Manchester, UK
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Airport: Manchester (MAN)
Served by: American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair
City Statistics
Overview
Getting There By Air
Tel: (0161) 489 3000.
Website: www.manchesterairport.co.uk
Manchester Airport is located 16km (10 miles) south of the city centre and is the main airport in the region.
Airport facilities
They include disabled access, car rental, currency exchange offices, ATMs, baby changing facilities, a large shopping complex and a wide choice of bars and restaurants. Passengers can also take advantage of a number of executive lounges, many of which offer Internet and fax facilities.
Transport to the city
The airport has a dedicated transport interchange that is open 24 hours and links all trains, coaches and buses via one building with easy access to the airport terminals. Signposted off the M56 to the south of the city centre, Manchester Airport is easily reached by road and is well serviced by numerous public transport services. Taxis can be booked on arrival at the airport (tel: (0161) 489 2313).
Getting Around
The main bus station is at Piccadilly Gardens, to the east of the city centre. Free Metroshuttle services operate along three circular routes in the city, linking the main attractions and the city's four railway stations.
Metrolink (www.metrolink.co.uk) trams operate through the city centre with services to Bury in the north, Altrincham in the south and Salford Quays (close to Old Trafford cricket and football grounds) and Eccles in the west.
Nightbus services operate along the main routes on Friday and Saturday nights, regularly until 0330. Day tickets are also available from GMPTE.
To prebook a black cab, call Mantax (tel: (0161) 230 3333). For private taxis, try Street Cars (tel: (0161) 228 7878) or Taxifone (tel: (0161) 232 3333).
Hotels
The hotels below have been grouped into three different pricing categories:
Luxury (over £150)
Moderate (£60 to £150)
Cheap (up to £60)
Cheap
The Atrium
Situated close to the Gay Village and just a short walk from the centre of town, the Atrium offers serviced contemporary apartments with all the comforts of home including a DVD player and stereo in the room and a kitchen complete with washing machine and dishwasher. Perfect for longer stays.
74 Princess Street
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 235 2000.
Web: www.atriumapartments.co.uk
Premier Inn
This budget hotel chain has several locations in and around the city. Stay in Deansgate Locks situated close to Old Trafford. It's conveniently located close to a seven day free city centre shuttle bus service and also offers free onsite car parking.
Gaythorne
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: 0870 990 6504.
Web: www.premierinn.com/en
Lowry Hotel
Located in the Chapel Wharf area on the Salford-Manchester boundary, this is one of the finest hotels in Manchester, a stunning haven of glittering glass and steel, with 164 elegant, contemporary rooms that include intense flashes of colour amid quietly expensive neutral colour schemes. Bathrooms are marble-lined and there's also a gym and spa, and a spectacular riverside restaurant. There is live entertainment in the River Bar and Terrace most evenings.
Chapel Wharf
50 Dearmans Place
Salford
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 827 4000.
Web: www.roccofortecollection.com
Palace Hotel
Housed in a magnificently ornate exercise in red-brick high Victoriana, the Palace offers 275 smart, contemporary, luxurious-feeling rooms in dove greys, neutral beiges and tobacco browns, highlighted with flashy modern paintings, for reasonable prices. All have high-speed internet access and a work space.
Oxford Street
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: 0844 824 6171.
Web: www.principal-hayley.com
The Midland
The Midland is a Grade II listed Edwardian building that exudes elegance and charm, yet is remarkably reasonably priced. There are 312 en-suite bedrooms decorated with contemporary style that's in keeping with the building and dotted by polished wood furniture, all with air conditioning, flat-screen TVs and Internet access, and the location is convenient for the city centre's shops and nightlife.
Peter Street
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 236 3333.
Web: www.qhotels.co.uk/
Radisson Edwardian
Retaining the vintage features of the Free Trade Hall, where the suffragettes rallied, Bob Dylan went electric in 1965, and the Sex Pistols played in 1976, the Radisson Edwardian is a Zen contemporary hotel with every kind of creature comfort. Within easy walking distance of some of the city's best attractions, the hotel has an indoor infinity pool, a fitness centre and high-speed internet access.
Peter Street
Free Trade Hall
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 835 9929.
Web: www.radissonedwardian.com/
Sightseeing
Though there has been a settlement in Manchester since Roman times, records show a cotton industry taking shape from 1600. Mechanisation helped it boom and Manchester become one of the world's great industrial cities. The city's achievements were so great that in 1844 England's former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli declared Manchester to be ‘as great a human exploit as Athens'.
