Mackie Mayor

Manchester

　　This restored former meat market is now home to a superb food hall with a fine selection of 10 individual traders. The pizzas from Honest Crust are divine; the pork-belly bao from Baohouse is done just right; Nationale 7 does wonders with a basic sandwich; and Tender Cow serves really...

Deaf Institute

Manchester

　　Excellent midsized venue in a former institute for deaf people; also includes a smaller venue in the basement and a cafe on the ground floor. It's where you'll hear alt rock and pop by dozens of local bands we guarantee you've never heard of (as well as some visiting bands...

Northern Soul Grilled Cheese

Manchester

　　Carving out a niche for artery-clogging, gooey grilled-cheese delights in Manchester’s grungy Northern Quarter, Northern Soul is a great spot for a budget meal. It bills itself as ‘gourmet’ but there’s nothing fancy about the makeshift shack it occupies, or its prices. The menu features cheese sandwiches in various guises,...

Lowry

Manchester

　　Two separate venues in one: the Lyric Theatre, with the country's largest stage outside the West End, hosts all kinds of performances including Opera North. The smaller Quays hosts more intimate gigs. ...

Manchester Museum

Manchester

　　If you're into natural history and social science, this extraordinary museum is the place for you. It has galleries devoted to archaeology, archery, botany, ethnology, geology, numismatics and zoology. The real treat here, though, is the Egyptology section and its collection of mummies. 　　One particularly interesting part of the museum...

MEN Arena

Manchester

　　This indoor arena about 300m north of Victoria Station hosts concerts and sporting events and has a capacity of 21,000. On 22 May 2017 a suicide bomber killed 22 young people attending an Ariana Grande concert; the venue reopened in September 2017 with a benefit concert for the victims headlined...

Band on the Wall

Manchester

　　A top-notch venue that hosts everything from rock to world music, with splashes of jazz, blues and folk thrown in. ...

Imperial War Museum North

Manchester

　　Inside Daniel Libeskind's aluminium-clad modern building is a war museum with a difference, exploring the effects of conflict on society rather than fetishising the instruments of destruction. Six mini exhibitions within the main hall examine war since the beginning of the 20th century from a variety of perspectives, including the...

Odeon Great Northern

Manchester

　　A 16-screen multiplex in a retail centre that was formerly a goods warehouse for the Northern Railway Company. ...

MediaCityUK

Manchester

　　The BBC's northern home is but one significant element of this vast 81-hectare site. Besides hosting six departments of the national broadcaster (BBC Breakfast, Children's, Sport, Radio 5 Live, Learning, and Future Media & Technology), it is also home to the set of the world's longest-running soap opera, ITV's perennially...

Manchester City

Manchester

　　In 2018 Manchester City were crowned league champions for the third time since 2012, playing a brand of football that had fans and rivals alike applauding in admiration. They may have a way to go before they match the success of Manchester United, but under megastar manager Josep 'Pep' Guardiola...

Bridgewater Hall

Manchester

　　The world-renowned Hallé Orchestra has its home at this enormous and impressive concert hall, which hosts up to 250 concerts and events a year. It has a widespread program that includes opera, folk music, children's shows, comedy and contemporary music. ...

Town Hall

Manchester

　　Manchester's most impressive building is the Grade I–listed town hall, completed in 1877 after a design by Alfred Waterhouse. The Great Hall is decorated with murals by Ford Madox Brown and mosaics incorporating Manchester's worker bee symbol. Visitors are usually able to go into the building on a tour but...

John Rylands Library

Manchester

　　Less a library and more a cathedral to books, Basil Champneys' stunning building is a breathtaking example of Victorian Gothic, no more so than the Reading Room, complete with high-vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows. The collection of early printed books and rare manuscripts is equally impressive, and includes a Gutenberg...

Victoria Baths

Manchester

　　Designed to be the grandest baths in Britain when they opened in 1906, this Grade II–listed Edwardian classic retains much of its former grandeur despite being left virtually derelict for more than 30 years. A laborious restoration of its three pools, Turkish bath and the stunning art nouveau decor is...

Chetham's Library & School of Music

Manchester

　　Founded in 1653 in a building that dates from 1421, Chetham's is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, a trove of dark shelves lined with ancient books and manuscripts. In 1845, Marx and Engels spent time studying in the alcove of the main reading room, prep work for...

Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester

　　A superb collection of British art and a hefty number of European masters are the highlights at the city's top art gallery. It's home to the best assemblage of Pre-Raphaelite art as well as a permanent collection of pre-17th-century art, mostly by Dutch and early Renaissance masters. It also hosts...

Whitworth Art Gallery

Manchester

　　Manchester's second most important art gallery is arguably its most beautiful, following a restoration that saw the doubling of its exhibition space through the opening of its sides and back, and the construction of glass-screened promenades. Inside is a fine collection of British watercolours, the best selection of historic textiles...

People's History Museum

Manchester

　　The story of Britain's 200-year march to democracy is told in all its pain and pathos at this superb museum, housed in a refurbished Edwardian pumping station. You clock in on the 1st floor (literally: punch your card in an old mill clock, which managers would infamously fiddle with so...

Science and Industry Museum

Manchester

　　Manchester's rich industrial legacy is explored in this excellent museum set within the enormous grounds of the old Liverpool St station, the oldest rail terminus in the world. The large collection of steam engines, locomotives and original factory machinery tell the story of the city from the sewers up, while...