Sights and landmarks in Manchester

38 sights worth seeing in Manchester: landmarks, galleries, monuments and viewpoints.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

SeeSouth
Baguley Park
Small play area for children surrounded by large grass areas and housing.
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield
Castlefield Viaduct
Victorian railway viaduct transformed into a 'sky park' Advance booking essential. Check website. Open on an experimental basis until summer 2023.
11AM-4PMFree but donations welcome
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
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 siteFree
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
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
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield
Factory International
New landmark building containing performance spaces and new home to the Manchester International Festival. Opening in June 2023.
SeeNorth
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.
SeePiccadilly-East Centre
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.
SeeThe Quays
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-5PMFree
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
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-5PMfree
SeeSouth
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.
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
Manchester Art Gallery
The principal wing is the work of Sir Charles Barry, also architect of the House of Parliament. Manchester's central art gallery is home to a huge collection of 19th-century and earlier works, including paintings by Canaletto, Constable, Turner, and Burne-Jones, as well as more complete collections by other artists. It has also been home to a number of original exhibitions over the last few years and the city's own art from all ages is well-represented within. There are important collections of world ceramics and English silver.
Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM and bank holidays except Christmas, New Year, and Good FriFree
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
Manchester Cathedral
Cathedral Yard (Visitor Centre at 10 Cateaton Street, around the corner). Cathedral M-F 8AM-7PM, Sa 8AM-5PM, Su 8:30AM-7:30PM, check website for service times and events; Visitor Centre is open M-Sa 10AM-4:30PM, Su 11:30AM-4PM. One of the few surviving medieval buildings in Manchester, the cathedral is a beautiful, dark Gothic building inside and out. It has a modern interactive Visitor Centre built around the excavations of the medieval 'Hanging Bridge' with an excellent licensed restaurant and gift shop. Entry to all attractions is free. Gamers may recognise the cathedral from its controversial setting in the video game Resistance: Fall of Man.
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield
Manchester Central
Manchester Central (formerly "G-MEX") was once Manchester Central railway station and it carries the air of many of the grand stations in London with its enormous arched steel frame and giant railway clock. These days it is home to Manchester's largest exhibitions and fairs. Attached is the much newer and thoroughly unimpressive International Conference Centre.
Open only during eventsPrice varies with event
SeeNorth
Manchester Jewish Museum
Manchester has Britain's largest Jewish population outside London; this museum tells their story. From being barely tolerated in the 18th C, they prospered in the 19th C (as did the entire city) in textiles and tailoring, and moved out of the centre to the new suburb of Cheetham Hill. The museum is in the former Spanish-Portuguese synagogue in what was once the heart of that community; later generations have moved upmarket further out.
Sun-Thu 10:00-16:00, Fri 10:00-13:00, closed Sat & Jewish holidaysAdults £6, Concs £3.50, U16 £4.
SeeUniversities
Manchester Museum
Manchester University's own museum is like a mini version of London's Natural History Museum and boasts real dinosaur skeletons (including Stan the T-Rex), Egyptian mummies, and architect Alfred Waterhouse's huge taxidermy collection, begun in 1888. Especially interesting is the Manchester Vivarium, the only legal zoo in Manchester, with the largest and most important collection of tree frogs in the world. Free; except for temporary exhibits - prices vary.
Daily 10AM-5PM
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
Manchester Opera House
Sister theatre to The Palace Theatre. Host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts.
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
Manchester Town Hall
This imposing and beautiful neo-Gothic masterpiece by Alfred Waterhouse is the official headquarters of the Manchester City Council, but its job is largely ceremonial now. Most of the offices have moved to the more practical extension next door. The Town Hall shows the power Manchester commanded during the peak of the Industrial Revolution with its grand rooms and lavish decoration, including the famous Madox Murals in the Great Hall. Closed for refurbishment until 2024.
Closed
SeeNorth
Museum of Transport
Large collection of old buses & similar memorabilia in a former depot.
