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.
Every Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
Free entry
esea contemporary presents the first UK institutional solo show by Slavs and Tatars with ‘The Contest of the Fruits’.
Free entry
Join in the celebration of creative communities in the heart of Manchester with MCDC’s new exhibition ‘Connecting Spaces’.
Free entry
Smart, sharp and seriously funny, Creatures Comedy Festival brings stand-up stars, rising talent and Edinburgh previews to Manchester this July.
From £6.00
An insanely committed seven-nights-a-week, Creatures of the Night Comedy Club opens its doors (20.30-22.30 typically, though please check) for evening after evening of side-splitting comedy.
From £5.00
Join Barry Clark at the Portico Library for a mindful day of book binding, meeting new people and sharing a heritage craft.
From £80.00
‘The Songs The Morning Sang’ is the result of a creative collaboration between poet Ian McMillan and photographer Andrew Brooks.
Free entry
Manchester International Festival 2025 kicks off with an awe-inspiring outdoor spectacle as THE HERDS take to the streets of Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan.
Free entry
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.
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.
Saan1 is an independent art space in Manchester’s NQ
Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.
From environmental to experimental, our poetry and prose picks from around the North are focused on the unusual and the fun.
Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.
Shape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.
Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.
This month's guide is truly eclectic - from free family festivals, to food events, circus school and more!
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.
Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.
