This is a small-ish music venue that packs a live music punch. With a maximum capacity of 550 and live indie gigs laid on most nights (as well as decent club nights), the Ruby Lounge is the place to head for if you like it loud and possibly a little sweaty – rock out.
Marcos Kueh explores labour diasporas and Manchester’s industrial history at his first institutional solo show.
Free entry
Create stunning pottery, jewellery, sketches, watercolours and more with the vast array of craft workshops at MCDC.
From £45.00
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
Join the Portico Library for a mindful days of workshops and intriguing evenings of talks with artists, curators and researchers.
From £80.00
Explore the fascinating history of Brutalism in Manchester, while also exploring the movement’s wider intentions and ideals.
From £20.00
Fusing West African funk and disco with modern post-punk and electro, Ibibio Sound Machine inject some much-needed energy into January.
From £29
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
After a sold-out night earlier this year, Me Gusta Collective is back at Band on the Wall for the big one: New Year’s Eve.
From £10
63 Degrees is brings French cuisine to Manchester’s Northern Quarter; the Parisian Moreau family who run it pride themselves on cooking with fresh ingredients.
A creative space in Manchester’s Northern Quarter with dance studios.
Ginger’s Comfort Emporium comes to Manchester’s Afflecks
Salvi’s Northern Quarter is the latest addition to the much-loved Salvi’s family, a series of family-run, independent Neapolitan restaurants and delis.
Chinese inspired British food in the centre of Manchester, backed up by plenty of well-deserved local hype.
Manchester Buddhist Centre welcomes everyone and anyone into their multipurpose haven of calm in the Northern Quarter.
Backstreet Italian restaurant on Turner Street in the Northern Quarter with a strong Sicilian influence.
Alcohol-free bar and cafe in the heart of Northern Quarter. Serving mocktails, 0% beer and all your alcohol free favourites.
Named after Manchester’s one time publisher, radical and mayor Abel Heywood, this Hynes-owned pub and hotel is somewhat more conventionally polished than its namesake.
With 240 shops under one roof, the Arndale is one of the UK’s biggest shopping centres.
Wacky pizza parlour in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
The northern quarter’s Frog Flowers is part florists, part artist’s studio – and is one Manchester shop that ticks all the boutique boxes.
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.