Wed Sat Sun 10:00-16:30Adult £5, concs £4, U16 free
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
National Football Museum
Based in the visually striking glass sloping Urbis building designed by Ian Simpson Architects. England's only national museum for football (aka soccer) is spread over six floors. Museum café near exit. Admission ticket prices lower if booked on line.
10AM-5PM. Last admission 4PMAdult £12; Child 5-15 £7; Child U5 free; Concessions £10
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
People's History Museum
This little museum down by the river on the border of Manchester and Salford aims to document the way the lives of ordinary people have developed since the industrial revolution. The museum owns many artifacts and documentation from the history of socialism in Britain, not least the building where the Trades Union Congress held its first meeting, on Princess Street, which it now uses as a public archive.
Tue-Sun and Bank Holidays 11AM-4:30PMFree
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
Royal Exchange
The neo-classical Royal Exchange was the commercial heart of Manchester's and therefore the world's cotton trade. The main trading hall, essentially a neo-Roman basilica, was at one time the largest commercial room in the world. It fell into disuse in the 1960s, but was rescued in the 1970s by the restoration of the building and the addition of an ultra-modern theatre in-the-round for Sir Robert D.H. Scott's '69 (now Royal Exchange) theatre Company. It stands in the centre of the main trading floor, squatting like an alien invader's spaceship, but is actually supported on the hall's load bearing columns. Ill-disposed members of the audience sitting in the theatre's surrounding on-stage banquette seats are well-placed to trip the actors up physically. Extensive wine merchant cellars have now been converted into a shopping centre and the wings surrounding the theatre hall contain offices and Barristers' chambers. Pop in during the day for a coffee or something stronger at the tranquil and elegant licensed cafe in the main hall: the entrance is up the stairs in St. Ann's Square or on Cross Street. As well as the wonderfully-restored interior and three dramatic coloured-glass domes, you can admire the trading board, which still shows the price of cotton around the world on the last day of trading in 1969. There is also a small, expensive craft shop inside.
Mon-Sat 9:30AM-late (depending on length of evening's performance)Free entry to theatre building, theatre tickets vary
SeePiccadilly-East Centre
Sackville Gardens
This small park in the heart of The Village is notable for its memorial to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, whose homosexuality in an age of intolerance led to his suicide. The bronze statue on a park bench bears the legend 'Father of computer science, mathematician, logician, wartime codebreaker, victim of prejudice'. Also in the park is "The Beacon of Hope", an illuminated memorial to those who have died of HIV/AIDS worldwide.
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield
Science and Industry Museum
This is a great museum for those interested in technology and industrial heritage: sited at one end of the world's first passenger railway line. The working cotton weaving machines are particularly worth experiencing. Catch one of their regular demonstrations of their operation. There is also the opportunity to explore the city's former sewers (now fully cleaned!) to get an idea of the living (and dying) conditions of Manchester's cotton workers. Most impressive of all is the huge collection of working engines in the Power Hall (closed until 2024), powered by steam, gas, water, you name it. The museum also hosts the first steam train (and with it, the first ever vehicle to run faster than a horse), as well as the first programmable computer with a cathode ray tube memory.
10AM-5PM dailyFree, except for temporary exhibits (prices vary)
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
St. Ann's Church
Daily daytime, check the website for service times. St. Ann's Church is the main parish church of Manchester and one of only two surviving Medieval churches in the city centre (the other is the cathedral). It is also a venue for many sacred and secular classical music events. A small shop selling books and gifts is open at all times except during services.
closed Mon, Tue-Fri 11AM-5PM, Sat 11AM-6PM, Sun 8:30AM-6PM. see website for service times.Free
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square
St. Mary's (The Hidden Gem)
This little traditional Catholic church dates from 1794, making it the oldest purpose-built post-Reformation Catholic church in England. It is an active church, with the largest congregation of any of the city-centre churches in Manchester. Inside is a modern "Stations of the Cross" by Norman Adams that is considered one of the greatest works of art in Manchester. Please remember that this is a place of Roman Catholic worship: modest dress is expected and photography is forbidden. The church is closed to tourists during services.
