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Attractions

Manchester is a visitor's dream, bursting with interesting places to visit. Here, we list some of the city's leading attractions.

Cultural

The John Rylands Library

Re-opened in May 2007 after a £16.8 million transformation, including improved access and visitor facilities, the John Rylands Library is definitely worth a visit. Experience the Gothic splendour of one of Manchester's most beautiful buildings and discover the library?s world famous collections through themed displays and hands-on activities. Enjoy a fascinating programme of exhibitions, talks and events throughout the year, relax in a brand new cafe and browse around the gift shop.

Address:

150 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 3EH

Website:

www.manchester.ac.uk/library

Telephone:

0161 306 0555

Opening Times:

Sun and Mon, 12pm - 5pm
Tues - Sat, 10am - 5pm

Food and drink

Castlefield

Britain's first urban heritage park, Castlefield preserves Manchester's industrial legacy while offering visitors a picturesque canalside destination where they can eat, drink and have fun.

Castlefield takes its name from a Roman fort that was abandoned around 410 AD, when the Romans withdrew from Britain. A reconstructed version of what the original castle might have looked like now stands at the heart of the area.

But it was in more modern history that Castlefield made its mark in Manchester, when it became synonymous with canals and rail viaducts.

The Bridgewater Canal in Castlefield was in fact the forerunner of all modern canals. It was the idea of Francis Egerton, the third Duke of Bridgewater, who wanted a quick and inexpensive way to move coal from his mines in Worsley into Manchester. On its completion in the late 18th century, it heralded the beginning of the canal age.

A vast waterways network soon developed, with wharfs and warehouses built alongside the canals to handle the growing trade. This system enabled Manchester to receive raw materials from all over the UK and export finished manufactured goods, making a huge contribution to the city's early prosperity.

The viaducts, which were built in the 19th century to carry railway traffic over the city, are another indelible element of the landscape in Castlefield and a treasured part of Manchester's industrial heritage.

The city's industrial decline in the 20th century took its toll on Castlefield, which became a derelict no-go area. It has taken more than 20 years of regeneration work to turn the area around and redevelop it into the upmarket waterside district it is today, with most of its once derelict industrial buildings restored and converted for modern use.

Castlefield's mix of old and new is a winner with locals and visitors alike and its open spaces host festivals throughout the year.

While the southern part of Castlefield is centred around water, the northern part is dominated by the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, another must-see attraction showcasing Manchester's industrial history.

History

The Imperial War Museum North

Designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the £28.5 million IWM North opened its doors in July 2002 and has since been blitzed with visitors.

Rising from the ship canal frontage of Trafford Park - the world's first industrial park - about 2 miles from the city centre, the striking building is an attraction in itself, putting Trafford on the map of world architecture.

There is nothing conventionally pleasing about Libeskind's first British building, yet it is deeply powerful. The harsh, metallic exterior, the asymmetric geometry and sloping floors and ceilings are designed to induce the sort of disorientation that prevails in war. Steely and cold, this is a stark reminder of the human cost of war.

The design concept is a shattered globe, broken into three fragments or 'shards' and reassembled as an emblem of conflict. The interlocking shards represent the three theatres of war - earth, water and air.

The Earth Shard is the principal gallery of the building, while the Water Shard is the waterside cafe. The third section, the Air Shard, is a walkway and viewing platform exposed to the elements 95 ft above the canal, offering panoramic views across the Manchester city centre skyline.

The IWM North is not a museum of weapons. It focuses on people's experiences of war rather than the hardware itself, although free standing artefacts of war - including a Russian tank and a Harrier Jet - peer around corners in the main exhibition space (the Earth Shard).

Around the wall of the Earth Shard is the Timeline - a chronological journey through the war experience, charting the changing balance of world power through various time zones.

The Earth Shard is broken up by silo-like sub-galleries, each with a different theme, displaying photographs, uniforms, diaries, letters and medals among other memorabilia.

For 15 minutes every hour, the lights in the main exhibition hall are lowered and the walls are transformed into giant screens, immersing visitors in experiences of war that they can see, hear and feel.

Opening Hours:

March - October: 10 am - 6 pm
November - February: 10 am - 5 pm

Admission:

Free

Facilities:

Cafe, gift shop

Address:

Imperial War Museum North
The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road
Trafford Park
Manchester M17 1TZ

Telephone:

0161 836 4000

Art and culture

The Lowry Centre

Rising like a futuristic ship at the heart of the redeveloped Salford Quays, The Lowry is a spectacular home to the arts and entertainment.

