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Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

City Centre, Manchester

Creative Tourist

The 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 arts, ideas and creativity is pushing the city onto the global stage.

It’s important to note that the city centre is probably Manchester’s most diverse area culturally, taking in Chinatown, the Gay Village as well as areas like Deansgate, Castlefield, the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, all of which you can explore in more detail within in our dedicated guides to those areas.

The City Centre is also a hotspot for shops, bars and restaurants. From one corner to the other you’ll find a mix of independent shops, quirky cafes and themed bars. Head over to Market Street for a day of browsing and buying or down to Deansgate for a fancy sit down meal with friends. We have filled our guide with a little bit of everything, from must-visit museums to stand-out restaurants thrown in for good measure.

Our top picks

Cafe Beermoth

Cafe Beermoth, Café Beermoth Brown Street , Manchester, M2 1DA - Visit now

Cafe Beermoth is the very definition of a modern Manchester pub – relaxed, friendly and with a wide range of carefully curated booze options.

Find out more
Cafe Beermoth
Ian Jones

Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum, The University Of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M13 9PL - Visit now

Manchester Museum has re-opened with new exhibition spaces and a modern two-storey extension to the back of the building. This physical transformation is symbolic of the more ethical changes happening within the building.

Find out more
Manchester Museum Tours at Manchester Museum

Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M2 3JL - Visit now

Grade I-listed Manchester Art Gallery is one of the city’s premier-league spaces for art, boasting an outstanding Victorian collection alongside regularly changing contemporary shows.

Find out more
Manchester Art Gallery. Photo by Andrew Brooks
Manchester Art Gallery. Photo by Andrew Brooks

Aviva Studios, home of Factory International

Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, Water Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 3JQ - Visit now

A global destination for arts, music and culture in Manchester, operated by the team behind Manchester International Festival, Factory International venue is set to reshape the city’s cultural output and standing while bringing a cool billion to the economy over a decade.

Find out more
Kieran Irvine, courtesy of Factory International.

Science and Industry Museum

Science and Industry Museum, Liverpool Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 4FP - Visit now

Dedicated to inspiring visitors through revolutionary, world-changing ideas, the Science and Industry Museum pairs historic sites with a dynamic, contemporary science programme.

Find out more

More City Centre events

Until
MusicCity Centre
The Hallé 2026-27 Season

At the top of a packed season, we’re taking a closer look at six Hallé concerts that lean toward the more contemporary, adventurous end of things.

From £18
Craft Beer Tour Around Manchester
Until
ActivityManchester
Craft Beer Tour Manchester

Join Craft Beer Tour Manchester for a journey through some of the cities best local breweries and artisanal beer serving bars. Discover the personality of Manchester’s beer through a diverse

From £45
See all City Centre events

Where to go in Manchester

Grafton Arms
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Grafton Arms

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

Proloco
Manchester
Restaurant
Proloco

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.

City Centre
Restaurant
GiGi Gusto Griglia

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

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

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

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

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

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

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

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

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.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

Northern Quarter
Restaurant
Sicilian NQ

Busy backstreet Sicilian restaurant in the Northern Quarter, serving up traditional dishes with well-executed vegan versions that more than match up.

See all places in Manchester

Manchester Visitor Guides

Bars & Pubs in Manchester

Pint of mild, limited-run natural wine or cocktail drowning in dry ice? You'll find them all in Manchester. But maybe not together.

Contemporary Season
at Lowry

Lowry stages are where you’ll catch much of this autumn’s most forward-thinking performance. Here are our top picks.

Casual Dining in Manchester

Casual dining doesn't mean low effort. Manchester has a host of laid-back restaurants where you can drop in and kick back.

Vegan and Vegetarian Food

Whether you’re a proud vegan or merely ve-curious, let us guide you towards the best vegan and veggie food in Manchester.

New Openings in Manchester

Manchester’s food and drink scene is thriving. Here are the recently-opened venues who are worth your pounds, shillings and pence.

Manchester Restaurant Deals

Manchester's restaurants are bending over backwards to create deals that take the sting out of eating out. Here are the best of the bunch for January.

Manchester District Guides

The cafe in the trees at the Whitworth
Oxford Road, Manchester

We cherrypick our favourite spots on Oxford Road, taking in unique theatres, characterful gig venues and fascinating museums.
Deansgate, Manchester

When 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…
Cutting Room Square
Ancoats & New Islington

Ancoats, just off the Northern Quarter in Manchester, is one of the city’s most increasingly desirable neighbourhoods. Find out why.
Northern Quarter, Manchester
Northern Quarter, Manchester

Manchester’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.
Salford museum and art gallery exterior
Salford, Greater Manchester

Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.
The front of Didsbury restaurant Volta.
Didsbury, Manchester

Didsbury has the perfect split between big brands and independent businesses, welcoming all from far and wide.
Chorlton, Manchester

Chorlton 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,…
People enjoying drinking in Altrincham
Things to Do in Altrincham

Plan a day out down Altrincham way, and you’ll soon find that one day isn’t nearly enough. Getting there is easy on the tram, or how about cycling along the…
Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

Take me there

Destination Guides

Culture Guides

Music

Grubby dance music meets high-gloss hyperpop and wildly ambitious opera in our latest music guide.

Food and Drink in the North

It's autumn and time to get scheduling those hearty meals. Here's the October guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

Theatre

The nights are drawing in. Theatre across the North is refusing to play it safe. November brings experimental performance, queer comedy and plenty of surprises.

Exhibitions

It’s a good season for contemporary art fans in Manchester, with many of our favourite small galleries launching something big.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...