photo credit: Smabs Sputzer
Manchester is one of the hippest cities in the UK. Located up north, noted for its outgoing and friendly populace, and home to a thriving music and arts scene, it’s the city that gave us The Smiths, Oasis, The Hacienda and much, much more. If you’re looking to explore the cooler side of the city, we’ve put together a guide to the must-see sights for anyone interested in Manchester’s alternative scene.
Whether you’re there for a week or 24 hours, try to pack in at least some of these to get a flavour of what Manchester’s all about.
Manchester Music
It’s hard to avoid music in Manchester. There are buzzing venues all over town, and it’s easy to discover new bands you love, as well as places where you can celebrate classic bands that the city’s thrown our way over the years – from the Stone Roses to The Fall and beyond. Check out this great guide to the essentials over at the Choice Hotels blog for a rundown of some off-the-beaten track musical haunts you’ll definitely want to see, including the Night & Day and the Deaf Institute.
Want to get to know the real Manchester? Then head along to The People’s History Musuem. It reopened in 2010 after a £12.5 million development, and it’s dedicated to telling a 200-year tale of British democracy. There’s interactive exhibits bring political history to life and it’s some story as this is the city that was the birthplace of socialism, universal suffrage and it’s where Marx and Engels penned their Communist Manifesto. If all that political excitement whets your appetite, the museum also home to a great, sunny riverside café too.
If culture’s what you’re after, make a beeline for Oxford Road, home to so many galleries, museums and theatres that locals talk of it as Manchester’s Cultural Corridor. There’s the Cornerhouse, an acclaimed contemporary art complex, and at the other of the road check out the Whitworth Art Gallery. In between you’ll find theatres, the Manchester Museum and the University of Manchester’s campus.
photo credit: Alex Pepperhill
Described as “the biggest thing to happen to clubbing in Manchester this decade”, The Warehouse Project is an annual party like no other. Taking place in underground venues and secret locations, and enticing some of the coolest DJs on the planet along to spin the tunes, it takes place for a full three months, from September to New Year’s Day. So remember to pack some aspirin…
