Old Trafford Stadium Tour and Manchester United Museum
A behind-the-scenes tour of Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, with the players’ tunnel, the dressing rooms and pitchside seats, plus the Manchester United Museum and its trophy cabinet.
England (United Kingdom)
Manchester
Manchester is the northern English city that started the Industrial Revolution, gave the world Joy Division, The Smiths and Oasis, and built two of the most famous football clubs on earth.
It is also one of the easiest big cities in Britain to enjoy, with a compact centre of Victorian warehouses, red-brick canals and free museums that sit within a short tram ride of each other. Football fans can walk the tunnel at Old Trafford, tour the Etihad Stadium and explore the National Football Museum, while history lovers head for the Science and Industry Museum on the world’s oldest passenger railway station and the neo-Gothic John Rylands Library. Art and culture are mostly free, from Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth to the Imperial War Museum North and The Lowry on Salford Quays. In the evenings the Northern Quarter fills with record shops, bars and live music, and the food scene runs from Chinatown to the Curry Mile. Beyond the city, the Peak District, Chatsworth House, Chester, Snowdonia and the Jodrell Bank radio telescope are all an easy day trip away. This guide picks what to book, flags what is free, and matches you to a hotel, from a grand railway hotel in the centre to a riverside five-star on the Salford bank.
Don't miss
Old Trafford Stadium Tour and Manchester United Museum
A behind-the-scenes tour of Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, with the players’ tunnel, the dressing rooms and pitchside seats, plus the Manchester United Museum and its trophy cabinet.
Manchester City Etihad Stadium Tour
A 75-minute guided tour of the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City, with a glass tunnel walk, a seat in the dugout, pitchside views, a virtual reality experience and a press conference room.
John Rylands Library
A neo-Gothic library on Deansgate, built in the 1890s and often compared to a cathedral, with a soaring Historic Reading Room, rare books and manuscripts, and free entry.
Chatsworth and Peak District Small-Group Day Tour
A small-group day trip from Manchester into the Peak District National Park and to Chatsworth House, the grand Derbyshire home of the Duke of Devonshire, with moorland scenery and a stop in a Peak village.
Things to do in Manchester
Hand-picked: every experience here has strong traveler reviews and a verified booking link.
Manchester City Etihad Stadium Tour
A 75-minute guided tour of the Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City, with a glass tunnel walk, a seat in the dugout, pitchside views, a virtual reality experience and a press conference room.
National Football Museum
England’s national museum of the game, in the glass-fronted building in Cathedral Gardens, with the story of football from its earliest days to the modern Premier League, a Hall of Fame and hands-on football zones.
Science and Industry Museum
A museum on the site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station, with working textile machines, the Power Hall steam engines and the story of how Manchester changed the modern world.
John Rylands Library
A neo-Gothic library on Deansgate, built in the 1890s and often compared to a cathedral, with a soaring Historic Reading Room, rare books and manuscripts, and free entry.
Manchester Cathedral and Chetham’s Library
A medieval cathedral with a famous Fire Window and carved wooden choir stalls, beside Chetham’s Library, the oldest free public reference library in the English-speaking world.
Castlefield, the Canals and the Roman Fort
The city’s birthplace, where a reconstructed Roman fort, Victorian railway viaducts and the Bridgewater and Rochdale canals meet in a free urban heritage area for walking, photography and canalside drinks.
Northern Quarter Walking Tour: Street Art and Local Stories
A guided walk through Manchester’s creative quarter, with murals, indie shops, record stores and the stories of the former cotton warehouses that now hold bars, studios and cafes.
Imperial War Museum North
A free museum in a dramatic building by Daniel Libeskind on Salford Quays, exploring how war shapes lives, with the immersive Big Picture shows and a viewing tower.
The Lowry and Salford Quays
A waterfront arts centre with free galleries, the world’s largest public collection of L. S. Lowry paintings, two theatres and the redeveloped docks of Salford Quays and MediaCityUK.
