MANCHESTER Left: Cocktails at Hawksmoor
UNITED KINGDOM
Manchester LONDON
National Football Museum
Manchester Craft and Design Centre
John Rylands Library
Science and Industry Museum
MANCHE S TER 500 yards Ancoats
Northern Quarter
Higher Ground
4PM DISCOVER FOOTBALL HERITAGE Walk north up Deansgate for 10 minutes or so and you’ll meet the honey-stoned gothic frontage of Manchester Cathedral, well worth a look inside for its beautifully carved medieval woodwork. Then head next door to learn more about Manchester’s greatest love: football. It can be tricky for visitors to get tickets for Manchester United or Manchester City matches, so try the modern National Football Museum instead. It harbours the world’s largest public collection of football artefacts, including shirts, trophies and historical documents.
manchestercathedral.org nationalfootballmuseum.com
6PM GO ON A STREET ART TOUR Get to know the bohemian Northern Quarter by embarking on a tour of its street art, some of which changes periodically but much of which has become an iconic and unchanging feature of Manchester’s urban landscape. Highlights include a mural of a blue tit on the corner of Newton Street; a wall on Church Street depicting two goddesses; and a famous portrait on Stevenson Square depicting Ste Wing, a Mancunian stylist. If the weather’s good, have an outdoor drink at one of the bars on pedestrianised Thomas Street, which is itself covered in a rotating selection of murals.
northernquartermanchester.com
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
8PM CATCH SOME COMEDY On Great Ancoats Street, the northern frontier of the Northern Quarter, lies Frog and Bucket, Manchester’s most famous comedy club. The likes of Johnny Vegas and Peter Kay cut their teeth on the stage here, and it continues to attract established touring acts. Often the most special nights, though, are the Beat the Frog open mic sessions, where you might just be lucky enough to catch the next big thing. A few doors down is legendary music venue Band on the Wall, where there’s always something worth seeing, from northern soul DJs to reggae groups.
frogandbucket.com
bandonthewall.org
10PM HAVE DINNER AND DRINKS IN ANCOATS Next to Band on the Wall is Mackie Mayor, a 19th-century market hall full of food vendors and bars. Stop for a drink and some food at whichever venue catches your eye, then wander the neighbourhood of Ancoats, where Victorian cotton mills and warehouses have been repurposed as bars and restaurants. Stop for a cocktail at the elegant bar and restaurant Jane Eyre, then wander over to current cool spot New Islington Marina, a redeveloped canal-side area. Pull up a counter seat at Scandi-style bar Flawd and have a glass of natural wine overlooking the barges on the canal.
thejaneeyre.co.uk flawdwine.co
GETTING THERE & AROUND Manchester is well connected to other major UK cities by train and bus. Trains run to Manchester Piccadilly from London Euston (2h 15m; from £77 return), Edinburgh (3h 15m; from £40 return) and Birmingham (1h 40m; from £46 return). Buses (operated by Megabus and National Express) ply the same routes, and more, at much cheaper prices, but take a lot longer.
nationalrail.co.uk uk.megabus.com
nationalexpress.com The city centre is fairly compact and easy to explore on foot. Greater Manchester is well served by the efficient tram network, the Metrolink, as well as numerous buses.
tfgm.com
WHEN TO GO Manchester is known for its dreary weather, although it only ranked 15th in a poll of the UK’s wettest cities by rainfall volume. Light drizzle is a near- inevitability year-round, though, so make sure you pack a parka. Summer can be nice enough, with some sunny days and average highs of 20C in July and August, while winters are relatively mild, with average highs of 7C in January. Layer up, and be sure to bring something waterproof for when the rain comes.
WHERE TO STAY Dakota, Northern Quarter. Doubles from £171, B&B.
dakotahotels.co.uk Cow Hollow, Northern Quarter. Doubles from £99, room only.
cowhollow.co.uk Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, Oxford Road. Doubles from £103, B&B.
kimptonclocktowerhotel.com
MORE INFO
visitmanchester.com Rough Guide to England. £18.99
Deansgate
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ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
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