Fast forward to the 20th century – and Manchester endured mixed fortunes. Boom was followed by bust during the 1960s and 1970s. But depression did have one silver lining: the Smiths, whose gloomy tunes encapsulated the late 1980s like no other. Then, in the 1990s Manchester became Madchester, birthplace of bands like the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays.
Economic recovery began, but Manchester suffered a terrible setback when the IRA detonated its devastating bomb that ripped through the heart of the city centre in 1996. Following this devastation, a wave of urban regeneration projects started, sowing the seeds for Manchester’s contemporary landscape today.
Lloyd Street
Tel: 0871 222 8223.
Website: www.visitmanchester.com
This is the only Visitor Information Centre in the city centre and it is located in the Town Hall Extension, just a couple of minutes' walk southwest from Piccadilly Gardens. There are more Visitor Information Centres at other places of interest in Greater Manchester, including Altrincham (tel: (0161) 912 5931) and Salford (tel: (0161) 848 8601).
Key Attractions
Heading south to the edge of the city, Castlefield is Manchester's regenerated canalside district, transformed in the 1990s into a thriving bar, restaurant and cafe scene. As well as a mock-up of the original Roman Fort, the area is a fantastic testament to the city's industrial age with labyrinthine canals, viaducts, iron bridges and revamped warehouses. It is surprisingly quiet during the day and a great place to escape the hustle of the city.
Castlefield
Manchester
United Kingdom
Opening hours: Daily.
Admission Fee: No.
Manchester Cathedral
The Cathedral is actually the third to have been built on the site since the eighth century and boasts the widest nave of any church in England. In 1940 a bomb destroyed the entire north-east end of the cathedral. It underwent 20 years of restoration and then suffered more damage from the 1996 IRA bomb. A hi-tech visitor centre at the site includes interesting interactive displays covering the history of the Cathedral and mediaeval Manchester. A licensed restaurant in the basement offers historic and comfortable surroundings in which to eat, drink and relax.
Cathedral Yard
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 833 2220.
Web: manchestercathedral.org
Opening hours: Mon-Friday 0830-1830, Sat 0830-1700, Sun 0830-1900.
Admission Fee: No.
Disabled Access: Yes
Manchester United Football Stadium
Manchester United are one of the richest and most popular football clubs in the world, whose success peaked with a dramatic treble winning season in 1999 when they won the Premiership, the FA Cup and the European Cup. They're the reigning English champions, having won the Premier League for the past three seasons: 2008-09, 2007-08 and 2006-07. Visitors flock to Old Trafford (also known as the 'Theatre of Dreams') from all over the world to take a tour of the famous ground, which allows a peek at the changing rooms and a walk through the tunnel to the pitch.
Old Trafford
Sir Matt Busby Way
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 868 8000.
Web: www.manutd.com
Opening hours: Tour times vary.
Admission Fee: Yes.
Disabled Access: Yes
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
This 2.8 hectares (6.9 acres) complex is set at the site of the oldest passenger railway buildings in the world. It's a great place to learn more about the city's industrial beginnings and amazing scientific achievements, made vividly alive through the former factory buildings, machinery and historic locomotives. In addition to the permanent collections, there are frequent special exhibitions. There is a shop, a restaurant and a café too.
Castlefield
Liverpool Road
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 832 2244.
Web: www.mosi.org.uk/
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1700.
Admission Fee: No.
National Museum or Football/Urbis
Close to the Cathedral, Urbis is a striking glass-and-steel structure - its groundbreaking triangular architecture takes on a different appearance on each side. It is currently closed to visitors as part of plans to reopen as the new National Museum of Football in 2011.
Cathedral Gardens
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: (0161) 605 8282.
Web: www.urbis.org.uk
Culture
Bridgewater Hall
The impressive Bridgewater Hall is the home of the famous Hallé Orchestra and a great place to experience classical music performances. Lower Mosley Street Tel: (0161) 907 9000. www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk
Theatre
Contact Theatre
A great place to see more experimental theatre and dance performances. Devas Street, off Oxford Road Tel: (0161) 274 0600. www.contact-theatre.org
Royal Exchange Theatre
The city boasts many top-notch theatres, including the Royal Exchange Theatre. St Ann's Square Tel: (0161) 833 9833. www.royalexchange.co.uk
Manchester Library Theatre Company
For 58 years, the Manchester Library Theatre Company has produced drama, musical theatre and plays for families, and comedies. St Peter's Square Tel: (0161) 236 7110. www.librarytheatre.com
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