lever Street, Manchester M1 2QL Tel: 0161 228 1344 Fax: 0161 236 4074
Manchester is within reach of The Lake District, Leeds, York, Liverpool, the Peak District, Huddersfield, Blackpool and Chester.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Manchester". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
Albert Square and around - library, Town hall, lots of cafes and restaurants
Castlefield - centre of Manchester's canal network and Britain's first Urban Heritage site
Chinatown - many Chinese restaurants and supermarkets
Deansgate and Spinningfields - mile long perfectly straight road that is the spine of Manchester
Millennium Quarter - modern area redeveloped after the devastation of the IRA bomb in 1995
Northern Quarter - the alternative district of Manchester
Old Trafford - district in the west of the city, adjacent to The Quays, and home of Manchester United
Oxford Road corridor - home of the universities and many student haunts
Peter's Fields - also known as the exhibition quarter of Manchester due to GMEX, with lots of bars, clubs and striking architecture
Piccadilly Gardens - area located in central Manchester, with much of Manchester's shops and the central bus station plus a recently renovated landscape garden
The Quays - the city's uber-fashionable redeveloped docks with award winning architecture and museums
Rusholme - home of the Curry Mile
South Manchester - Moss Side, Withington, Didsbury
Sportcity - area of the city redeveloped to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and home of Manchester City FC
St Ann's Square - centre of Manchester's shopping district
The Village - area around Canal Street in central Manchester, home to one of the oldest gay communities in Europe Understand
City information
History
Student life
Sporting
Cosmopolitan
Get in
By plane
By train
By car
By bus
Stagecoach Megabus is less comfortable but can be very cheap (some cities have buses to Manchester for as little as £1). You must book in advance over the web.Get around
Maps
Dotted around the city centre in all the places you wouldn't look for them are the pedestrian-level street maps. They are usually placed in normal advertising hoardings, which makes them all the more difficult to spot. From a distance the map looks like a light-brown horse's head on a blue background.Bus
Metrolink
Metrolink , also known as the tram, is the name for Manchester's troubled local mass-transit system.
Altrincham - the end of the line is the interchange for buses and trains in Cheshire.
Harbour City - closest station at Salford Quays to the Lowry and Imperial War Museum North.
Heaton Park - alight here for Manchester's chief parkland.
Ladywell - large free car park for Park & Ride service to Salford Quays and the city.
Old Trafford - for Manchester United and the cricket ground.
Stretford - change here for a connecting bus to the Trafford Centre. Joint tickets are available from the usual machines.Taxi
Train
See
Piccadilly Gardens and around
As well as being Manchester's central bus station, Piccadilly Gardens is also a recently-renovated landscape garden. It's an interesting choice of design and has not found favour with all of Manchester's residents. The area is dominated by the hideously-ugly Piccadilly Plaza complex, including the Jarvis Hotel and Sunley Tower, an eyesore visible from miles away. Most trips to Manchester will involve coming here due to the proximity of Manchester Picadilly and Market Street, one of Manchester's main shopping areas. Also worth visiting is the Portico Library and Gallery.Northern Quarter
Albert Square and around
Peter's Fields
Chinatown and The Village
St Ann's Square and around
Millennium Quarter
Deansgate & Spinningfields
Castlefield
Oxford Road corridor
Visit Oxford Road for the Cornerhouse, Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery.Sportcity
Sportcity is located to the east of the city centre, about 45 minutes' walk from Piccadilly Station. It was built to host most of the events for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and is home to the National Cycling Centre, Manchester City FC and other important sporting venues, as well as tallest sculpture in the UK.Buy
Merchandise from the football club Manchester United is popular with some tourists. There is a dedicated shop, which Tourist Information in the Town Hall can no doubt direct you towards.
Manchester City football club also has its own retail outlet. This is a dedicated shop beside the stadium, which Tourist Information in the Town Hall can no doubt direct you towards.
The Arndale Centre is the largest city-centre shopping centre in Europe, with 280 stores, including the largest Next store in the UK.
