As you’ll no doubt discover if you explore this very site for a short time, Manchester is a destination full of interesting things to see and experience. As one of the most popular cities in the UK it handles a fair amount of tourism, and contains more than enough to keep travellers busy. However, if you only have a brief time to pass through town, you’ll want to narrow things down and hit the highlights. With that in mind, here’s one writer’s look at five of the must-see attractions on a quick stop in town.
1.) Manchester Art Gallery
The Manchester Art Gallery is a gorgeous building that has stood near city centre since 1823. The gallery has a total collection of more than 25,000 items, spanning across six centuries. Among these items are both local and international works in the form of paintings, ceramics, crafts, glass, metalwork, clothing, and other miscellaneous accessories. One particularly noteworthy section (since we’re assuming you’re visiting with limited time) is the pre-Raphaelite collection, which includes paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, and William Holman Hunt. The metalwork and porcelain in the Decorative Arts collection is also quite impressive, if you’re looking for just a few highlights.
2.) Visit Etihad Stadium
At the spectacular Etihad Stadium, you can explore the Manchester City Football Club’s heritage through authentic memorabilia displays and interactive stadium tours. Tours get things started with a glimpse of the warm-up room and team locker room. Then, visitors can view the pitch from the Tunnel Club seating space, or visit one of the club’s elite amenity areas. You can stop at the pressroom, sit behind the desk and experience what it must feel like to give a post-match press conference; you can enter the stadium through the tunnel and imagine the gaze of 55,000 onlookers; you can even walk the pitch and view the surroundings panoramically as any player would, and then take a seat on the club’s bench. Of course, it’s even better if you’re a football fan to visit the stadium on a match day and simply watch the action from the stands – but this is all to say that Etihad Stadium is an attraction whether or not there’s a match in town.
3.) The John Rylands Library
The John Rylands Library in Manchester is known for its architectural beauty and its collection of rare books and manuscripts. The plans for this stunning neo-Gothic edifice were drawn up in 1889, and the structure took 10 years to build, meaning it essentially went up at the turn of the 20th century. Boasting gorgeous architectural features such as soft illumination, vaulted ceilings, and decorative archways, the library opened to the public in the year 1900 and features significant medieval writings and early printed texts. Now part of the University of Manchester, the institution is considered one of the best academic libraries in the UK, and even houses a copy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” personal papers of Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell, and a Gutenberg Bible. Today there are also a number of rotating enrichment exhibits around the library.
4.) Manchester235 Casino
Manchester235 Casino is a luxury gaming and entertainment complex with 24-hour access, a poker lounge, two restaurants, and several bars. This glamorous venue also offers live music and various other performances, though the Vegas-style casino games (blackjack, poker, slots, and all the rest) are the real highlights. Altogether it’s actually a nice counter to Britain’s own online casino businesses, which have grown so rapidly that they’ve become international trendsetters of late. As far away as Australian and New Zealand, online casino gaming options are identical to those that have sprung up and become so popular in London, driving many away from brick-and-mortar casinos in the process. The appeal of options like these is understandable, and undoubtedly many in Manchester enjoy them. But for those who like a real casino, Manchester235 can be a special place to visit.
5.) Manchester Town Hall
The picturesque Manchester Town Hall first opened in 1877 as the house of the Manchester City Council. It still houses active government departments, but is also something of a living museum for tourists. Tall, arched ceilings and spiral staircases make the building itself a beautiful attraction, showcasing Victorian, Neo-gothic architecture as pretty as anything else in the city. More specifically though, the Ford Madox Brown murals and the Great Hall’s skylight are notable sightseeing features within the building. The Sculpture Hall corridor is another significant area, and one in which you’ll see depictions of several famous Manchester figures.
There is, again, more to see in Manchester than just these five selections. However, if you have limited time, this should serve as a handy blueprint for seeing some of the best the city has to offer.