The arts centre is an expensive monument to Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976) who was born in Old Trafford and whose ambition as an artist was to put the industrial scene on the map. He is best known for his cityscapes of the industrial North and his trademark is his 'matchstick men' - ghostly figures devoid of any distinguishing characteristics.

The £94 million Lowry is an architectural landmark, with its unconventional stainless steel and glass surfaces reflecting water and light. Designed by Michael Wilford in an interesting sequence of geometrical shapes, the building's scale is breathtaking - it is the size of five football pitches. When viewed from across the canal, The Lowry looks like a huge ship steaming into the docks. This maritime theme continues in the interior, with its porthole windows and its stairways and landings that look like ships' gangways.

But there's more to The Lowry than its scale and unconventional beauty; it is also a buzzing venue for recreation, creativity and education, bringing together a variety of performing and visual arts under one roof. It houses two theatres - the Lyric, which has the largest stage in England outside London, and the more intimate Quays - where you find a huge variety of performance. Ballet, drama, opera, comedy or music, take your pick, there's always something interesting to watch at The Lowry.

The centre also houses the biggest public collection of works by L S Lowry, as well as a diverse range of modern and contemporary art. There are up to 16 exhibitions per year, exploring architecture, photography, sculpture, 3-D design, animation, painting and drawing.

Bring the kids along - The Lowry is very family-friendly. There is a family corner where children can draw, read and play, while on Saturday mornings children can enjoy a range of playhouse activities.

Opening Hours:

Sun - Fri 11 am - 5 pm
Sat 10 am - 5 pm

Admission:

Free

Facilities:

Restaurant, cafe/bar, gift shop

Address:

The Lowry
Pier 8
Salford Quays
M50 3AZ

Telephone:

0870 787 5780

Art

Manchester Art Gallery

Renowned for its prestigious collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Manchester Art Gallery is one of the city's cultural gems.

The gallery reopened in 2002, after a £35 million redesign project by architects Michael Hopkins & Partners. It now brings together two of the city's finest Victorian buildings - the former Royal Manchester Institution and what was the Athenaeum Club - with an attractive new gallery.

Visitors enter through a Grecian entrance hall, which leads into a gallery devoted to Manchester's achievements in art, design, photography and architecture. The ground floor also contains a restaurant, a cafe and a shop.

The first floor houses the permanent collection, including works by Stubbs, Gainsborough, Turner, Pisarro, Claude Lorrain, Canaletto and Constable. Here you can also find a magnificent collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. Among the most remarkable works are one of the two versions of Ford Madox Brown's masterpiece 'Work', Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Astarte Syriaca and John Everett Millais' Autumn Leaves.

The new building is home to works by Stanley Spencer, Lucien Freud, Bridget Riley, Francis Bacon and David Hockney, while the vast new top-floor gallery is set aside for temporary exhibitions. On the first floor area between Hopkins' building and the Athenaeum is an interactive gallery, where children can play with computer-assisted educational games.

The Athenaeum's top floor houses a fascinating theatre built after a fire swept through the building in 1873. This is now a dedicated craft and design gallery, an international collection of more than 1,000 objects including ceramics, suits of armour, metalwork, furniture, toys and dolls houses. Elsewhere in the Athenaeum you can find the city's collection of pre-1700s art, including work from Renaissance and Dutch masters.

Manchester Art Gallery's exquisite collections of fine and decorative art are complemented by a changing programme of interesting exhibitions, attracting a diverse audience.

Opening Hours:

Tue - Sun 10 am - 5 pm

Admission:

Free

Facilities:

Restaurant, cafe, shop

Address:

Manchester Art Gallery
Mosley Street
Manchester M2 3JL

Telephone:

0161 235 8888

Architecture

Manchester Town Hall

Arguably Manchester's greatest monument, the town hall is a municipal palace dominating a central square.

Designed by Alfred Waterhouse, the town hall is an extravagant neo-Gothic masterpiece in pale stone, reaching 286 feet above Albert Square. Its exterior is decorated with carved images of important figures in the city's history, while its imposing roofline is a wonderland of turrets and chimneys, with an impressive clock tower.

Prominent over the main entrance of the town hall is a statue of the Roman governor Julius Agricola, who founded the fort of Mamucium (from which the city began) in 79 AD.

Inside, the building is lavishly decorated, with marble flooring, spiral staircases and vaulted corridors. The second floor, which contains the Great Hall and the staterooms, is the most impressive of the town hall. Of special note are the wall murals by the celebrated Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown, the superb ceiling of the Great Hall and the mosaic floor with its pattern of bees - the symbol of Manchester's industry.

