Family Art Workshop – Make a Shadow Theatre

£300m entertainment square beside the Etihad Stadium and Co-op Live, with Zadie’s, Little Beast, Brickworks Market Hall and the Radisson Blu Medlock hotel.

Italian-Japanese plates and razzle-dazzle glamour high above Medlock Square, with live sax and DJ sets running from 5pm until 1am, Wednesday to Sunday.

Grafton Arms has undergone an impressive revamp. The Eagle Inn team have turned this traditional pub into a standout live venue and drinking destination.

Honest Crust’s Richard Carver and Rainy Heart’s Dan Hope join forces at Proloco, a music-led Ancoats restaurant serving 18-inch pizzas and seasonal plates.

GiGi is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1950s décor and a menu that sticks to the classics.

Northcote’s Michelin-starred restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the Ribble Valley. We get a first look at the new autumnal menu.

Pentonbridge Inn is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in north Cumbria. Eight courses of bunkum-free fine dining from head chef Chris Archer.

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Manchester’s new 509-bed Fusion Students building on Deansgate opens for 2026/27 with roof terraces, a gym and karaoke booth included.

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.