Manchester Collective: Patterns in Repeat at Aviva Studios
Manchester Collective bring titans of contemporary music together with world premieres in a bold, body-driven programme at Aviva Studios.
From £14.00Our arts and culture highlights
Mermaid Chunky, TURNSPIT and Another Country $$$$ at The White Hotel
Three electronic duos bored to tears of pristine laptop sets descend on The White Hotel, led by DFA’s Mermaid Chunky.
From £20.00
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Split Ends at Contact
A woman falls in love with a vacuum in this raw, strange and tragi-comic exploration of coercive control and obsession.
From £13.00
Until
May Makers Market at People’s History Museum
Back for its second year, the May Makers Market sees People’s History Museum hand its Edwardian Engine Hall over to an even bigger mix of local craft makers.
Free entry
Until
Michaela Yearwood-Dan: The Practice of Liberation at The Whitworth
Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s first UK institutional exhibition layers painting, ceramics and sound to explore liberation across personal and institutional histories.
Free entry
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Everything and Nothing at The Portico Library
A fascinating archival exhibition uncovers the forgotten stories of people who have helped shape The Portico Library’s 220-year history.
Free entry
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The Black Lights in Blackpool
Day tickets are now on sale for the White Hotel’s Blackpool takeover, placing The Caretaker, Blackhaine and A Guy Called Gerald inside the town’s most iconic spaces.
From £20Culture Guides
Tickets by Creative Tourist
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The Medieval Quarter Walking Tour
Tickets from £20.00
Explore Manchester’s Medieval Quarter on an architect-led walking tour uncovering the city’s...
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Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in Manchester
Tickets from £20.00
Explore the ways in which Manchester helped shape and reinforce the ideas...
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Beatles Liverpool Walking Tour
Tickets from £28.62
From the waterfront to the heart of the Cavern Quarter, fans can...
Trees, Flowers and Manchester City Centre Green Spaces Tour
Tickets from £20.00
Hidden gardens, re-wilded viaducts, and endless canals - explore Manchester’s softer side...
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Peaky Blinders Liverpool Walking Tour
Tickets from £42.40
Throughout this extended walking tour, fans can trace the Shelby family’s rise...
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The Manchester Music Walkabout
Tickets from £25.00
Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around...
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The Manchester Pub Walkabout
Tickets from £25.00
Stagger across three hundred years of Manchester's drinking history in one of...
Music highlights coming soon
The Age of Consent at Aviva Studios
A new live staging of Bronski Beat’s The Age of Consent revisits a landmark queer pop album through contemporary voices.
From £10.00
Mermaid Chunky, TURNSPIT and Another Country $$$$ at The White Hotel
Three electronic duos bored to tears of pristine laptop sets descend on The White Hotel, led by DFA’s Mermaid Chunky.
From £20.00
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Vintage Vibes at East Lancashire Railway
Vintage Vibes returns to East Lancashire Railway this May, taking over Bury for a gleefully bonkers bank holiday weekend of music and retro pop culture.
From £19.00
manchester jazz festival Takeover at Aviva Studios
Three women-led acts, a photography exhibition, and free entry: mjf closes its 2026 edition with quiet confidence.
Free entry
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Theatre highlights coming soon
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Split Ends at Contact
A woman falls in love with a vacuum in this raw, strange and tragi-comic exploration of coercive control and obsession.
From £13.00
Until
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher at Liverpool Everyman
In this world premiere, Hilary Mantel’s audacious short story becomes a darkly comic psychological thriller about power, class and political anger.
From £11.00
Bionic and the Wires: Beneath the Breathing Ground at Castlefield Viaduct
Plant-powered music meets dance in a lush sky garden. This quietly radical performance invites you to slow down and tune in, and see differently.
From £15.00
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Spitfire Girls at Octagon Theatre Bolton
Katherine Senior’s new play Spitfire Girls lands in Bolton with the extraordinary true stories of WWII women pilots.
From £15.00
Spotlight on
Curtain Up at Lowry
Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.
Take me thereExhibitions highlights
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Manchester Histories Festival 2026
10 editions in, and Manchester Histories Festival is still finding stories that official records have skirted over.
Free entry
Until
Spies, Lies and Deception at IWM North
Spies, Lies and Deception comes to The Quays, cracking open that window into the shady world of espionage and secret operations.
Free entry
Until
Out Here at Castlefield Gallery
Out Here at Castlefield Gallery shifts environmental questions out of the abstract and back into the natural materials beneath our feet.
Free entry
Until
Curtain Up at Lowry
Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.
Food And Drink Guides
Our latest food and drink picks
Manchester
Tai Wu
Long-standing, trend-swerving Chinese restaurant on Manchester’s Upper Brook Street, with a reputation for authentic dim sum and traditional Cantonese cuisine.
Manchester
BAB Korean Food
A highlight of Manchester’s K-Food space, Bab Korean Food serves up authentic, well-made dishes at the Kargo MKT food hall in MediaCity.
Castlefield
Dimitri’s
Longstanding Greek taverna Dimtri’s delivers traditional, fuss-free Greek food, aimed at everyone from courting couples to multi-generational families in Manchester.
Manchester
Kong’s NQ
Kong’s isn’t like other chicken shops. This much-loved Northern Quarter restaurant is all about high-grade ingredients and expert preparation.
Castlefield
Trading Route
Trading Route serves up time-honoured Sunday grub, in a modern Manchester setting. Worth a visit for the expertly-curated soundtrack alone.
Leeds
Arcadia Ale House
Arcadia Ale house is a sports bar located in the Headingly area of Leeds with a range of drinks offers throughout the week.
Leeds
Pasta Romagna
Pasta Romagna is a family owned, independent restaurant in the heart of the city centre. Bringing you homestyle Italian cuisine since 1982.
Manchester neighbourhoods
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Ancoats & New IslingtonAncoats, just off the Northern Quarter in Manchester, is one of the city's most increasingly desirable neighbourhoods. Find out why.
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Chorlton, ManchesterChorlton is a left-leaning suburb a few miles south of Manchester’s city centre (and only 10-odd minutes away by tram). A sprawling hive of artisan coffee shops, boutique clothing stores,...
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City Centre, ManchesterThe heart of Manchester is packed full with history and stories. This industriousness is evident across the city centre, where proud heritage meets contemporary ambition, and a forward-looking mix of...
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Deansgate, ManchesterWhen you think of Deansgate, you might think about the long (seemingly endless) street that runs from the Manchester Cathedral all the way down to the Deansgate Towers. And you...
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Didsbury, ManchesterDidsbury has the perfect split between big brands and independent businesses, welcoming all from far and wide.
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Northern Quarter, ManchesterManchester’s most characterful, independent district is a jumbled network of streets to one side of Piccadilly Gardens. Here are the places you need to check out.
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Oxford Road, ManchesterWe cherrypick our favourite spots on Oxford Road, taking in unique theatres, characterful gig venues and fascinating museums.
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Salford, Greater ManchesterCross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.
