Manchester - Overview
Manchester is situated on the river Irwell and is one of the largest cities in the North West of England, with a population of approximately 450,000. It is famous as the birthplace of the industrial revolution and became prosperous during the 19th century on the back of the cotton trade.
The city is a fantastic place to visit, offering a great variety of historical and cultural attractions as well as everything you would expect from a vibrant and modern city. Manchester boasts some fascinating galleries and museums, including the City Art Gallery, the Lowry, the Imperial War Museum North and the Museum of Science and Industry. It is also home to hundreds of restaurants offering over 30 styles of foreign cuisine and is the main shopping centre for the North West.
It’s easy to get around the centre of Manchester on foot and there is also an excellent Metrolink tramway. The city itself consists of a number of neighbourhoods each contributing its own character to the wider identity of the city. Piccadilly Gardens is at the centre of life, well served by all the major bus routes. To the west is the newly named Millennium Quarter, an area that has undergone significant development since the late 90s. The Northern Quarter lies to the north of Piccadilly Gardens and is considered the city's bohemian district. Not far from there is Canal St, the famous Gay Village, and Chinatown.
Castlefield and Deansgate Locks are in the south western corner of the city centre. This is a very trendy district featuring some of the best restaurants in town. Some of the best clubs and bars can be found a little further south around the University of Manchester. Near the Bridgewater Canal to the west, you’ll find the two Old Trafford stadiums. One is home to the world's most famous Manchester United, while the other is a cricket ground used by the Lancashire county team.
In the areas of music and entertainment Manchester excels. With more theatres than any other UK city outside London, two internationally renowned orchestras and a music and club scene of world wide fame, Manchester is the life and soul of the region. From the Halle Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic to Oasis and Simply Red, music is woven into the city’s identity. Every day of the week Manchester’s rich selection of venues from churches and clubs to the majestic new 2,400 seat Bridgewater Hall and huge NYNEX Arena pulsate with sounds to suit every ear.
Manchester offers a wide variety of attractions, museums and galleries, the most popular of which is Europe's unique Granada Studios Tour. Here visitors can take a look behind the scenes of leading television programmes. With 15 galleries situated within stunning Victorian buildings, The Museum of Science and Industry illustrates the city's rich industrial and architectural heritage and includes the world's first railway warehouse and passenger railway station. The City Art Gallery houses the famous Pre-Raphaelite paintings collection and aviation history is on offer in an intricately glazed Victorian market hall while a recreation of Stephenson's Planet sits in contemporary interiors within huge Victorian warehouses.
In addition, Manchester serves as a great base from which to explore the wider area. The 3 National Parks of the Lake District, the Peak District, and Snowdonia National Park are all within an hour drive of the city, as are the seaside towns of the Fylde coast of Lancashire such as Blackpool and Lytham St Annes.