The Best Things to do in Manchester, UK

The 15 Best Things to do in Manchester, UK

Manchester is one of the best city break destinations in the United Kingdom. Located in Lancashire, in northern England, this is a city decked out with industrial history, buoyed by its revolutionary spirit, and fueled by its sporting prowess. 

Step off the train at Manchester Piccadilly Station, and you’ll be immersed in the city’s post-industrial landscapes. Red brick chimneys, a remnant of Manchester’s role in the Industrial Revolution, rise high above the repurposed warehouses and mercantile buildings that line the streets. Take a walking tour to learn more about the city’s working-class history, or join a black cab taxi tour to explore Manchester in style. 

From the People’s History Museum to the Manchester Museum, museums abound in Manchester. Learn about democracy and archeology, or pop into the National Football Museum to marvel at the legendary footballing memorabilia on display. Sports fans will never be disappointed in Manchester because you’ve got top Premier League football matches to watch at both Manchester United and Manchester City’s stadiums. 

And after a day of sightseeing, head to the Northern Quarter in search of Manchester’s best live music venues. This is the city that gave the world bands like Oasis, the Stone Roses, and Joy Division, and this musical legacy very much lives on.

With so many great things to see and do, you might not know where to begin. That’s why we’ve compiled our list of the absolute best things to do in Manchester for you. Keep to these fun and unique Manchester bucket list recommendations, and there’s no doubt you’ll have an amazing time exploring this wonderful English city!

15 Fun and Unique Things to do in Manchester

1. Start by joining a free walking tour of Manchester

Cool Things to do in Manchester, England: Walking tour of Manchester

A walking tour is one of the best things to do in Manchester, but it’s even better when that walking tour is free! 

Okay, so it’s not entirely “free,” but you can tip your local guide as much or as little as you’d like depending on how much you enjoy the experience, love their guiding style, or how much you learn about the city. 

Free walking tours are always led by local Mancunians, many of whom are knowledgeable history graduates and all of whom know their city inside and out. Tours depart every day at 11 am from the Alan Turing Memorial Statue in Sackville Gardens, and all you need to do is turn up (no booking required!).

The three-hour-long walking tour is a great introduction to the city, as you’ll be taken to many of the city’s major Manchester sightseeing attractions. You’ll visit Manchester Town Hall, stroll past the National Museum of Football, explore Chinatown, enjoy a jaunt along the Rochdale Canal, and much more.

At the same time, you’ll learn all about the people who made Manchester the city it is today. You’ll hear about the humble origins of the city, its population explosion during the Industrial Revolution, and what the future holds for England’s northern powerhouse. 

Book your Manchester Private Tour


2. Explore Manchester in the back of a black cab taxi

Fun Things to do in Manchester, England: Black Cab Taxi

If you prefer to be chauffeured around your destination, then don’t fear because Manchester is home to a seriously unique tour opportunity. 

For 30 years, local Mancunian John Consterdine worked as a taxi driver in the city, driving locals and travelers alike to their destinations. Then he decided to turn his passion for guiding into a business, as he started the one-of-a-kind “Manchester Taxi Tour.”

Easily one of the most unique things to do in Manchester, you’ll be picked up in one of the tour company’s signature black cabs (all are electric and wheelchair accessible) before embarking on a bespoke, two, three, or four-hour tour of Manchester. No two journeys are ever the same, and your trip can be tailored to include any of the Manchester attractions you’ve been waiting to see.

You’ll have detailed commentary from your driver, who’ll explain the history, culture, and local politics as you explore the city in comfort. You can even pick one of the tour company’s specialty tours, including a Manchester United-themed tour of the city or afternoon tea in the back of the black cab!


3. Love the ‘Beautiful Game’ with a visit to the National Football Museum

Manchester, England Things to do: National Football Museum

A trip to the National Football Museum is one of the top things to do in Manchester. The city is famous for its football history, and sports fans will love delving into the museum’s unique collection of football memorabilia!

The National Football Museum first opened in Manchester in 2012, after moving to the city from the nearby northern city of Preston, where it was founded in 2001. Manchester, home to Manchester United and Manchester City (two of football’s most successful teams), was the perfect home ground for a national museum dedicated to the “Beautiful Game.”

