Stopover guide

Famous across the globe for its highly successful football team, Manchester is an exciting, cosmopolitan city, built on the foundations of its success as a cotton producer during the Industrial Revolution. The city offers fantastic nightlife, some of the country's best shopping centres, a vibrant and varied cultural scene and a wealth of natural and historical attractions.

Attractions:

The Trafford Centre is one of Europe's largest undercover shopping centres and it offers a large number of retail outlets and restaurants, a bowling alley and a cinema complex.
Built for Manchester's hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2002, the Aquatics Centre offers an Olympic-size pool as well as slides and inflatables for kids, and saunas and steam rooms for adults.
Take a tour of Old Trafford football ground, the home of Manchester United FC. Souvenirs are available at the official MUFC shop.
The Lowry Centre offers one of the city's best art galleries and two theatres that show a wide range of live performances.
Heaton, Dunham and Tatton parks among others are all within easy driving distance of the city centre.
Castlefield is an area of the city built on historic Roman remains and is home to museums and trendy bars.

Eating and shopping: the city centre is full of places to eat, with many reputable establishments located around the Piccadilly and Deansgate areas. Chinatown is home to a large number of Oriental establishments, while the Curry Mile, just outside of the city centre in the suburb of Rusholme, is home to a vast number of Indian restaurants with reputations for excellence.

Market street is the city's main shopping area and it is home to well-known high street names and the Arndale Centre, a large undercover shopping centre that also offers many well-known retail outlets. St Anne's Square and the Royal Exchange offer more upmarket and individual retailers. The Trafford Centre, which is a short drive from the city centre, also offers a vast number of shops.

Day trips and tours: scenic Cheshire is on Manchester's doorstep and it offers a variety of options for days out. Parks owned by the National Trust, such as Tatton and Dunham, offer historic stately homes set in acres of fine gardens and woodland; both of these parks are within a 40-minute drive of the city centre.

The neighbouring towns of Stockport and Warrington offer modern city facilities within close proximity of pleasant countryside. Meanwhile, Liverpool can be reached in about an hour by car from Manchester and offers a variety of attractions including Beatles tours, Albert Dock and some fantastic shopping.

Manchester Tourist Information Centres

Manchester Visitor Information Centre
Town Hall Extension (off St Peter's Square)
Lloyd Street
Manchester
M60 2LA
UK
Telephone: +44 871 222 8223
Fax: +44 161 236 9900
Email: touristinformation@marketing-manchester.co.uk