Manchester

Best things to do in Manchester

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   1. Old Trafford

   • A few hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Adults

   Home ground of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,158 it is the biggest club football stadium in the UK and the eleventh biggest in Europe.

   Stadium tours and match tickets are sold by the club; check what is on offer on the official site.

   30,690 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Old Trafford
   • Manchester United, visit Old Trafford

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   2. The Peak District

   • A full day
   • No booking needed
   • Active
   • Families

   An upland area at the southern end of the Pennines, split into the gritstone moorland of the Dark Peak and the limestone valleys of the White Peak. Most of it lies within the Peak District National Park, created in 1951.

   Mostly open countryside; check transport and weather for the part you plan to visit.

   10,007 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Peak District

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   3. Manchester Cathedral

   • About an hour
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   The Anglican cathedral and city parish church, on Victoria Street in the city centre. It is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Bishop of Manchester.

   Check opening times and any ticket needs on the official site before you go.

   3,007 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Manchester Cathedral

4. 

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   4. Manchester Town Hall

   • 30 minutes outside, longer inside
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • No car needed

   A Victorian neo-Gothic building facing Albert Square, the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council. The Manchester Cenotaph stands at its southern entrance.

   Public access inside can vary; check with the council before planning a visit.

   2,751 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Manchester Town Hall

5. 

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   5. John Rylands Library

   • About an hour
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   A late Victorian neo-Gothic library on Deansgate, opened to the public in 1900 and now part of the University of Manchester. It holds most of the university's Special Collections.

   Check opening times and any ticket needs on the official site before you go.

   2,098 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, John Rylands Research Institute and Library
   • University of Manchester Library, John Rylands Library

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   6. Heaton Park

   • Half a day
   • No booking needed
   • Families
   • Active

   A public park of over 600 acres in north Manchester, one of the largest municipal parks in Europe. It surrounds Heaton Hall, an 18th-century neoclassical house that is open only on occasional days.

   The hall is open only occasionally, so check dates if you want to go inside.

   2,048 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Heaton Park

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   7. People's History Museum

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Rainy day
   • No car needed

   The UK's national museum of the history of working people, in a former hydraulic pumping station on Bridge Street. It collects and studies material on democracy and working-class life.

   Check opening times and any ticket needs on the official site before you go.

   1,938 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, People's History Museum
   • People's History Museum

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   8. Quarry Bank Mill

   • Half a day
   • Check entry rules before you go
   • Families
   • Rainy day

   A cotton mill at Styal in Cheshire, built in 1784 and among the best preserved textile factories of the Industrial Revolution. It is Grade II* listed.

   Check ticket and timed-entry rules with the operator before you travel.

   1,739 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Quarry Bank Mill

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   9. Castlefield

   • 1 to 2 hours
   • No booking needed
   • No car needed
   • Couples

   An inner-city conservation area on the site of the Roman fort of Mamucium. It was the end of the Bridgewater Canal (1764) and of the world's first passenger railway (1830).

   An open urban area you can walk around; individual venues set their own hours.

   1,474 readers a month

   Sources

   • Wikipedia, Castlefield

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    10. The Lowry

    • 1 to 2 hours
    • Check entry rules before you go
    • Rainy day
    • No car needed

    A theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, named after the painter L. S. Lowry and opened in 2000. It sits opposite the MediaCityUK development.

    Check opening times and any ticket needs on the official site before you go.

    1,423 readers a month

    Sources

    • Wikipedia, The Lowry

Just missed the list: National Football Museum (11th by readers; England's national football museum, in the city centre); Imperial War Museum North (12th by readers; a branch of the Imperial War Museum at Trafford Wharf)