Manchester is one of England’s most varied and rewarding cities to explore, and you could easily spend a week here without running out of genuinely interesting things to do. Here is the essential guide — from the unmissable to the things most visitors never find.
Culture and Museums
The John Rylands Library — Free entry, extraordinary Victorian Gothic architecture, a Gutenberg Bible, and one of the most beautiful reading rooms in the world. On Deansgate. Go.
The Whitworth — Manchester’s art gallery in Whitworth Park, with a collection that punches well above its weight in modern and contemporary art. Free entry. The cafe is also very good.
Manchester Art Gallery — The city’s main art collection in a beautiful neoclassical building on Mosley Street. Pre-Raphaelite paintings, a strong contemporary programme, and free entry.
Science and Industry Museum — Built on the site of the world’s first railway station (Liverpool Road, 1830), the MOSI tells the story of Manchester’s industrial revolution with genuine depth. Free entry. View on MCR.
Home Cinema and Theatre — Manchester’s arts complex on First Street is the best place in the city to catch independent and foreign language cinema, theatre and live events under one roof. View on MCR.
The Lowry, Salford — Theatre, galleries and public art at the edge of Salford Quays. The Lowry‘s collection of LS Lowry paintings is the largest in the world, displayed free.
Live Music
Band on the Wall — Manchester’s most respected live music venue, running since 1975 in the Northern Quarter. Jazz, world music, indie, electronic — always independently well-chosen. View on MCR.
Manchester Academy — The Fallowfield campus venue that has hosted every significant touring band of the last 30 years. Three rooms; the Academy 1 is 2,000 capacity and feels like a proper concert. View on MCR.
Albert Hall — A converted Methodist chapel in the city centre that is now one of Manchester’s most beautiful concert venues. The architecture makes everything sound and look better. View on MCR.
Bridgewater Hall — Home of the Halle Orchestra and Manchester Camerata. The city’s classical music venue is architecturally dramatic and acoustically outstanding. View on MCR.
Food and Drink
Curry Mile, Rusholme — The 0.5-mile stretch of Wilmslow Road in Rusholme contains more South Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants than anywhere outside of London. Come on a Friday evening when the street is at its most electric.
Northern Quarter food crawl — Start at Mackie Mayor for lunch, wander through the Northern Quarter’s independent coffee shops and bars, end at Bundobust for dinner. A genuinely excellent afternoon.
Ancoats restaurant tour — Cutting Room Square, Mana, Elnecot, Rudy’s. One of the best walking restaurant tours in any English city.
Outdoor and Active
Castlefield Basin — Walk the towpath from the Castlefield canal basin east towards Ancoats and New Islington. One of the most interesting urban walks in Manchester — industrial heritage, converted warehouses, and the New Islington marina.
Chorlton Water Park — Nature reserve around a former gravel pit in south Manchester. Excellent for wildlife, particularly birds. Connects to the Mersey Valley cycleway.
Fletcher Moss Gardens, Didsbury — A secret garden in Didsbury along the banks of the Mersey, with an orchid house and rock garden. Free, peaceful, and almost always uncrowded.
Heaton Park — One of the largest municipal parks in Europe, with a farm, boating lake, golf course, tram museum and the bowl that hosts Parklife and Sounds of the City. Worth a full afternoon.
Sport
See a match at the Etihad — Manchester City‘s stadium is genuinely impressive up close and the match-day atmosphere in the Kippax is excellent. Book tickets well in advance. View on MCR.
Old Trafford — The home of Manchester United is a pilgrimage for football fans regardless of allegiance. Stadium tours run daily. View on MCR.
For a full listing of what’s on this weekend in Manchester, check the MCR events calendar — updated daily with 700+ events across music, sport, food and culture.