Fitted masterfully onto an awkward triangular site, the building was completed in 1887 as an emblem of civic dignity, at a construction cost of £1 million. The celebrations for the opening extended over several days, and included a procession of cavalry and infantry, a banquet and a ball.

Today, the building remains a working town hall, the political and administrative centre of the city, as well as being the venue for major events. Guided tours of the building can be booked through the Manchester Visitor Centre on Lloyd Street in person or by calling 0161 234 3157.

The town hall dominates Albert Square, with it shrine-like memorial to Prince Albert, magnificent fountain and statues of some of Manchester's great men. The pedestrianised square hosts a range of events throughout the year, and is particularly festive during the Christmas period, when it becomes the venue for the European Christmas Market.

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri 9 am - 5 pm

Admission:

Free

Address:

Albert Square
Manchester
M60 2LA

Telephone:

0161 234 5000

History

Museum of Science
and Industry

As the world's fist industrial city, Manchester has an interesting story to tell at its outstanding Museum of Science and Industry.

Housed in a number of historic buildings, including the oldest passenger railway station in the world, the museum is a popular destination in an inspiring setting. Highlights include:

1. The Fibres Fabrics & Fashion gallery (main building) includes working machinery, hands-on exhibits, artworks and human stories, bringing to life Manchester's textile industry. Come and find out how many hundreds of dried insects it took to make 1kg or red dye 300 years ago!

2. The Special Exhibition Gallery (main building) exhibits an ever-changing programme of blockbuster special exhibitions from around the world, from the Titanic to space adventure.

3. Xperiment, the museum's hands-on interactive science gallery (main building), will stimulate your brain and test your senses. Great fun for the kids.

4. The 1830 Warehouse, were goods like butter, shellfish, grain and bleach were stored in the 19th century, is the world's first railway warehouse. Now a Grade I listed building, it is an exhibit in its own right, as well as gallery space.

5. 'The Baby', which was developed at Manchester University in 1948, is the ancestor of today's computer. A working replica of 'The Baby' is on display in the 1830 Warehouse.

6. At the Electricity Gallery (1830 Warehouse) you can visit historic room sets from the 30s, 40s and 50s, where early electric machines are on display.

7. The reconstructed Victorian Sewer in the Station Building, complete with sounds and smells, takes you on a tour of underground Manchester.

8. The Beyer Garratt, the colossal steam locomotive that worked on South African railways, is exhibited in the Power Hall. Here you will also find the oldest Manchester-built Rolls-Royce on public display.

9. The mighty Avro Shackleton plane, the RAF's longest serving front line aeroplane, is exhibited in the Air and Space Hall.

In addition to its galleries, the museum offers a full programme of events, including lectures and demonstrations, while on some weekends you can catch a ride on a reconstructed Planet train.

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sun 10 am - 5 pm

Admission:

Free

Facilities:

Restaurant, cafe, shop, mobility services

Address:

Liverpool Road
Castlefield
Manchester
M3 4FP

Telephone:

0161 832 2244

Football

Old Trafford

More than 200,000 people from all over the world visit Old Trafford every year to soak up the Manchester United experience and walk in the footsteps of George Best and the like.

Things to see at the museum include the trophy room, personal mementos of some of the great players, and the roll of honour, which records the name of every man who has ever played for the club since 1886. You can also use the club's interactive archive to call up information on your favourite Manchester United player or goal using the latest touch screen technology.

As the museum unfolds the history of the club from 1878 to the present, one chapter is particularly touching: the Munich air disaster of 1958, which was one of football's most tragic events.

The accident claimed the lives 23 people, including eight of Matt Busby's young Manchester United team - the 'Busby Babes'. You can listen to the heartbreaking news report that shook Manchester and remember the people who died through newspapers and photographs.

After immersing yourself in the club's history at the museum, you can take the stadium tour to go behind the scenes at the 'Theatre of Dreams', as Old Trafford is dubbed. This is a fascinating opportunity to look inside one of the greatest and most famous sporting arenas in the world.

An experienced guide will help you retrace the steps taken by football legends, from their changing rooms to the pitchside through the players' tunnel.

The tour lasts about an hour, giving you plenty of time to enjoy a bird's eye view of the pitch from the North Stand, pace down the players' tunnel, stand in Fergie's spot in the dug out, visit the press room and sit at your favourite player's spot in the home changing rooms.

Pre-booking of tours is highly recommended to avoid disappointment.

