Top Picks
Guides
What’s on
Where to go
See all

New Year’s Eve in the North

Creative Tourist

New Year’s Eve, the year’s biggest night out, is drawing closer, and the pressure is mounting to get those tickets sorted. Cue the dreaded annual question: where are you ringing in midnight?

From underground club nights to sky-high dinners, Manchester offers countless ways to celebrate – whether you’re after low-key atmosphere or all-out spectacle.

We’ve rounded up some of the city’s best options for seeing out 2025 in style – from wallet-friendly parties to some truly lavish experiences. However you plan to spend it, these are the nights worth staying up for.

Our top picks

New Year’s Eve Party at Albert’s Schloss

New Year's Eve Party at Albert’s Schloss, Manchester, 31 December 2025, From £54.00 - Book now

Manchester’s Alpine bier palace is rewinding the clock to the turn of the century for New Year’s Eve. Think leather jackets, skinny jeans and indie and pop anthems from everyone from Blur to Britney.

Find out more
Albert's Schloss
Albert's Schloss

New Year’s Eve at 20 Stories

New Year's Eve at 20 Stories, Manchester, 31 December 2025, From £75.00 - Book now

If you’re going to see out the year somewhere dramatic, you may as well do it 19 (yes, perplexingly 19) floors up. Manchester’s high-altitude restaurant and bar’s serving up dinner, drinks and DJs as the clock counts down to 2026.

Find out more
20 Stories by Ian Jones.
20 Stories by Ian Jones.

Raver Tots New Year’s Eve Party at Freight Island

Raver Tots New Year's Eve Party at Freight Island, Manchester, 31 December 2025, From £15 - Book now

Partying with the kids this New Year’s Eve? Check out Raver Tots, a family rave soundtracked by house, garage and drum and bass, only with face-painting and juice boxes on hand.

Find out more
Raver Tots at Escape to Freight Island

Seasonal Guides

An illustration people shopping at The Hepworth Wakefield Festive Market
Christmas Shopping in the North

Back away from the high street and support some of Manchester’s best independent makers, sellers and curators this Christmas.
Visit Blackpool.
Christmas Markets in the North

Makers, bakers and curators will be out in force this festive season as the North’s best Christmas Markets whirr into action.
Tilly and the bear
Christmas Theatre and Concerts

As the big day approaches, you can count on theatres and concert halls across the North to pull out all the festive stops.
Creepy capers across Manchester and the North for little and big ghosts with the most.
Halloween in Manchester and the North

As Halloween approaches read our guide to the creepy capers happening for little and big ghosts with the most.
Black History Month in Manchester and the North

Discover the North West’s best Black History Month events, including exhibitions, theatre and dance.
Champagne flute swirling in front of a Christmas tree.
Christmas in the North

If you’re looking for alternative or interesting things to do over Christmas in Manchester and the North, look no further.
Helen Chadwick posing with a sculpture called Piss Flowers taken during the exhibition Helen Chadwick: Effluvia, held at the Serpentine Gallery, London, in 1994
Cultural Calendar 2025

Our editors’ biannually updated list of some of the best-looking arts and cultural events in Manchester and the North in 2025.

Destinations

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

Culture Guides

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre in the North

Picks this month include bold visual art, wondrous opera and cinematic dance - plus a touch of ghostly storytelling for the Halloween season.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

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...

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

It's busy month across the cinemas of the north as Halloween programming leads into two of the region's biggest film festivals.

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.