The museum is overseen by footballing legends like Sir Alex Ferguson (former manager of Manchester United) and Sir Bobby Charlton (a World Cup-winning player), so you know the exhibitions are in safe hands. Inside the National Football Museum, you’ll find thousands of exhibits charting the course of the sport’s often dramatic professional development from the 19th century onwards.

The list of notable items you’ll find on display includes Brazilian football hero Pele’s passport, the shirt worn by Sir Geoff Hurst in England’s 1966 World Cup final game against West Germany, and the football boots worn by Northern Ireland international and Manchester United player George Best. The National Football Museum hosts a multitude of events and temporary exhibitions, too, including World Cup displays, football debates (who’s the best player of all time?), and regular free tours with footballing historians. 

Get your Football Museum Admission Ticket


4. Watch a Premier League match in Manchester

Best Things to do in Manchester, England: Premier League match in Manchester

Watching a Premier League match is one of the most fun things to do in Manchester, England. Even if you don’t follow football, then you’ll likely know that the city is home to two of the most successful and well-supported teams in the world: Manchester United and Manchester City.

The rivalry is fierce between these two top teams, who both play in the Premier League (the top tier of English football) and regularly compete on the European stage for titles and glory. The best players in the world aspire to play for either of the Manchester-based teams, so any game you see here in the city is guaranteed to be top quality.

Manchester United play their games at Old Trafford, a classic football ground where countless trophies have been won. Getting tickets will be difficult, but you can always take a guided tour of the stadium and the Manchester United Museum to learn more about the club. 

The same can be said for Manchester City, who play their home games in the new Etihad Stadium. Matchday tickets will be hard to find, but you can still take a stadium tour and visit the Manchester City FC Museum to find out about the city’s fierce football rivalry. 

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5. Learn how ideas change the world at the Science and Industry Museum

Must do things in Manchester, England: Science and Industry Museum

One of the best things to see in Manchester is the Science and Industry Museum, a fun and fascinating museum that shows how ideas can change the world. 

This inspirational museum charts the sometimes steady and oftentimes abrupt pace of change that’s shaken Manchester over the last 250 years. The museum starts by exploring the origins of the Industrial Revolution before delving into the multitude of scientific and industrial advances that have been developed in Manchester since. 

The museum portrays this history through wide-ranging exhibits, many of which offer hands-on opportunities to delve into science and machinery. In the Textiles Gallery, for example, you’ll learn how new technologies allowed Manchester to become the center of a cotton weaving industry in the Victorian era, while in the Power of Music section, you can try out the instruments that made Manchester a musical powerhouse in the modern era.

The museum itself is located in historic surroundings. You’ll find it inside the old Grade I listed Liverpool Road Station, a Victorian-built railway station that connected Manchester’s industries to the rest of the country and the rest of the world. The museum hosts a packed calendar of events, including the popular Manchester Science Festival, which aims to promote the city’s scientific heritage to both locals and visitors alike.


6. Step back in time with a visit to the Manchester Museum

What to do in Manchester, England: Manchester Museum

One of the most popular Manchester attractions is the Manchester Museum, which has just undergone a multi-million pound, multi-year renovation that’s slated to bring this Mancunian institution flying into the 21st century.

The Manchester Museum first opened in 1867, and its collection has since grown into the millions. Rather uniquely, it’s the largest university-run museum anywhere in the world, which is more than appropriate for a city that prides itself on putting its people’s education first.

The museum was intended to emulate the wonders of the Natural History Museum in London (the same architect designed both), and it quickly became home to Manchester University’s ever-expanding collection of fossils and ancient relics collected from across the world. 

In the Ancient Worlds section, you can see Egyptian and Sudanese mummies preserved in the flesh. In the Living Worlds gallery, you can explore the human relationship with our planet, while in the Living Cultures exhibition, you can delve into anthropology. There are dinosaur skeletons, ancient corals, mollusks, and birds, and an exciting trove of other exhibits awaiting you in the Manchester Museum. 

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7. Enjoy Mancunian art and culture at The Lowry

Best Things to do in Manchester, England: The Lowry

You’ll find The Lowry in the Salford Quays area, overlooking a repurposed and redefined area of Manchester that’s become a symbol of the city’s contemporary status as a cultural hub. Opened in 2000, The Lowry is an art gallery and theater complex that showcases the city’s most exciting cultural talents, past and present.

