Visit Manchester

A guide to Manchester – from club nights to cuisine. Find out how to make the most of your weekend in the city.

Manchester is one of the UK’s most vibrant musical cities within the UK, thanks to its high number of gig venues, restored warehouses and arts spaces. It’s home of the BBC Radio services alongside numerous festivals and record stores. There are countless reasons why you should come and stay for a weekend.

Photograph: Media City UK. Unsplash / Mark Stuckey

The city centre of Manchester is a cultural hotspot. Hugely inclusive to an individual’s interests by what is on offer, it has the ability to encapsulate you with its several boroughs.

The Northern Quarter is a unique area of the city centre. Characterised by its independent merchants and converted warehouses that have been transformed into music venues over the years, a weekend there is never a dull one. You’ll find yourself amongst countless independent vintage clothing shops, record stores, cafes, and boutiques. If you love Vintage shopping, the Northern Quarter will definitely be for you. I’d recommend popping into Blue Rinse and Retro Rehab, they have some great quality clothing for an affordable price (and it’s sustainable too!). You’ll also be able to spend some of your afternoon browsing and listening to music from Vinyl Exchange and Piccadilly Records and bag yourself some rare LP’s that you can later brag about to your mates.

Photograph: Piccadilly Records. Flickr / Marc Wathieu

After dark, the city does not sleep. There is no wonder is gained its nickname ‘Madchester’. The metropolis accumulates £169 million annually from music tourism, with 1.9 million event tickets sold every single year according to the UK’s Music’s Greater Manchester Music Review. Music runs through Manchester’s veins, unsurprisingly, due to it being the birthplace of huge bands such as Oasis, Stone Roses, and Happy Mondays alongside being a leader in electronic music.

The underground music scene continues to thrive in Manchester since the days of Haçienda, with the popular Warehouse Project at Mayfield Depot taking over the city centre alongside Parklife festival based in Heaton Park in the summer, ran by Manchester’s night-time economy advisor Sacha Lord. There are handfuls of clubs on offer for you to try out, such as Hidden, Joshua Brooks and The Loft. I’d recommend downloading Skiddle or Resident Advisor on your smart phone and browsing the current events on offer within the city, your favourite artists may even be playing there soon so you can time your trip wisely.

Photograph: The Warehouse Project. The Depot Mayfield. Pinterest /Upendra Singh Sisodia

A trip to The Depot is highly recommended when The Warehouse Project season is in full swing. These run from September and commence up until New Year’s Day, before reopening again in March building up to festival season. The renovated warehouse can accommodate up to 10,000 ravers at once and immerse you with massive artists such as Fatboy Slim, Chase and Status, Groove Armada and Jamie xx.

Freight Island neighbours The Depot and is home to a lively urban market which offers of a variety of restaurants as well as multiple bars, music, and engaging entertainment which is open from 12pm up until 1am. There is a mass selection of cuisine on offer from the multiple vendors such as Vietnamese, Italian, Turkish as well as award-winning deserts. Alisha Davis, a food reviewer for Great British Life stated “The food and drink are top-notch. Freight Island is more than just a place to go for some tasty street food. It offers a way to enjoy Manchester’s nightlife, with a strong line up of performers and DJ’s, it’s destined to become a key player in Manchester’s ever-growing nightlife”.

A wide selection of hotels is also on offer within this city, with a variety of different catering needs. If you are wanting to visit on a budget, EasyHotel will be your best friend. Although, if you’re wanting to push the boat out, I would highly recommend booking yourself in at the King Street Town house. Included in your stay is a spa and a roof top infinity pool for you to see the stunning skyline over Manchester where you can gaze at the architecture that is on offer.

Manchester transport is easily accessible whichever direction you head. Whether that be walking on foot or taking a nearby tram or cab, you’ll be able to get to any destination with ease. Trains are also incredibly frequent and reasonably priced, with the city’s utilization of two train stations - Victoria and Piccadilly.

Whenever I have visited Manchester, I have found it useful to briefly plan my trip in advance, so the weekend runs more smoothly. I’d recommend downloading Wanderlog to create an itinerary to loosely follow but there is that much on offer within the city it’s guaranteed you’ll discover something eye-catching beyond my recommendations.

Additionally, City Mapper is also a great app to download to navigate yourself round Manchester’s boroughs, food halls and venues with ease.

I hope you have a fantastic trip and I guarantee it won’t be the last time you visit Manchester.