All About Manchester

Let us entertain you

With an abundance of nightclubs, cinemas and theatres, and a burgeoning music and cultural scene, Manchester could justifiably be called the entertainment capital of the North.

Music is perhaps what Manchester does best. The city that has produced bands like the Stone Roses, the Smiths, Oasis and New Order is not short of talent. And talent is what you get at clubs like the Music Box, the Roadhouse, Band on the Wall, the Green Room, Matt and Phred's Jazz Club�the list goes on.

Back in the 1980s, the legendary Hacienda put Manchester on the global clubbing map. The club is no longer there - its site is now occupied by a new apartment building - but the party is not over yet. Manchester's nightlife is diverse and progressive enough to please the most discerning and demanding crowd. So, whether you're into punk, funk, hip-hop, jazz and anything in between, get out and get clubbing!

The Gay Village

Home to a large and lively gay community, Manchester's trendy gay village attracts visitors of all sexual orientations with its vibrant nightlife.

Manchester has long had a strong tradition of diversity and tolerance, but the gay village as we know it today only came about in the early 1990s, when gay-friendly bars began to spring up along Canal Street, breathing new life into a hitherto rundown and seedy area of the city.

Centred around Chorlton Street and Canal Street (made famous by the TV drama series Queer as Folk) the gay village is more than just a collection of bars and clubs. It is also home to numerous other gay-friendly businesses including restaurants, hairdressers, taxi companies, beauty parlours, tattoo studios and hotels. Charities like the Lesbian and Gay Foundation and Body Positive are also based around the village.

The unthreatening image of the area and the quality of its bars and clubs make the gay village an ideal destination for a night out, whether you are gay or straight. Proud and loud, the village gets especially busy in the summer, when the picturesque area around Canal Street is transformed into a long street party.

If you want to see the gay community at its best, visit the gay village on the last weekend of August to witness the annual Gayfest � the largest Gay Pride happening staged outside London and the highlight of the gay Manchester calendar. A number of events, including an impressive drag parade, centre around the village and everyone is welcome to join in the celebrations. Manchester is not dubbed one of the best gay scenes in the UK for nothing!

Classical Music

Opened in 1996, the Bridgewater Hall is the principal venue for classical music in the city. Here you can enjoy regular performances by the Halle Orchestra, the Manchester Camerata and the BBC Philharmonic.

There are regular performances of classical music at the Bridgewater Hall

Theatre

Manchester has the largest number of theatres in England outside of London. Some produce original works, while others host national and international hits.

Visit Opera House and Palace Theatre for West End musicals and comedies, the Royal Exchange Theatre for a mix of traditional productions and experimental work, the Lowry for classic touring productions, and Contact Theatre for cutting edge touring shows and in-house productions targeting young people. The Library Theatre is also worth a visit for Shakespeare plays and regional premiers of London hits.

Comedy

With a tradition in comedy that stretches back centuries, Manchester is guaranteed to make you laugh. The buzz, Frog & Bucket, the Comedy Store and Jongleurs are the city's main comedy clubs.

The Printworks

A buzzing urban leisure and entertainment centre, the Printworks is a reincarnation of the largest press plant in Europe.

The site was formerly occupied by the Withy Grove Press � one of Manchester's most important places of work, where entire families worked for generations. In the 1980s, the building was acquired by newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell and used to publish The Mirror among other publications. Withy Grove produced its last paper in 1986 and then stood derelict until a terrorist bomb attack in central Manchester in 1996 damaged the premises.

The city quickly bounced back with an extensive urban regeneration project, which was to transform Manchester into the modern metropolis it is today.

As part of the regeneration work, Withy Grove was recreated and given a new lease of life as The Printworks, which now houses an eclectic range of restaurants, bars, clubs, cafes, a health complex and a bookshop. Hard Rock cafe is a big visitor attraction here and so is Manchester's first IMAX cinema, which is part of The Filmworks � a 20-screen UCI cinema complex (more about The Filmworks in the Cinema section on this page).

The Printworks is worth a visit, not only for its remarkable combination of leisure and entertainment venues under one roof, but also for its stunning recreation of one of the city's most beloved buildings.

The Printworks is one of Manchester's most popular entertainment centre.

Cinema

There are four cinemas in the city centre: The Cornerhouse and the Odeon on Oxford Street, The Filmworks at the Printworks and AMC Cinemas on Deansgate.

The Filmworks stands out from the other cinemas in the city for its Gallery, an exclusive, over 18s only area which offers a luxurious film viewing experience. Here you can slide into large leather armchairs and enjoy your film, with drinks from the bar, complimentary refreshments and the best view in the house.

The Cornerhouse also stands out, but for completely different reasons. A no-frills cinema, it is popular for the quality of its film programme.

Outside the city centre, the Trafford Centre UCI and the Parrs Wood UGC in Didsbury are two of the largest and most popular.

The Cornerhouse

Manchester's international centre for contemporary visual arts and film, the Cornerhouse is an intellectual's paradise.

Located in the heart of the city, the centre has three floors of art galleries, three cinema screens, a bar, a cafe and a specialist bookshop.

Open since 1985, the Cornerhouse has made a name for itself by hosting some of the most thought-provoking work in the city. The galleries exhibit avant garde and often controversial contemporary art, while the film programme encompasses mostly arthouse and independent films.

The Cornerhouse is also the main venue for film festivals in the city. The annual Spanish Film Festival in March is always a sell-out, so make sure you book your tickets ahead of time.

A wide variety of events, including artists' talks, complements the exhibitions and film programme.

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