The Lowry is named for Lancashire painter L. S. Lowry, who was famed for creating visually striking scenes of industrial life in the 19th and 20th centuries. His “working class” paintings portray the industrial world in unique detail, and many are now on display at the permanent Lowry Exhibition.

Manchester, England Things to do: The Lowry

The center also hosts other art exhibitions and a packed calendar of theater performances throughout the year, making this one of the best places to visit in Manchester. 


8. Learn all about democracy at the People’s History Museum

Best Things to do in Manchester, England: People’s History Museum

During the 19th century, Manchester’s working-class population boomed. But despite providing the labor for Britain’s Industrial Revolution, the working class found they had to fight for their right to vote (it wasn’t until 1918 that all men aged 21 or older were allowed to vote, and women weren’t allowed to vote until 1928!).

Manchester was always a center for working-class activism in the United Kingdom, and the city is now proud to host the People’s History Museum, which is also known as The National Museum of Democracy. Step inside, and you’ll find thousands of democracy-related objects on display (there are 60,000 in the entire collection), telling the story of the development of democracy across Britain and what the future holds for this unique form of government. 

The museum focuses on sharing the stories of activists and revolutionaries who fought for the rights that we so often take for granted. There are trade union banners carried during marches, political posters stickered across the city during elections, and the personal items of many leading politicians who stuck up for Mancunian workers’ rights.  


9. Cruise along the Manchester Ship Canal and the River Irwell

Cool Things to do in Manchester, England: Manchester Ship Canal and the River Irwell

Manchester is built along the River Irwell, a waterway that flows toward the Irish Sea some 30 miles away from the city. 

During the Industrial Revolution, the River Irwell cemented Manchester’s place in history by enabling the flow of goods from the city to ports in Liverpool, where they were shipped across the globe. The waterway was altered forever, too, when large stretches were transformed into the Manchester Ship Canal.

Today, there’s little in the way of industrial traffic along the River Irwell, but there are sightseeing tours. Cruises regularly depart from the revitalized Salford Quays, providing tourists with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the city’s waterside skyline from a unique angle. The classic cruising option is just under an hour long and takes you past the most important sights along the River Irwell and among the Salford Quays.

Intrepid travelers might wish to join the much longer “Ellesmere Port Expedition” in the summer months. This 4.5-hour-long journey takes you from Salford Quays and along the entire length of the Manchester Ship Canal to Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey, where you can then visit the National Waterways Museum.

Experience a Manchester City Center Canal Cruise


10. Delve into Britain’s military history at the Imperial War Museum North

Manchester, England Bucket List: Imperial War Museum North

A trip to the Imperial War Museum North is one of the most fascinating things to do in Manchester. This unique museum is the northern branch of the Imperial War Museum, a national museum that aims to preserve military history across the United Kingdom. 

The Imperial War Museum North has hundreds of thousands of military history objects within its collection, and you can spend hours just browsing through weapons, uniforms, vehicles, and photographs focused on 20th-century history. You start by exploring the timeline of the First World War (1914-1918) before learning about the many conflicts Britain has been involved in up to the present day.

But the goal of the museum isn’t simply to regurgitate historical facts and figures. The Imperial War Museum North is so interesting because the exhibitions tell the real-life stories of locals who fought in the wars, with tales of the First World War being particularly moving. The museum also has a temporary exhibition showcasing the war in Ukraine and highlighting the stories of those fighting in the conflict.

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11. Take a stroll through Chinatown

Cool Things to do in Manchester, England: Chinatown

Did you know that Manchester is home to the second-largest Chinatown in the United Kingdom? You’ll soon realize that Manchester’s diversity is staggering, and there’s no better way to discover more than by taking a stroll through Chinatown. 

Start at Faulkner Street, where a traditional Chinese archway (built in 1987) marks the unmistakable entrance to this colorful part of Manchester. The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Manchester at the start of the 20th century, and immigration continued for decades while Hong Kong remained a British colony.

