Close By. Salford Quays

Salford Quays Manchester is at the heart of contemporary culture in the North. The award winning, Daniel Libeskind-designed Imperial War Museum North opened in 2002 on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, for example. This stunning building, whose fragmented design represents a globe shattered by war (inside, it has sloping floors and is completely devoid of right angles), isn’t the only draw here: The Lowry sits opposite on the Quays, with the two buildings joined by a footbridge that spans this spectacular waterfront. The Lowry may only be ten years old, but it nevertheless pays tribute to the industrial past of Salford and Manchester: the Ship Canal, along with the Bridgewater Canal, provided a vital route to export and import during the Industrial Revolution and helped secure Manchester’s role, for a while at least, as the world’s largest centre of manufacturing.

As you’d expect, The Lowry takes its name from its collection: the largest holding of the work of LS Lowry in the world. The artist is perhaps best known for his renditions of working class life in industrial Salford and Manchester, and some of his most famous works can always be found on display at The Lowry. As part of the organisation’s tenth birthday celebrations, The Lowry launches Lowry Favourites, a new exhibition that brings the galleries to life with photographs, sound and film, as well as rarely seen works from private collections from around the country, all of which provide new insight into this most singular of painters. Its eye-opening summer exhibition, meanwhile, presents a contemporary twist on the historic works of Lowry.

Just behind The Lowry you’ll be able to spot the fast-being-built MediaCity, the new home of the BBC, due to open next year and complete with its own huge public piazza, tram stop and new pedestrian bridge across the Ship Canal. Just down the road, football and cricket fans can live the dream at either Manchester United’s football ground or Old Trafford. The Lowry Outlet Mall opposite is home to a few decent chain restaurants if you fancy a bite to eat (Pizza Express, Café Rouge), although both The Lowry and Imperial War Museum North house decent cafes. If you drive to the Quays, the Outlet Mall is where you’ll park (free parking if you purchase anything in any of their shops, cafes or restaurants).

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Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf, Trafford Park M17 1TZ (0161 836 4000). The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ (0843 208 6000). Lowry Outlet Mall, The Quays, Salford Quays, M50 3AH. Images: courtesy Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry and Susie Stubbs.