Manchester

Affleck's

formerly Affleck's Palace

Afflecks Palace is a shopping arcade in a five-story Victorian building, featuring a range of over 50 independent stalls catering to a young alternative crowd. It's a lot of fun: strange costumes, lots of goths, punks, and teenagers.

Mon-Fri 10:30AM-6PM, Sat Sun 10AM-6PM

Baguley Park

Small play area for children surrounded by large grass areas and housing.

Britons Protection

Behind the stage door entrance of the Bridgewater Hall. It is here where many a poor mug "took The King's Shilling" and found himself press-ganged into the army. Largest selection of whisky in the city.

Bulls Head

Traditional pub with Victorian exterior, diagonally opposite rear entrance of Piccadilly station. Lunchtime food on weekdays. May close early if empty.

Mon-Sat 11:30AM-30AM-11PM, Sun noon-10:30PM

Castlefield Viaduct

Victorian railway viaduct transformed into a 'sky park' Advance booking essential. Check website. Open on an experimental basis until summer 2023.

11AM-4PM·Free but donations welcome

Central Library

You can't miss this striking circular neo-Classical building when passing through St. Peter's Square. Following a major renovation completed in 2014, Central Library is well worth visit, if not for its vast selection of resources and interactive archive but for its beautiful architecture, especially evident in the circular Wolfson Reading Room on the first floor. The Henry Watson music library was the place of re-discovery of the manuscripts of Vivaldi's celebrated 'Manchester' concerti.

Department opening hours vary, see web site·Free

Chetham's School of Music & Library

Library M-F 9AM-12:30PM, 1:30-4:30PM, closed Bank Holidays, call in advance; School is closed to general public. Chetham's is an independent private school of music and public library housed in the medieval priests' college next to the Cathedral. The library is the oldest public English library in the world. It is possible to look around without an appointment, but if you want to take a look at any of the collection, you will need to arrange this with the librarian beforehand.

Free

Chill Factore

Ski on a 180-m artificial snow slope for skiing and snowboarding.

City Arms

Traditional two room busy pub which is over 190 years old. Weekday lunchtime food available. Real ales.

Mon-Thu noon-11PM, Fri Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-8PM

Crown & Kettle

Historic England Grade II listed pub with an unusual ceiling. Food available.

Mon-Thu noon-11PM, Fri Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-10:30PM

Dukes 92

By far the most popular venue in Castlefield, Dukes 92 has an unusual, but successful, mix of antique furniture, modern deep leather sofas, and minimalist décor. Although relatively quiet in winter, it is hugely popular on hot summer days due to its large patio area overlooking lock number 92 of the Rochdale Canal. An outside bar has been installed to reduce what can be a lengthy wait for refreshment.

Sun-Thu 11:30AM - 11PM, Fri Sat 11:30AM-1AM

FC United of Manchester

This breakaway club was formed in 2005 by Man United supporters alienated by Malcolm Glazer's takeover, and it continues to be entirely supporter-owned. They play in Northern Premier League, the seventh tier of English football. Their home ground is Broadhurst Park, capacity 4400.

Match tickets adult £12, concs £7, U18s £3, pay on the gate

Factory International

New landmark building containing performance spaces and new home to the Manchester International Festival. Opening in June 2023.

Ford Madox Brown

One of very few pubs left in Rusholme. A Wetherspoon pub so cheap food & drink is available.

Friendship Inn

Pub in an impressive Victorian house with a good mix of students and locals. Serves good beer, but average food.

Sun-Thu noon-11PM; Fri-Sat noon-midnight

GoFalafel

A 100% vegan take-away just outside of Picadilly Gardens. Serves freshly prepared falafel wraps, hummous and a choice of fruit juices, smoothies and salads. Most items priced between £3-5. Receives great reviews and can get quite popular during weekends, but is worth the wait.

10AM-10PM

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Greater Manchester Arts Centre

Manchester's contemporary arts and film centre with five cinema screens & two theatres. Daily showings of independent & foreign language films and gallery space. The centre also houses a cafe-bar and a restaurant. Film prices are cheaper before 5pm on weekdays & 3pm at weekends. Foreign language films are shown with English subtitles. The building is fully accessible.

Mon-Sat 10AM-11PM, Sun 11AM-11PM

Heaton Park

Manchester's largest open space and one of the largest municipal parks in Europe. The park is home to a former stately home, vintage trams (run Apr-Oct Sa Su) and golf course.

Imperial Chinese Archway

The Chinese arch in the central square of Chinatown was a gift to Manchester from the Chinese people in 1987 and is the only one of its kind in Europe. It is a beautiful and elaborate piece of artwork, reflecting the designs of Ming Dynasty China and is not to be missed.

Imperial War Museum North

While the IWM in London contains tanks, guns, planes and uniforms, the North museum is focused on the social impacts of war, with less military hardware on display.

Daily 10AM-5PM·Free

Infinity

A wellness club just outside the city centre. The main entrance is in the back of the building. Very friendly staff and modern infrastructure.

10:30 - 20:30 daily·£80

John Rylands Library

After closing for refurbishment, the John Rylands Library is now open to the public. It now has access to all floors and a new entrance and cafe to the side of the building on Spinningfields. The John Rylands library is a beautifully-dark Gothic archive bang in the middle of the new business district. It is home to a number of special collections, many of which are now on display including the celebrated St. Johns Fragment, Papyrus P52 — possibly the oldest piece of the New Testament in existence. The library's magnificent Reading Room has been opened up so visitors are free to wander around it. There is also an exhibition floor which shows off some of the jewels of the collection. Don't confuse this library with John Rylands University Library, which is the library at the university and is not at all interesting (or open) to tourists.

Sun Mon noon-5PM, Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM·free

Koreana Restaurant

Long established and in the city centre just off Deansgate. A regular stop for Manchester United's Korean football star, Ji-Sung Park.

Lancashire CCC

Lancashire CCC were relegated in 2024 and now play in Division Two of the County Championship. Test matches (5-day internationals) are also played here. Also here are Manchester Originals men's and women's teams playing in The Hundred short game. The stadium itself is worth a look; rebuilt by 2017 it has a capacity of 19-26,000, boosted to 50,000 for rock concerts.

Lass O'Gowrie

Splendid tiled exterior with updated comfortable interior. Choice of real ales.

Mon noon-midnight

Little Aladdin Café

A tiny little curry house with real charm. They serve a range of delicious curries and kebabs for £3-£4.

£3-4

Mackie Mayor

Food Court in 1858 Grade II listed former market building. 6 independent kitchens and also bars. Beers from Manchester's Blackjack brewery. Tables are shared and are not bookable.

Mon closed, Tue-Sat 9AM-10PM, Sun 9AM-6PM

Manchester Airport Visitor Park

Located on the south-western side of Manchester Airport, the visitor park is well worth a visit for any aviation enthusiast. It's home to the flagship of the British Airways Concorde fleet, as well as offering excellent views over the airport apron, taxiways and runways.

Manchester Arena

The largest indoor arena in Europe (21,000 capacity) hosts most of the world's most famous music and comedy acts, plus theatre and international boxing.

Manchester Arndale

The multi-million pound Manchester Arndale shopping centre lies at the heart of Manchester's shopping district and offers retail therapy on a grand scale: from high fashion to high tech, it can all be found here.