Manchester Art Gallery
A free city-centre gallery in a Greek Revival building on Mosley Street, with an outstanding Pre-Raphaelite collection, decorative arts, fashion and a hands-on gallery for families.
The Whitworth
A free university art gallery set in Whitworth Park, with Turner watercolours, a world-class wallpaper and textiles collection, modern and contemporary art, and a glass-walled cafe looking out over the trees.
Where to stay
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
The Midland Manchester
Peter Street and St Peter’s Square
Manchester’s grand railway hotel, a red-brick and terracotta landmark from 1903 facing Central Library, with restaurants, a bar and a position at the centre of the city.
Check rates →The Edwardian Manchester Radisson Collection
Peter Street
A stylish hotel in the former Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, a Victorian palazzo with a place in music history, close to Deansgate, Castlefield and the Science and Industry Museum.
Check rates →Kimpton Clocktower Manchester
Oxford Street
A boutique hotel in the Grade II* listed Refuge Assurance Building on Oxford Street, an ornate Victorian landmark with a clock tower, close to Oxford Road station and the Gay Village.
Check rates →The Lowry Hotel Manchester
Chapel Wharf and the River Irwell
A contemporary riverside hotel on the Salford bank of the River Irwell, a short walk from Deansgate and Spinningfields, with a spa, river-view rooms and a restaurant on the water.
Check rates →Britannia Hotel Manchester City Centre
Piccadilly and Portland Street
A value-priced hotel in the Grade II* listed Watts Warehouse on Portland Street, with grand Victorian architecture and a short walk to Piccadilly Gardens, Chinatown and the Northern Quarter.
Check rates →Manchester Portland by Sunday
Portland Street and Chinatown
A comfortable mid-range city-centre hotel on Portland Street, close to Piccadilly Gardens, Chinatown and Manchester Art Gallery, with easy access to trams and the main stations.
Check rates →Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre Arena
Manchester Arena and Victoria
A reliable, affordable hotel close to Manchester Arena and Victoria station, handy for concerts, the cathedral, the National Football Museum and the Northern Quarter.
Check rates →Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre
City Centre
A full-service city-centre hotel with a restaurant and bar, family-friendly rooms and easy access to the tram network, shops, theatres and the main sights.
Check rates →Holiday Inn Express Manchester Trafford City
Trafford City
A convenient family hotel in Trafford City beside the Trafford Centre, close to SEA LIFE, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre and Old Trafford, with easy parking and tram access to the city centre.
Check rates →Manchester guides
First Time in Manchester: What to Book, How to Get Around & How Many Days
A practical primer for a first visit to Manchester: how many days you need, which stadium tours and museums to book, how the trams and walking routes work, and where football, music and the Industrial Revolution fit.
Where to Stay in Manchester: Best Areas and Hotels for Every Trip
A district-by-district guide to where to stay in Manchester: the city centre, Deansgate and Castlefield, the Northern Quarter, Oxford Road, the Arena and Trafford City, with hotel picks for each.
Manchester in Three Days: A Day-by-Day Itinerary
A three-day Manchester itinerary that covers the stadium tours, the free museums, the canals and Castlefield, the Northern Quarter, the music scene and the best food, with practical timing and tram tips.
Eating and Drinking in Manchester: Chinatown, the Curry Mile and Northern Classics
A guide to eating and drinking in Manchester: northern classics, Chinatown, the Curry Mile, the Northern Quarter, markets, pubs and craft beer, with tips on food tours and where to book.
Manchester for Football Fans: Stadium Tours, Museums and Match Days
A fan’s guide to Manchester football: the Old Trafford and Etihad stadium tours, the National Football Museum, match-day tips, where to stay and how to combine it all in a weekend.
Day Trips from Manchester: Peak District, Chester, Jodrell Bank and More
The best day trips from Manchester: Chatsworth and the Peak District, Chester and Snowdonia, Jodrell Bank, and how to reach the Lake District, York and Liverpool, with travel times and tour options.