Today, Chinatown is packed with authentic Chinese restaurants and shops selling Chinese food, produce, and specialties, while the area hosts one of the best Chinese New Year celebrations in the country. If you’re looking for fun things to do in Manchester, Chinatown is always a good idea.


12. Escape the city by exploring the RHS Bridgewater Gardens

Unique Things to do in Manchester, England: RHS Bridgewater Gardens

One of the best sights in Manchester is the RHS Bridgewater Gardens, where you’ll find beautifully landscaped public gardens in a majestic setting. 

The gardens are meticulously cared for by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society), and given their location on the edge of the city, they make for a great escape from the industrial scenery of Manchester.

The gardens are on the site of the Duke of Bridgewater’s 16th-century estate. The RHS recently transformed the dilapidated estate into a modern garden, utilizing the area’s history and the existing flora, but embellishing them through contemporary conservation and restoration techniques to create a unique mix of the horticultural old and new.

Get your RHS Garden Bridgewater Entry Ticket


13. Embrace diversity at Manchester Pride Festival

What to do in Manchester, England: Manchester Pride Festival

Manchester has always been known for its forward-thinking views, and the city embraces its LQBTQ+ history and contemporary culture by hosting one of the world’s largest Pride Festivals every year.

Manchester Pride Festival has taken place since the 1980s. It started as a form of protest in Manchester’s “Gay Village,” a vibrant city center district that’s the focus of the LGBTQ+ community, and has since grown to encompass three days of music, parades, and educational events every August. 

The highlight of the event is, of course, the carnival, when Mancunians come out in force to celebrate the diversity of their city’s community. There’s a moving tribute at the Alan Turing Memorial Statue (Alan Turning, the famed mathematician, was prosecuted for being gay in the 1950s), a Candlelit Vigil is held in honor of those members of the community who’ve suffered from discrimination, and then in the evenings, the party-goers emerge and take over the bars.


14. Join the festivities at Manchester’s Christmas Market

Unique Things to do in Manchester, England: Manchester Christmas Market

Manchester loves throwing festive parties throughout the Christmas season. Starting in November, over 200 different market stalls and pop-up shops take over the city center, where revelers drink mulled wine in the street while listening to impromptu carol singers!

Manchester’s Christmas Market has been running since 1998, and they’ve taken inspiration from the German-style Christmas markets that are so popular in Europe. The main event takes place at Piccadilly Gardens, which are transformed into the “Winter Gardens” for the holidays.

You can take part in the holiday season fun by tracing the Manchester Christmas Lights Trail through the city, as festive lighting keeps the darkness at bay during winter. There are Christmas trees and light shows, and in Cathedral Gardens, you’ll even find a pop-up ice skating rink. 


15. Brave a wild night out in the Northern Quarter

Manchester is one of the UK’s most vibrant cities, and if you love a good night out on the town, then you won’t be disappointed by a visit to the Northern Quarter.

The Northern Quarter is well known for its bars, late-night clubs, and fantastic music venues. The area offers a real mix of traditional English pubs alongside quirky speakeasy-style cocktail bars, retro gaming bars (where you can play old-school video games), and fun drinking venues packed with ping pong and snooker tables.

Many of the pubs and bars also host live music events throughout the week. A few local favorites, where you can catch everything from jazz to rock, include the Band on the Wall, Matt & Phreds, and Night and Day Cafe

The Northern Quarter is also home to great cafes and restaurants –  including Liquor and Burn, Street Urchin, and TNQ: The Northern Quarter Restaurant & Bar – where you can fuel up in the day for your sightseeing tours or prepare yourself in the afternoon and evenings for a wild night out in Manchester!

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There you have it! The 15 best things to do in Manchester. What’s your favorite thing to do in Manchester?


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About the Author:

  • Richard Collett

    Richard is an award-winning travel writer based in Southwest England who’s addicted to traveling off the beaten track. He’s traveled to 75 countries and counting in search of intriguing stories, unusual destinations, and cultural curiosities.

    Richard loves traveling the long way round over land and sea, and you’ll find him visiting quirky micronations and breakaway territories as often as he’s found lounging on a beach (which is a lot).

    When he’s not writing for BBC Travel, National Geographic, or Lonely Planet, you can find Richard writing for the Wandering Wheatleys or updating his off-beat travel blog, Travel Tramp.

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