Mon-Thu Fri 9:30AM-4PM, Sat 9:30AM-6PM, Sun 10AM-2PM (services Mon-Fri 12:30PM, Sat noon and 5:15PM, Sun 8:30AM and 1:30PM)Free
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
The Frog and Bucket
The Frog & Bucket comedy club provides rib(bit)-tickling entertainment.
SeeThe Quays
The Lowry
This award-winning modern building contains two theatres and a large art gallery, with many works by L.S. Lowry (1887-1976). When he was 22 his family moved from a leafy suburb to Pendlebury, an industrial district of Salford; he detested but then became fascinated by its landscape. Initially he tried to paint in the Impressionist style but the results were gloomy, so he took to using a flake-white ground, and populated the scenes with his characteristic "matchstick men". He also secretly painted the disturbing "marionette" works, only found after his death, and only displayed on request.
Sun-Fri 11AM-5PM, Sat 10AM-5PMGallery is free
SeePiccadilly-East Centre
The Portico Library and Gallery
The Portico has been an exclusive members-only library since the early 19th century and many of Manchester's luminaries have been patrons of the Portico over the years. Now hosting its own public gallery and providing admission to some parts for non-members, it is a slice of Manchester's history that has remained almost unchanged since its inception. Call for the latest information.
Free entry
SeeUniversities
Whitworth Art Gallery
Manchester University's art gallery combines more modern art than the Manchester Art Gallery with displays of watercolors, prints, textiles and wallpapers.
Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun 2-5PM. Closed Good Fri and Christmas to New YearFree
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield Not mapped
Bridgewater Hall
Manchester's main classical music venue is a stunning musically-inspired building dating from 1996. It is home to the world-famous Hallé orchestra and boasts an enormous 5500-pipe organ across the whole of one wall. The building is also home to a cafe and restaurant.
Mon-Fri 10AM-8PM, Sat noon-6PMFree entry to building
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield Not mapped
Roman Fort
Mamucium, Mancunium
Not much survives of Manchester's four Roman settlements, but what is left can be seen in the gardens of Castlefield running from Liverpool Road down to Castle Street. The North Gate of the fourth fort on Duke Street, along with a section of the fort's West Wall, its gatehouse, granaries, and other ancillary buildings from the vicus have been reconstructed and are open to the public.
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield Not mapped
Saul Hay Gallery
A small commercial gallery in a former beer warehouse, specialising in local contemporary art with changing exhibitions.
Tue-Sat 10:30AM-6PMFree
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield Not mapped
St. John's Gardens
The site of the former St. John's Church has become central Manchester's most beautiful park. Come here in the summer to see the flowers and bring some bread for the hundreds of birds that make St. John's their home.
Open daily during daylight hours
SeeSpinningfields-Albert Square Not mapped
The Albert Hall
An ornate former Wesleyan chapel that has been converted into a music venue, bar and restaurant. The hall plays host to a number of exciting acts on a regular basis. For specific information, see the venue's website.
SeeUniversities Not mapped
The Curry Mile
A one mile long, neon light illuminated, stretch of Wilmslow Road with wall to wall curry houses, kebab shops, sari shops, and jewellery stores. The best curry in Manchester can be had here, but the community is an attraction in itself. Supposedly, this is the highest concentration of curry restaurants in the country. Most curry houses have early bird discounts of around 10-20% before 6PM and most do student discounts of around 10%. Be warned, waiters will come out of their restaurants to try to lure you in, but it's a good opportunity to try to bargain a decent-sized discount! Avoid during Eid celebrations, as the whole place is gridlocked.
SeeCastlefield-Petersfield Not mapped
The Merchant's Bridge
Look up and marvel at the massive Victorian structure which carries the metrolink trams and trains over the canals.
SeeVictoria-Shopping District
Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art
CFCCA
Small, alternative Chinese art gallery. Closed until 2023
SeeUniversities
Platt Fields Park
Junction of Platt Lane and Wilmslow Road

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Manchester (CC BY-SA 4.0).