Cafe Rylands John Rylands Library
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Cafe Rylands John Rylands Library

The cafe at John Rylands Library is now permanently closed.
The cafe at John Rylands Library is now permanently closed.
Explore the ways in which Manchester helped shape and reinforce the ideas of the fathers of communism, Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx.
From £20.00Every Wednesday at Ape & Apple, Manchester’s official underground comedy club, Comedy Balloon’s friendly and warm comedy night takes place.
Free entryExplore Manchester’s creepiest corners this Halloween, when Jonathan Schofield Tours will reveal the city’s ghosts with the most.
From £25.00On the eve of Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, join Jonathan Schofield Tours for a stroll around the sites (and sights) of Manchester’s literary past.
From £20.00A high-octane and vibrant new musical comedy dances into Manchester for its UK premiere later this year.
From £15.00Manchester Psych Fest, the UK’s trailblazing psychedelic music and arts festival has announced a massive bill for its 2025 edition.
From £44.80You can get the behind the bar and mix with the best of them in a cocktail making masterclass from The Botanist on Deansgate.
From £39.95Happening as part of MIF25, Liberation is a bold new play inspired by real events in Black British history, bringing politics, power, and personal struggles to life on stage.
From £20.00This red sandstone neo-Gothic building was created on a grand Mancunian scale and houses a collection of rare books that spans five millennia – including an original Gutenberg Bible.
The John Rylands Library shop offers an eclectic welcome, with a wide range of products on sale, inspired by the library’s own collections.
Gusto Manchester is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1920s décor and an extensive menu.
Authentic tapas served up at this high-end Spinningfields eatery.
Sexy Fish Manchester is fun, flashy and laser-focused on serving the city’s best food and drink.
Tokyo meets Manchester in a series of awe-inspiring dishes and drinks at KAJI.
Stow is a new fire-based restaurant on Bridge Street in Manchester, from the team behind Trof.
The second Manchester site for this acclaimed (and affordable) six-course fine dining restaurant.
Manchester branch of the London burger restaurant.
YOTEL Manchester is a luxury hotel in the very heart of Manchester.
Sharp coffee house on Manchester’s Deansgate which switches into a cocktail bar in the evening.
Commercial space for hire being used for an event
Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.
From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.
Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.
With these lighter, brighter days and warmer temperatures, it's really starting to feel like summer here in the North West!
Books, beer and burlesque. Dive into a glorious tangle of joyful happenings.
The sun is shining in the North, so use our guide to get out there and eat, drink and be merry in it.
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.
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.