Now a conference and events venue, the Grade II-listed Mechanics’ Institute was the birth place of the TUC in 1868.
It was also the birthplace of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (Umist) and the Cooperative Insurance Society.
Get involved in this artistic and ambitious takeover of PINK’s three-storey venue, weaving together live performance, video, sculpture and sound.
Free entry
Whether you’re a high-fashion fanatic or just couture curious, Unpicking Couture gets up close and personal with pivotal moments in fashion history.
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
Manchester’s young people created a time capsule to capture the essence of their world today: on display now, to be reopened in 100 years.
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
The fifth Festival Of Libraries is a five-day multi-venue celebration of Greater Manchester’s libraries happening 4 to 8 June.
Free entry
Hop on your bike for this guided cycling tour, exploring fascinating corners of Manchester you may never have seen before.
From £25.00
Mark the final day of Festival of Libraries 2025 with a super fun family day!
Free entry
Everything you want in a Canal Street club can be found here. Cruz 101 – better known as Cruz – is an institution, and a must-visit in Manchester.
The formerly known Hotel Brooklyn reopens as voco, a brand new and gloriously stylish hotel on Manchester’s Portland Street.
A cult tv and movie themed bar set below street level on Portland Street in Manchester.
Smack bang in the centre of Manchester’s Canal Street, colourful club on the corner, G-A-Y, is popular with a youngish crowd looking for pop tunes, cheap drinks and a lively atmosphere. And there’s a rooftop terrace for the smokers.
This multifaceted venue is primarily an award winning gay bar in Manchester’s Canal Street area – but that is not all…
This award winning bar is open six nights a week due to popular demand. Described as the ‘mecca of the north’ for the lesbian community, it is no wonder why.
Passionately adored by many Mancunian foodies (and the first Manchester restaurant in ages not to get a slating from notoriously picky Observer food critic Jay Rayner), this Szechuan restaurant rules the culinary roost from an unprepossessing basement on Portland Street.
Winsome delivers modern British food, cooked beautifully by chef-owner Shaun Moffat and his team.
Glass House is the place to go for floral themed workshops, with expert and innovative florists in an idyllic building.
This residency restaurant opened in summer 2019, at Locke Hotels’ Whitworth Locke. The first residency comes courtesy of Mexican specialists El Camino.
Peru Perdu has an all-new food and drink menu, with some of the best-looking dishes in the city.
Sackville Park is a lovely green space in Manchester city centre, home to the Alan Turing Memorial.
Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss (unless you’re paying attention).
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.
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
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.
