Manchester travel guide
Tours, attractions, events and places to stay, picked by people who know the city.
- Currency
- Pound sterling (£)
- Main airport
- Manchester (MAN)
- Time zone
- GMT, BST in summer
- Paying for transport
- Contactless on buses and trams
The world's first industrial city wears its history openly: canals and viaducts in Castlefield, red-brick warehouses in the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, and a neo-Gothic library on Deansgate. It is flat, compact and easy on foot, and its best museums are free, which leaves more for a stadium tour and a night out.
Most-booked tours
Ratings and prices from verified bookings.
ViatorManchester Afternoon Walking Tour with local guide Gareth
2.5 hoursFrom £18
ViatorWindermere & Lake District Tour from Manchester Including Cruise
11 hoursFrom £75.32
ViatorAlcotraz Prison Cocktail Experience in Manchester
1.8 hoursFrom £51
ViatorRock and Goal Manchester Walking Tour
2 hoursFrom £19.99
ViatorNorth Wales Sightseeing Adventure Day Trip from Manchester
9.5 hoursFrom £59
Viator3-Hour Guided Manchester Food Tour with Lunch
3.5 hoursFrom £90
ViatorDaily Manchester City Centre Walking Tour with Local Guide
1.5 hoursFrom £14
ViatorSnowdonia & Chester Day Tour from Manchester Including Admission
10.8 hoursFrom £74.35
Top Manchester attractions
The sights most visitors build a trip around.
Old Trafford Stadium Tour and Museum
Dressing room, tunnel and the Treble trophies at the Theatre of Dreams
Science and Industry MuseumFree
Free: 250 years of Manchester invention on a historic railway site
The John Rylands LibraryFree
Free: Manchester's neo-Gothic library, one of the finest interiors in the city
National Football Museum
The oldest FA Cup, the original Laws of the Game and a penalty shootout to try
Manchester MuseumFree
Free: Stan the T. rex, ancient Egypt and the South Asia Gallery
Etihad Stadium Tour
Glass tunnel, home dressing room and a new City museum from December
Tickets from £32
More attraction tickets
Tickets via Tiqets. Prices checked at each build.
What's on
Tickets via Ticketmaster and Tiqets. Updated nightly.
Where to stay
Pick a neighbourhood first. Each one suits a different kind of trip.
Northern Quarter
Independent shops, cafés and bars, a short walk from Piccadilly10 places we rate
Ancoats
Restored cotton mills, food-led restaurants and quieter evenings3 places we rate
Spinningfields and Deansgate
Central for the John Rylands, shopping and smart dining8 places we rate
Castlefield
Canal-side walks, the Science and Industry Museum and easy tram links5 places we rate
Salford Quays and MediaCity
Old Trafford, IWM North and the Corrie set on your doorstep8 places we rate
Local guides
Plans and tips for getting the most out of Manchester.
Christmas in Manchester 2026: markets, ice rink and parade dates
Manchester’s Christmas Markets run 6 November to 22 December 2026 across ten sites, with Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens open until 3 January. Here are the dates, hours and what is new.
Read the guide · 5 minFirst time in Manchester: a two-day plan
Two days, the best free museums, a medieval library and the Northern Quarter, in a sensible order, plus a football-filled third day if you have one.
Read the guide · 5 minFootball in Manchester: stadium tours, museums and match days
Old Trafford, the Etihad and the National Football Museum: what each tour includes, what it costs where published, and how to plan around fixtures.
Read the guide · 5 minFree things to do in Manchester
Free museums on industry, war, art and dinosaurs, a neo-Gothic library, canal walks and two free buses to get you between them.
Read the guide · 5 minDay trips from Manchester
Easy days out by train or coach.
Getting around
Buses and contactless
Buses across Greater Manchester run under the Bee Network brand. A single 'hopper' ticket costs £2 for adults and £1 for children, and lets you change to other Bee Network buses within 60 minutes. Tap a contactless card, phone or watch once when you board. Use the same card or device every time and bus and tram fares together are capped at £9.50 a day or £41 a week.
Trams
Metrolink trams link the city centre with Old Trafford, the Etihad Campus, Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, and the airport. Tap in on the reader at the stop before you board and tap out at the end; you do not need to tap when changing trams. If you forget to tap in you can be charged a £60 or £120 penalty.
Free bus
Two free bus routes loop around the centre from Piccadilly station. Free bus 1 covers Deansgate, Castlefield and Spinningfields; free bus 2 covers King Street, Victoria, Shudehill and the Northern Quarter. Both run every 10 minutes from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and from 8.30am on Saturdays, and every 10 minutes from 10am to 6.30pm on Sundays, with a reduced service in the evenings.
Walking
The centre is flat and compact. Piccadilly Gardens and Market Street are about 10 minutes on foot from Piccadilly station, and most central sights are within 20 minutes of each other.
Airport transfers
Train: direct trains run from Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly in around 20 minutes.
Tram: Metrolink runs direct from the airport to the city centre on the Manchester Airport to Victoria line, and the contactless cap applies.
Bus: the 43 and 103 run between the airport and Piccadilly Gardens; the 43 runs 24 hours. Trains, trams and buses all leave from the airport's Station, linked to the terminals by covered Skylink walkways.
Compare Manchester airport transfers and book ahead →
Trains
Manchester Piccadilly is the main station for London, the airport and most long-distance routes. Victoria serves Leeds, Liverpool and the north, and Oxford Road and Deansgate are handy for the south side of the centre.