Tours and Activities in Manchester and the North

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor

Last Updated 15 June 2021

We’re slowly seeing the streets come alive again with restaurants, cafes and bars full to the brim as well as culture repopulating the city. No longer do we have to wait for a relaxed afternoon spent at an art gallery or a rainy evening watching a film in the cinemas. Among the hustle and bustle of life returning, you may also see the odd tour guide. As restrictions allow, tours are reopening and we can’t wait to get back out there and satisfy our curiosity once more. Read on to find out which tours and activities we’re excited about.

One of the most delicious walking tour experiences you can try is back. Scranchester have returned with not only their classic Eat the City tour, but a new venture into the fast growing culinary destination of Ancoats. We still think that their edible voyage through the city centre is well worth a try. With a cross section of the Manchester’s cuisines and a hearty helping of local history, the tour is a go to favourite for visitors and locals alike.

For those on a budget, Manchester Free Walking tours are back and bringing you even more insight into the workings, history and culture of the city. For a more personal take on Manchester, we highly recommend taking a walk with Invisible Cities guide Laura. Her look into the notable women of Manchester provides a unique perspective on what may seem like familiar landmarks.

Aside from tours, there are still plenty of great online activities to try. Join the Play reading group at Hope Mill Theatre for monthly relaxed sessions where texts will be brought to life via the medium of zoom. Or check out the packed line up of Horizon’s festival at HOME. As part of the festival celebrating artists who’ve adopted Manchester as their home, there is an online workshop discussing the current Immgration System and its creation of a Hostile Environment, which promises to be very educational.

Scroll down to find out more, alongside some other tops picks of tours and activities, and stay well folks.

Here are our picks

1. A Week with PINS from Brighter Sound

Debbie Ellis

A Week with PINS at The Met, Bury, Manchester, 26–30 July 2021, free entry - Find Out More

Brighter Sound are offering young music creators the chance to spend a week learning, creating and making music with PINS.

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2. Eat The City – Scranchester Tours

Scranchester tours

Eat The City - Scranchester Tours, Until 31 December 2021, from £50 - Book now

Satisfy your hunger for knowledge as well as lunch with Scranchester’s food tours of the city centre. You may discover a new favourite hidden gem or learn a bit more about the cultural or historical significance of the food you eat all the time.

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3. Play Reading with Hope Mill Theatre

Hope Mill Theatre

Play Reading with Hope Mill Theatre at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, Until 24 September 2021, free entry - Visit now

Every last Friday of the month, Hope Mill host a (currently online) pay as you feel play reading group facilitated by actor Janelle Thompson.

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4. Invisible cities: Powerful Women of Manchester with Laura

Invisible Cities

Invisible cities: Powerful Women with Laura at Manchester Central Library, Manchester, 20 June–1 August 2021, from £12 - Book now

Join exuberant and charismatic tour guide Laura as she takes you through the history of Manchester’s Powerful women with Invisible Cities.

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5. Daily Manchester Walking Tours

Lee Baxter

Free Manchester Walking Tours, 21 June–30 September 2021, free entry - Find Out More

Free Manchester Walking Tours offer a friendly introduction to the city. Setting off every day at 11am, they’ll help you get into the architecture, art and culture of this diverse microcosm.

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6. Skyliner: Virtual Tours of Manchester

Virtual Tours of Manchester with Skyliner, online, Until 31 July 2021, from £1 - Book now

Whilst walking tours are still limited, join Skyliner for unique and thought provoking video tours, taking you through the modern history of Manchester’s street art.

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7. Elders Mondays with the Royal Exchange

Royal Exchange

Elders Mondays with the Royal Exchange, online, Until 31 August 2021, from £4 - Book now

Feel connected and stay creative with a group of like minded older people with Elders Mondays from the Royal Exchange.

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8. The Manchester Cheese Crawl

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels

The Manchester Cheese Crawl at St Ann’s Square, City Centre, Until 28 August 2021, from £25 - Book now

Eat your way through the dairy based delights of Manchester, with the Manchester Cheese Crawl walking tour.

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9. Botanical Embroidery Workshop at OBJECT

Rebecca Stevens

Botanical Embroidery Workshop at OBJECT, Chorlton, Chorlton, 9 October 2021, from £49.1 - Book now

Join artist Rebecca Stevens for an afternoon of crafting where you’ll make your own botanical embroidery with 3 simple embroidery stitches.

