The Manchester Christmas Markets are back for 2025, with many dozens of stalls in front of the town hall, and hundreds of traders spread across city-centre squares.
Free entry
Join Joe Feeley a Mancunian through and through, who guides you into Manchester’s two pillars of cultural excellence with his Rock and Goal tour.
From £9.99
Join the Portico Library for a mindful days of workshops and intriguing evenings of talks with artists, curators and researchers.
From £80.00
This walking tour explores the neighbourhood’s streets, stories and hidden corners, offering a closer look at the places and people that have made Manchester.
From £12.00
Take a deeper look into Manchester Art Gallery’s collection with their regular, informative and fascinating gallery tours.
Free entry
Manchester Art Gallery presents: ‘Holly Graham: The Warp / The Weft / The Wake’, a show that takes a closer look at the the exploitative legacy of the cotton industry.
Free entry
Visit key locations associated with a moment that helped shape the future of the nation, tracing the footsteps of those who stood for change.
From £20.00
Create stunning pottery, jewellery, sketches, watercolours and more with the vast array of craft workshops at MCDC.
From £45.00
The excellent Kong’s Chicken Shop is taking over the food side of things at Foundation Coffee House Portland Street for the next few weeks, serving a great range of chicken and vegan dishes.
House of Fu’s slinging knockout bowls of ramen, dishing up late-night karaoke chaos, and generally bringing some much-needed energy to lower Portland Street.
Small but perfectly formed restaurant, specialising in authentic Japanese cuisine.
Good quality midrange hotel smack dab in the centre of Manchester
A budget-friendly hotel in Manchester city centre.
Roby 1844 is a new canalside terrace bar and restaurant based on Aytoun Street in the heart of Manchester.
Piccadilly Gardens is part public transport hub, part public gardens. Think of it as your gateway to Manchester.
Mercure Piccadilly’s in-house restaurant with a varied menu and excellent views over Manchester
Head to Bundobust Manchester for fantastic and endlessly original Indian street food, all vegetarian (and often vegan).
If you’re looking for a boutique experience on a budget, look no further than Malmaison Manchester.
ABode Manchester is a boutique hotel. With a signature restaurant and bar. Conveniently situated Near Piccadilly Station.
Tapas and wine at this friendly, stylish bar, based at Manchester’s Kampus complex.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.
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.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.