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
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
All instruments, all abilities are welcome to join a band every week at Altogether Otherwise as part of their Singing and Dancing programme.
free entry
Dance a Céilí with Altogether Otherwise as part of their singing and dancing months in May and June.
free entry
Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.
free entry
Delve into the Echos exhibition at Portico Library through the filter of a Folk Life Drawing workshop with HappeningInManchester.
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
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
Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month
The outsiders, the oddities and the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.
Spring is here and the North is buzzing with must-visit new restaurants and bars.
Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.
We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.
Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.
Crocodile-themed Easter egg hunts, sense-sational museum trips and more this Easter!
If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.