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10. Women and Girls Skate sessions at Projekts

Women and Girls Skate sessions at Projekts at Projekts MCR Skatepark, City Centre, Until 26 August 2021, from £8 - Book now

Join Projekts skate park for exclusively women and girls skating, every Thursday from 7 – 9 pm. Be warned the sessions are very popular so book in advance to avoid disappointment.

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11. Curator’s Tour: Grayson’s Art Club

Manchester Art Gallery

Curator's Tour: Grayson's Art Club, online, Until 30 June 2021, free entry - Visit now

Join Natasha Howes and Fiona Corridan for a curator’s tour of Grayson’s Art Club, with some of the pieces that didn’t make it on T.V.

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12. Zoom Tours: Jonathan Schofield’s New Series

Johnathan Schofield

Johnathan Schofield's Zoom Tours Series, online, Until 24 August 2021, free entry - Visit now

Join expert tour guide Johnathan Schofield as he travels chronologically and geographically through the culture, architecture and geography of Manchester.

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13. Goodtime Games

Goodtime Games

Goodtime Games, 212 Burton Road, West Didsbury, Manchester, M20 2LW - Visit now

Goodtime Games is the latest arrival to Burton Road. Serving up delicious vegan and vegetarian food alongside a plethora of table top fun.

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14. Alliance Française de Manchester

Alliance Française de Manchester, 125 Portland St,, Manchester, M1 4QD - Visit now

Le français, c’est chic! The Alliance Française de Manchester has a large range of online and onsite French courses starting 14 September.

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Activity Until 31 December 2021, FREE

Blackburn Open Walls

Over 3 years, forgotten walls of Blackburn were brought to life with the creation of a vibrant outdoor gallery, by international, national and local artists, who together over 2 weeks, created a collection of large scale murals and art walk trails for the residents and visitors of Blackburn to enjoy.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £18

Pendle Hill Witch Experience Tours

Group tours of Lancashire in the area surrounding Pendle Hill. Through visiting the countryside and villages of Pendle, visitors learn all about the dark deeds and wicked plots surrounding the Pendle Witches in the 1600s.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £80

Discover Buxton Tram Tours

Enjoy a journey through time on Discover Buxton Tour’s unique vintage tram.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £15

Discover Buxton Character Tours

These colourful character guides offer unique and entertaining insights into the history of some of Buxton’s most iconic buildings.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £10

Discover Buxton Walking Tours

Have your history delivered by expert guides whose passion for the heritage of Buxton spills into the unexpected.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £15

Discover Buxton Roman Tours

Join local historian Brian Shepherd for a walk around the town and learn what Buxton may have looked like during Britain’s Roman occupation.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, from £10

Discover Buxton Audio Tours

Discover Buxton’s audio tours of The Peak cover the area around Buxton and are designed to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own vehicle.

doodle den at people's history museum, young girl using thick marker pen to drawer on a glass panel

Activity Until 31 December 2021, FREE

Doodle Den: Playful Protests Online

Pick up a pen and encourage the whole family to explore the art of peaceful protest.

Activity Until 31 December 2021, FREE

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank

Science Learning at Home with Jodrell Bank is a perfect way to keep children (and their adults) busy while learning from home.

Culture Guides

Cinema in Manchester and the North

Curated seasons, brand new releases and some outdoor screenings. Cinema is back.

Laure Prouvost: The long waited, weighted gathering at the Manchester Jewish Museum

Exhibitions

Life is back! From the return of Yorkshire Sculpture International to a major Lucian Freud retrospective, checkout our top picks.

Doodle Den at the People's History Museum

Families

Need some inspiration for online activities and creative family fun? Look no further than our top picks online for families across Manchester and the North.

Literature

There’s plenty on as we head into June, including a county-wide celebration of libraries and some tempting sniffs of upcoming real-life live literature…

Music

We round up the best socially distanced and full-scale gigs coming up in Manchester and the north.

Theatre

We’ve got outdoor performances, summer theatre festivals, gig musicals and much more in our theatre guide this month. Welcome back live performance – we’ve missed you.