The area around the Cathedral is now very smart and good for shopping. There's the Triangle an upmarket shopping centre based in the beautiful old Corn Exchange, worth a visit for the building: Selfridges and Harvey Nichols opposite the Triangle offer luxury fashions and produce to Manchester's rich and famous, with the old Kendals department store nearby. The centre of this shopping area has traditionally been St. Anne's Square.
The Trafford Centre is a huge out-of-town shopping centre only accessible by car, taxi or a bus journey. It has been designated the "Temple to Consumerism", and is the largest centre of its kind to date in Europe. The centre is spectacular, luxurious and 'posh' inside and out, perhaps over the top and tacky.
Afflecks Palace near the Arndale Centre is a shopping arcade in a five storey Victorian building, featuring a range of 50+ independent stalls catering to a young alternative crowd. It's lots of fun: strange costumes, lots of goths and punks and hordes of teenagers.
Every Christmas time, a continental style Christmas market takes place in Albert Square. You can buy all the usual continental Christmas curios and various foodstuffs. Good fun and very atmospheric at night time when it's all lit up.
There is a marketplace inside the Arndale Centre, and farmers markets are in Piccadilly Gardens.Do
Learn
Work
Eat
Budget
There are hundreds of kebab and pizza shops on Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road.Mid range
Chinese
Indian
Rusholme's Curry Mile is, as the name suggests, home to a lot of Indian restaurants! The pick of the bunch are Al Bilal, Shere Kahn and Gogi's (formerly Royal Nawaz).Korean
Japanese
Splurge
Drink
Manchester has a diverse nightlife and can offer a wide range of night-time activities. Famed for its musical past, the hosts almost nightly gigs in it's three venues on Oxford road ranging from local unsigned bands, to international superstars. The Manchester Apollo is a slightly bigger venue having boasted appearences from Blondie to new-comers like Kasabian. Smaller bands can also be seen at a range of excellent venues in the city including the Roadhouse, and Jabez Clegg.
If you want to hear music by Manchester bands like The Stone Roses, visit Fifth Avenue, often brimming with students - unsuprising when you see the cheap drinks prices! However, the best city centre club for indie music is , just off Deansgate on Bootle Street. Previously owned by the football legend George Best, it plays a mixture of classic and modern indie, 60's pop and 70's funk & soul. The entrance is free before 10.30pm and the drinks are cheap.Contact
Stay Safe
Manchester has or had a colourful reputation for gun crime: however, this was mostly gang-related and a problem for people involved in the drug trade, and as a visitor you will not face any greater danger than for any other large British city. If you're uncomfortable around thousands of very drunk young people then you should probably avoid Friday and Saturday night taxi queues in the city centre. You should also avoid any conflict with door staff.Cope
High Commission People's Republic of Bangladesh
Consulate of Belgium 76 Moss Lane Bramhall, Stockport, SK7 1EJ, Tel. 0161 439 5999
Consulate General of The People's Republic of China Denison House, Denison Road, Rusholme, Manchester M14
Trade Office of Denmark 4th Floor, Arkwright House, Parsonage Gardens, Manchester M3
Trade Commission of France 24th Floor, Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1
Consulate of France Davis Blank Furniss, 90 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2QJ Tel. 0161 832 3304
Consulate General of Germany Westminster House, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M60 1HY, Tel. 0161 237 5255 (no longer operational)
Trade Board of Ireland 56 Oxford Street, Manchester M1
Consulate of Italy Rodwell Tower, 111 Piccadilly, Manchester M1
Consulate of Monaco Dene Manor, Dene Park, Manchester M20
The Royal Consulate of the Netherlands 123 Deansgate, Manchester M3
Vice-consulate of Pakistan 4th Floor Hilton House, 26/28 Hilton Street, Manchester M1.
Consulate General of Spain 1a Brook House, 70 Spring Gardens, Manchester M2 2BQ
Consulate General of Switzerland 24th Floor, Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1Get Out