Opening Hours:

Mon - Sun 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

Admission:

Museum only:
Adults: £5.50
Juniors/students: £3.75
Under 5s: Free
Family ticket: £15.50

Museum & tour:
Adults: £9
Juniors/students: £6
Under 5s: free
Family ticket: £25

Facilities:

Cafe, shop

Address:

Sir Matt Busby Way Old Trafford Manchester Lancashire M16 0RA

Telephone:

0870 442 1994

Historic house

Tatton Park

If the city gets a bit too much for you, escape to Tatton Park and take in its 1,000 acres of soothing scenery.

About 12 miles south of Manchester city centre, Tatton Park comprises two historic houses - the Mansion and the Tudor Old Hall - which belonged to Sir Thomas Egerton, a Lord Chancellor of England, and his family for nearly 400 years.

The Mansion is an imposing, neo-classical house offering an interesting glimpse of the history and style of the Egerton family. A guided tour of the Mansion takes visitors through lavish state rooms and family rooms adorned with magnificent collections of furniture, porcelain and fine art, and ends with the extensive servants' quarters.

Its 50-acre garden comprises a mix of styles from varying time periods. There is a splendid Italian garden, a palatial glass fernery, a traditional rose garden, a beech maze and an award-winning conservatory, each with its own individual charm. But our favourite is Tatton's Japanese garden, which is considered one of the finest of its kind in Europe.

The Tudor Old Hall was built around 1520 and converted into cottages in the early 1700s. Guided tours lead you through the changes in style and fortune that came with the hall's evolution through the centuries. The building also hosts regular events, such as Shakespeare plays.

Children will find Tatton's working farm, with its rare breeds, especially interesting. In its heyday, this was at the heart of the Egerton estates, feeding family, guests and staff at the mansion. Today, the original buildings still stand, giving visitors a glimpse of a bygone rural life.

Even if you are not interested in touring historic buildings, Tatton's 1,000 acres of parkland with its lakes, woods and herds of fallow deer offer an ideal setting for a pleasant day out. In a natural haven that feels 1,000 miles away from the hectic city life, you can walk, sail, fish, enjoy a picnic, or just stand and stare.

The parkland also hosts a wide range of public events, from classic car shows to fine food fairs and outdoor classical concerts.

Opening Hours:

High Season (end of March - beginning of October): Mon-Sun 10 am - 6 pm Low Season: Mon-Sun 11 am - 4 pm

Admission:

Standard park entry charges:
Cars, motorcycles, mopeds: £3.90
Cyclists, pedestrians, coaches: free
Individual attraction tickets:
Adults: £3
Children: £3
Families: £8

Facilities:

Restaurant, food shop, gift shop

Address:

Tatton Park
Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN

Telephone:

01625 534 400

Shopping

Trafford Centre

An £880 million shopping temple, The Trafford Centre is one of the UK's top shopping and leisure destinations, attracting over 27 million visitors every year.

The shopping centre is like a walled town with themed shopping streets and squares under a glazed roof and dramatic domes. Opened in 1998, it occupies 150 acres, making it one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

The Trafford Centre is located approximately 9 km to the west of Manchester city centre, and you can't miss it from exits 9 and 10 on the M60. Its glazed domes over the central malls are visible from a distance. Walk inside the building and you'll find yourself in a lavish shrine to consumerism, complete with murals, sculptures, fountains and feature staircases.

With 280 stores - including Selfridges, Debenhams and Marks and Spencer - positioned along granite and marble boulevards, shoppers are spoilt for choice. And, with free parking for 10,000 cars, excellent public transport access, late night opening and cover from the rain, what's not to like?

You don't have to be a shopoholic to have a good time at The Trafford Centre, and its lights do not go down when the shops close. The centre's leisure area, focused around an 'ocean liner', offers a vast choice of food in themed restaurants and fast food eateries, as well as a 20-screen UCI cinema showing the latest films, from Hollywood to Bollywood.

The centre also hosts a wide range of events, from fashion shows to book signings and pop concerts, while a spot of ten-pin-bowling or a ride in bumper cars is available at Namco Station.

It may have as much cultural value as a plum tomato, but the Trafford Centre is probably the single best thing that can happen to your 'id' during your stay in Manchester.

Opening Hours:

Mon - Fri: 10 am - 10 pm
Sat: 10 am - 8 pm
Sun: 12 pm - 6 pm

Entrance Fee:

Free

Facilities:

Shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, cinema, creche and play area, mobility services

Address:

The Trafford Centre
Manchester, Lancashire M17 8AA

Telephone:

0161 749 1717/18

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