For years, the 1962 CIS Tower, which stands near Victoria Station, was the city’s highest. This former Co-operative building is notable now for being one of the city’s greenest, thanks to the solar panels in which it is clad (the highest building in Manchester, by the way, is Beetham Tower). It forms part of the NOMA quarter of Manchester.
All instruments, all abilities are welcome to join a band every week at Altogether Otherwise as part of their Singing and Dancing programme.
free entry
Dance a Céilí with Altogether Otherwise as part of their singing and dancing months in May and June.
free entry
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
free entry
Join an access-all-areas guided tour of Chetham’s Library and the surrounding school – among the most venerable buildings in the North West.
from £20.00
Rock-informed, techno-adjacent musical collagists Moin perform at Band on the Wall this spring.
from £16.50
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.
free entry
Every Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
free entry
Allpress at NOMA is a home to all things coffee, with a café and seasonal menu incorporating locally sourced ingredients.
Sadlers Yard is a public square and events space in Manchester from NOMA Mcr. Home of the Pilcrow Pub and PLANT NOMA.
The Pilcrow is now Sadler’s Cat, a contemporary community pub at the heart of the NOMA neighbourhood. Overlooking Sadler’s Yard.
Dantzic is a great creative workspace in one of NOMA’s historic warehouse buildings.
The Old Bank Residency is a twelve-month occupation of a disused bank, allowing a space for creative practices to experiment, collaborate and grow. This project is funded and supported by NOMA to make Manchester an even more interesting place to be.
Following a £10m transformation project, Manchester’s iconic New Century Hall has returned as a live music, performance and events space.
Grand food hall with a superb outdoor space and a smart selection of in-house indie food traders
Federation House in Manchester is a pop-up project space that provides opportunities for artists, artist groups and artist development agencies.
We visit Skof, Manchester’s most raved-about new restaurants, mere hours before 2025’s Michelin Guide announcement.
Altogether Otherwise is a haven of activity where all are encouraged to make, do, dance, read and enjoy pursuing creativity with no pressure.
Manchester Arena is one of the busiest venues in the world and the largest indoor arena in Europe.
Metrolink (tram) station located right outside the Printworks centre in central Manchester.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.
We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.
Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring.
Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.
Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.
