The ultimate weekend in Manchester

I’m not Mancunian, but I have lived in Manchester most of my adult life – so it’s with a combination of great pride and outsider impartiality that I can say my adopted home is the most exciting city in the UK right now. A burgeoning culinary scene is bringing buzz to the city food-wise after decades in the doldrums, while a bevy of new cultural venues makes it the best place to catch a gig, theater show or art exhibition outside the place-that-must-not-be-named (that’s London, for the uninitiated).

Meanwhile, the shining lights that have long made Manchester one of the best British city breaks remain undimmed. Nightlife can be either raucous or elegant, depending on your mood; locals combine welcoming friendliness with swaggering charm; and even in an off-season for both the big clubs, the city remains one of the football capitals of the world.

Here’s how to have the ultimate weekend break in Manchester.

When to arrive: Arriving on Thursday night lets you get an early start Friday and squeeze as much as possible out of a three-day weekend.

How to get from the airport: National Rail trains connect the airport with the city-center Manchester Piccadilly station in just 20 minutes, costing as little as £3.40 (US$3.80) – cheap and efficient.

Getting around town: Manchester city center is small enough to navigate on foot. For further distances, the Metrolink tram system connects the whole of Greater Manchester, as does a wide-reaching bus network.

Where to stay: For a treat, I’d recommend staying at Dakota Manchester, a sleek, darkly stylish hotel close to Manchester Piccadilly, the main train station. For something a little cheaper but no less design conscious, try Cow Hollow Hotel, a boutique hotel housed in a restored textile mill – a microcosm of modern Manchester.

What to pack: Manchester has a well-deserved reputation for rain. Gray skies and drizzle are a possibility year-round, so pack something warm and waterproof.

Day 1

Morning

Begin your day with a stroll down Deansgate, a handsome Victorian thoroughfare, which is the main business and shopping artery of the city. Start at the northern end and poke your head into Manchester Cathedral, a Gothic Revival edifice that hosts regular musical performances and rotating local history exhibitions. Continue south, stopping in for breakfast at Barton Arcade, a handsome Victorian shopping area of cast-iron and glass built in 1871 and home to Pot Kettle Black, an Australian-inspired coffee shop that serves some of the best brunch in Manchester. 

How to spend the day

Further down Deansgate is the John Rylands Library, perhaps the most beautiful building in Manchester: a neo-Gothic church-like structure hewn from red sandstone. I love stepping in here to clear my mind and escape from the city-center bustle, and there are wonderful artifacts on display, including medieval illuminated manuscripts and the oldest surviving fragment of the New Testament. A short walk east, Foldies is a great spot for lunch, serving mouthwatering folded wraps that blur the boundary between pizza and sandwich to delicious effect.

At the southern end of Deansgate, visit the fantastic Science and Industry Museum to get a feel for Manchester’s heritage as the first industrial city in the world. Fittingly, the museum is housed in the world’s first passenger railway station, which ran between here and Liverpool. Exhibits showcase the many groundbreaking discoveries made in Manchester, from early computers to the splitting of the atom and the 2004 discovery of graphene, the thinnest material in the world. 

Dinner

Despite only opening in late 2024, the Basque-inspired open-flame restaurant Stow has already set tongues wagging as one of the best restaurants in Manchester. A small menu rotates according to availability of seasonal ingredients, and chef Jamie Pickles serves up simple yet exquisitely prepared dishes like pearl barley with asparagus and mussels, pork collar with apple and caper jam and a slow-cooked smoked cream tart, which you have to taste to believe. Take a seat beside the open kitchen to watch the flames flicker. 

After dark

Finish the night in style at subterranean cocktail bar Arcane, its red brick walls lit with green reading lamps, where offerings include a smoky campfire Old Fashioned. 

Day 2

Morning

Get up early to beat the queues at Manchester’s most popular breakfast spot, the Northern Quarter’s Federal, where the coffee is strong and the halloumi & shrooms on toast is legendary. The city’s best-known neighborhood is now yours to explore. The Northern Quarter is a vibrant district of colorful street murals, beloved cafés and bars and brilliant vintage shops. Make a point to browse for bargains at Cow and Pop Boutique.

How to spend the day 

Spend the afternoon exploring the former warehouses and cotton mills of Ancoats. Grab a quick lunch at Ancoats Deli – the focaccia sandwiches are the best in the city – and see if there’s a show on at Hallé St. Peter’s, an atmospheric classical music venue in a deconsecrated church. Otherwise, linger over a drink at the classy, cosy Edinburgh Castle or take a walk among the canal barges and swans of New Islington Marina.

Dinner

Feast on seasonal small plates paired with natural wines at Erst. Leading food critic Jay Rayner loves this place, and you’ll be hard pressed to disagree with him once you’ve savored its visceral delights – succulent Carlingford oysters, spiced lamb’s heart and zingy grapefruit sorbet.

After dark

Walk to The Firehouse, on the border between Ancoats and the Northern Quarter, where DJs, cabaret acts and live musicians light up a former car garage until the small hours – a guaranteed good time. 

Day 3

Morning

Make like Manc music royalty this morning and enjoy breakfast at The Koffee Pot, a Northern Quarter café, which is a favorite of Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher. As you might expect from a man of the people like Liam, this place specializes in greasy spoon–style fry-ups and hearty pancake stacks – none of your smashed-avo nonsense here. 

How to spend the day

Manchester is one of the football capitals of the world, home to the red-shirted royalty of Manchester United and nouveau-riche upstarts Manchester City. Before you leave, discover the history of the Beautiful Game at the National Football Museum, where exhibits include trophies, World Cup shirts and even the sheepskin coat of legendary football broadcaster John Motson. This place has the power to convince even football-skeptic visitors to want to experience a real-life match – the perfect reason to make a return visit to England’s Capital of the North.