Did you know?

• Over twenty of the Nobel prize winners have come from Manchester
• Manchester is the city where Rolls met Royce
• The atom was first split in Manchester

With a population of almost half a million the Manchester is the UK’s third largest city yet widely regarded as Britain’s second city and arguably one of the most exciting, cultural and forward-thinking.

What the city has to offer…

Culture

Music

While Liverpool is more widely considered to be the UK’s capital of sound it isn’t hard to argue that Manchester is a real contender – depending on your taste of course.

Bands that have come out of Manchester include; The Fall, Joy Division, New Order, Doves, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, James The Stone Roses and probably the most famous Oasis. With a list like that and many, many more emerging bands you’ll not struggle to find a gig to suit your mood.

Performance

Manchester has a number of large performance venues including the Manchester Opera House, The Palace Theatre, the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Lowry, all of which support a thriving opera, theatre and dance scene. The city is also home to two symphony orchestras.

What Manchester lacks in identifiable landmarks, it more than makes up for in its diverse and rich arts and cultural scene. The Manchester Art Gallery, Museum of Science and Industry and the Whitworth Art Gallery are as equally scintillating as they are relaxing.

Sports and leisure

The city boasts two Premier League football clubs – Manchester City and Manchester United, although the latter technically comes under Salford. The City of Manchester Stadium hosted the 2002 Commonwealth games and is currently the home of Manchester City.

Old Trafford cricket ground is the home of Lancashire County Cricket Club and elsewhere there is the Velodrome and a number of public leisure centres, sporting clubs and five-a-side pitches including The Pitz. And as you might expect, Manchester has a number of leading health and fitness clubs, such as David Lloyd Leisure, Living Well, Fitness First and Bannatyne’s

Things to do…

Eating out

Food wise, few places in the UK can match Manchester. From Michelin-starred restaurants to traditional home cooked pub food, Manchester has it all. Restaurants at the top end of the scale remain rooted in the city centre, predominantly centralised around the St Ann’s Square, Deansgate and King Street area.

Elsewhere, Manchester has its own Chinatown which has a clutter of oriental restaurants. Close-by is the city’s infamous Canal Street – the heart of Manchester’s thriving Gay Village complete with a number of excellent café bars, restaurants and clubs. Or for something less formal yet cultural, the city’s newly dubbed Northern Quarter is home to a number of cool bars and cafes.

Shopping

There are few places outside of London can beat Manchester for shopping. From the designer boutiques of King Street or the high street chains around the Arndale Centre and St Ann’s Square, to the Bohemian and vintage offering of Affleck’s Palace, Manchester’s shopping options are countless. Harvey Nichol’s, Armani, Zara and French Connection are just some of the stores based in the city centre. Of course when talking about Manchester and Shopping we can’t forget the Trafford Centre, miles of shops which includes Selfridges, John Lewis, Vivienne Westwood & Ted Baker as well as having it’s own 20 screen Cinema, Laser Quest and a Museum of Museums.

Making the Move…

If city living is what you are after then the Green Quarter, Northern Quarter and Castlefield are your best bet. Comprised of one and two bedroom modern penthouse apartments, these three areas are some of the real hotspots in the centre of town.

Elsewhere, there are a number of popular areas dotted along the arterial routes out of the city. Just a few miles south of the city centre are Chorlton and Didsbury which are traditionally the pick of the bunch thanks to their cosmopolitan, café culture-like environments and mix of modern apartments and traditional housing styles.

To the north, Whitefield and Prestwich offer a good choice of accommodation along with a good restaurant and bar scene. And if you fancy mingling with the rich and famous, Alderley Edge and Wilmslow are just 15 miles south of the city and home to a number of Manchester United and Manchester City footballers, whilst the Beckhams still own a home there.