MANCHESTER
COUNTRY CODE: GB
British Pound, £1 = 100 pence

MANCHESTER

These days, Manchester is famous for more than just football
and rock´n´ roll – even if these activities are still very
important. Cool bars and shops nestle side by side in
suburbs such as Northern Quarter, Castlefield and Gay
Village.

THE CITY

Manchester dates from Roman times, as do
many other European cities. Subsequently
the city led a fairly anonymous existence
until the 18th century when the Industrial
Revolution began to take off. Manchester
soon became the world’s textile centre and
was a city where fabulous riches were
mixed with extreme poverty. Many of the
Victorian buildings and brick textile
factories were architectural masterpieces,
whereas the worker’s tenements were the
poorer.
The English textile industry began to suffer
from problems as far back as the 1920’s,
and was wiped out in the 1970’s. Although
more than two million people live in
Greater Manchester, the city centre has
been virtually abandoned.
In the last decade this has started to
change at a rapid pace. In the summer of
1996, the IRA exploded a large bomb in
central Manchester. Using the insurance
money and Government grants, a gigantic
building project was started, which is still
in progress and the beautiful old buildings
are being renovated one by one.
In parallel with this, young creative and/or
rich “Mancunians” have begun to look for
flats in town. The Northern Quarter suburb
has become as hip as Hoxton or Soho in
London, and in Castlefield in the south,
luxurious flats have sprung up along the
canals.
These days Manchester is a lively, cultured
city which compares well with other
international cities. Wherever you are,
you’ll find the historical waterways. The
Castlefield district has the first man-made
waterway, the Bridgewater Canal. A trip
along the Manchester Ship Canal, which
runs from Salford Quays to Liverpool, is
very nice and displays locks and bridges
that have been unchanged for 100 years.
Greater Manchester is made up of ten
borough towns, from the East Lancashire
steam railway in Bury to the pier and
rugby league side of Wigan. Each district
makes up the city’s unique identity. With
easy reach to the Peak District you’ll also
experience breathtaking countryside.
Famous for its music connections, The
Hollies, The Bee Gees, New Order, Oasis,
Simply Red, Badly Drawn Boy and many
many more, Manchester’s popular music
scene won’t leave anyone disappointed.
One of the City’s biggest music event is ’In
The City’, a five-day expo that attracts
over 500 unsigned acts. In The City helped
launch both Radiohead and Coldplay.
There may be bitter rivalry, but the love
for the game unite Manchester’s football
fans. There is Manchester United,
Manchester City, as well as Bolton and
Wigan. All teams provide the region with
the highest quality football entertainment.
Take a tour to Old Trafford or The City of
Manchester Stadium, or get hold of a ticket
and watch one of the games live - you
won’t regret it. The excitement is
exhilirating, both in the stadium as well as
the whole city.

DO & SEE

Football

If you have succeeded in getting hold of
one of the 70,000 tickets to see
Manchester United at Old Trafford, you are
guaranteed good entertainment,
irrespective of the team that you support.
Another alternative is to see Manchester
City at The City of Manchester Stadium.

Gay Village
Rainbow flags flutter outside bars, pubs
and clubs in Gay Village. The better
locations are alongside the canal. The
street is one of the greenest in
Manchester, with its blossoming
flowerboxes and creepers covering the
building facades.

Chinatown

Manchester’s Chinese district is one of the
largest in Europe. Top-class Chinese
restaurants nestle side by side with real
third-rate eating establishments. You will
also find Korean, Thai and Indonesian
shops and restaurants here.

The Lowry

The Lowry is a large cultural centre named
after a famous Manchester artist, L. S.
Lowry. This architecturally interesting
building is in Manchester’s Dockland and
houses everything from art galleries to bars.

People’s History Museum

If you want to gain an insight into how
Manchester’s population lived and worked
during the Industrial Revolution, you
should visit the People’s History Museum.

Urbis

Urbis is an exhibition centre focusing on
city life. The exhibition explores the culture
and dynamism of cities around the world
and art work range from photography,
design and architecture to music,
contemporary art and much more.

Manchester City Galleries

The Manchester Art Gallery and The
Gallery of Costume are home to the city’s
biggest art collection. With over 25,000
objects of fine art, decorative art and
costumes, the collection is ever-growing.

Manchester Opera House

The Manchester Opera House features a
wide range of theatre and musical shows.
Tickets can be bought through the website.

Manchester Museum

The collections number almost 6 million
specimens and objects. The museum is
also home to one of the largest and most
important collections of ancient Egyptian
artefacts in the United Kingdom. It also
has a Botany collection, live animals at the
Vivarium and an Archaeology collection.

Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum North is about
people and how their lives have been, and
still are, shaped by war and conflict. The
building is by international architect Daniel
Libeskind and is a symbol of our world torn
apart by conflict.

Lake District National Park

The great outdoors is just around the
corner and The Lake District National Park
in Cumbria is England’s largest national
park. The Lake District offers some of the
best scenery and outdoor pursuits in one of
England’s few mountainous regions. With
more than 3500 kilometres of walking and
hiking routes through the Lakes, there’s a
trail to suit everyone. For the daredevils
there is hang gliding, paragliding,
kayaking, canoeing, waterskiing, rock
scrambling, abseiling, hot-air ballooning,
paintballing and much more.

Food

The most famous restaurant in
Manchester’s China Town is Yang Sing. It
is considered to be one of the best
Cantonese restaurants in Europe. Yang
Sing was established in 1968, burned down
in 1997 and was re-opened a couple of
years ago. In particular, the dim sum
dishes are recommended.

BARS & NIGHTLIFE

In the 1980’s, Manchester was called
Madchester, when Hacienda was the
coolest club in Europe. Hacienda has long
since disappeared, but the party culture
lives on. There are a vast number of bars
and clubs in Northern Quarter, Castlefield
and Gay Village.

Public Transport

You can travel around Manchester by bus,
train or tram (Metrolink). For a tourist, the
easiest and cheapest way is to buy a
so-called Day Saver Ticket, which gives
unlimited transport inside the city for
£6.50 (£3 for buses only). Buy the ticket
on board. The largest of the city’s three
railway stations is Manchester Piccadilly in
Fairfield Street. Trains depart for London
from here.
Taxi
A taxi journey from central Manchester
Piccadilly to an address in the Manchester
area costs about £12. Ask the driver to
estimate the price before you depart. Taxi
drivers are generally given a ten percent
tip.

Airport

Manchester’s international airport is 16 km
south of the city. The airport has a
combined railway and bus station, with
departures to Manchester and the rest of
the country. The train to Manchester
Piccadilly takes 20 minutes. Airport buses
to Manchester depart every half hour. A
taxi journey to central Manchester takes
25 minutes and costs about £12.

Telephone
Country code: +44
Area code: 0161