Must see attractions in Manchester

  • Top Choice
    Science and Industry Museum

    Manchester's rich industrial legacy is explored in this excellent museum set within the enormous grounds of the old Liverpool St station, the oldest rail…

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    People's History Museum

    The story of Britain's 200-year march to democracy is told in all its pain and pathos at this superb museum, housed in a refurbished Edwardian pumping…

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    Whitworth Art Gallery

    Manchester's second most important art gallery is arguably its most beautiful, following a restoration that saw the doubling of its exhibition space…

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    Manchester Art Gallery

    A superb collection of British art and a hefty number of European masters are the highlights at the city's top art gallery. It's home to the best…

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    Victoria Baths

    Designed to be the grandest baths in Britain when they opened in 1906, this Grade II–listed Edwardian classic retains much of its former grandeur despite…

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    Top Choice
    Chetham's Library & School of Music

    Founded in 1653 in a building that dates from 1421, Chetham's is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world, a trove of dark shelves lined…

  • John Rylands Library

    Less a library and more a cathedral to books, Basil Champneys' stunning building is a breathtaking example of Victorian Gothic, no more so than the…

  • Town Hall

    Manchester's most impressive building is the Grade I–listed town hall, completed in 1877 after a design by Alfred Waterhouse. The Great Hall is decorated…

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    Greater Manchester Police Museum

    One of the city's best-kept secrets is this superb museum housed within a former Victorian police station. The original building has been magnificently –…

  • MediaCityUK

    The BBC's northern home is but one significant element of this vast 81-hectare site. Besides hosting six departments of the national broadcaster (BBC…

  • National Football Museum

    This museum charts the evolution of British football from its earliest days to the multi-billion-pound phenomenon it is today. One of the highlights is…

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    Manchester Museum

    If you're into natural history and social science, this extraordinary museum is the place for you. It has galleries devoted to archaeology, archery,…

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    Lowry

    With multiple performance spaces, bars, restaurants and shops, this contemporary arts centre attracts more than a million visitors a year to its myriad…

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    Elizabeth Gaskell's House

    The author of Mary Barton and Cranford lived in this elegant Regency style villa from 1850 until her death in 1865. Now a fine museum devoted to Gaskell…

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    Imperial War Museum North

    Inside Daniel Libeskind's aluminium-clad modern building is a war museum with a difference, exploring the effects of conflict on society rather than…

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    Central Library

    Britain's largest municipal library was built in 1934 to resemble the Roman Pantheon. A major refurbishment has seen the addition of a wonderful Children…

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    Midland Bank

    The year 1935 saw the opening of Edwin Lutyens' stunning art-deco Midland Bank, now home to a branch of Jamie's Italian – even if you don't eat there it's…

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    Alan Turing Statue

    A statue of the noted mathematician, code breaker and gay martyr Alan Turing, who taught at the University of Manchester from 1946–52, when he lost his…