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Manchester Academy

Creative Tourist
Manchester Academy music venue on Oxford Road Manchester.
Mike Peel

The Manchester Academy is a mid size, modern warehouse venue adjacent to the University of Manchester Students’ Union. It lacks any architectural merit and has always been a difficult place to get a drink but from the perspective of just seeing a band it meets the requirements. On the plus side, it’s on the doorstep of Big Hands, ideal for pre and post show drinks.

While once one of the busiest venues in town, the opening of Albert Hall and the conversion of the Ritz into a full on touring venue, has seen it lose a lot of the bookings it used to receive.

Oxford RoadManchesterM13 9PR View map
Telephone: 0161 832 1111 Visit now

What's on near Manchester Academy

Roy McFarlane
LiteratureManchester
Roy Macfarlane at Manchester Poetry Library

As part of the Poetry Reading Series at Manchester Poetry Library, Canal Laureate Roy Macfarlane will be in conversation with the series curator and award-winning poet Helen Mort.

Free entry
Saba Sams and Eley Williams
LiteratureManchester
Saba Sams and Eley Williams at Blackwells

Blackwells Bookshop is partnering with the University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing to welcome multi-award-winning authors Saba Sams and Eley Williams to the city.

From £4.00
Wolf in Yellowstone
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Wild at Manchester Museum

Manchester Museum explores the concept of ‘wild’ nature as a means of tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis in a new exhibition.

Free entry
See all events

Where to go near Manchester Academy

Whitworth Park, Manchester
Manchester
Park
Whitworth Park

This 18-acre park opposite the Manchester Royal Infirmary provides a welcome patch of green in an otherwise densely populated and heavily used part of the city.

Manchester
Music venue
Manchester Academy 3

Brilliant venue for catching a touring band on the rise. The boringly titled Academy 3 or more interesting Hop and Grape, as it was once known, is a self contained…

Cafe at the Museum
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
The Cafe
at the Museum

Manchester Museum’s cafe is run by the people behind award-winning cafe Teacup Kitchen. The menu features home-baked cakes, the finest loose leaf teas and breakfast, as well as a wide selection of mains and meals for kids.

Manchester
Shop
Want Not Waste

Want Not Waste is a student-run, not-for-profit zero waste shop operating out of Academy 1 at the University of Manchester Students’ Union.

Universally Manchester Festival 6-9 June 2024
Manchester
The University of Manchester

Celebrating its 200th year in 2024, The University of Manchester is the largest single-site university in the UK, and boasts come incredible cultural institutions, found on campus, across Manchester and…

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Big Hands

Big Hands is the one-time haunt of legendary Manchester band Elbow; it’s shabby, loud and dark, with a jukebox and excellent roof terrace.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Kro Bar

Kro Bar, Manchester is an independent pub and music venue housed (somewhat ironically) in the former Temperance Society building.

See all places

Manchester District Guides

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Ancoats & New Islington

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Things to Do in Altrincham

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Salford museum and art gallery exterior
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Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.
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Chinatown, Manchester

Chinatown is a network of back streets dotted with Chinese restaurants – go to Ho’s Bakery for perfect honey buns, Hunan for spice and Middle Kingdom for a very affordable menu.
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The Quays is home to MediaCityUK (the largest media hub in Europe) and studios purpose-built for the BBC’s move up North in 2011.
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,…

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

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.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Classical Music in the North

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.