The cold and dark city of Manchester is known worldwide for its football teams (Manchester United and Manchester City) and its bands (Oasis, The Smiths, Stone Roses,…).
The best area to stay in Manchester is its centre .The city centre, easy to walk around and very accessible, is the best option to book a hotel, eat in a good restaurant, go shopping (the Manchester Arndale Shopping Centre, located north of the city centre, is a good choice) and go out to party or have a drink in one of the many nightlife venues in this city that is a symbol of the English Industrial Revolution and is currently one of the most visited in the United Kingdom.
In the centre, which is home to the emblematic Chinatown, whose community is very old and well represented in the city, are also the main tourist attractions of Manchester, such as Piccadilly Gardens, the City Hall, the Cathedral, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Opera House, among others.
If you are interested in knowing where to stay in Manchester , you may also be interested in knowing where to stay in Liverpool, where to stay in Edinburgh, where to stay in Glasgow and where to stay in London.
Downtown Manchester, the best area to stay
The centre of this city in the northwest of the United Kingdom is the ideal area to stay when visiting, because it offers the traveller a wide range of hotels from three to five stars, the most emblematic monuments and all the comforts to enjoy your stay to the full.Piccadilly Gardens, the centre of Manchester, is one of the main points of interest, and all bus routes start and end here, making it easy to get around the city and the many shops, restaurants and bars in the surrounding area.From here you can reach Old Trafford, Manchester United’s century-old football stadium, in about 20 minutes.
A few metres away is the City Hall, a 19th century Victorian Gothic building on a triangular site opposite Albert Square, with offices and large ceremonial rooms such as the Great Hall, with murals illustrating the history of the city.Outside is the 87-metre high clock tower, which houses the famous Great Abel clock bell, and near the City Hall is the Manchester Central Library, a circular library based on the Pantheon in Rome built in the 1930s, and the Manchester Opera House, one of the city’s largest theatres, with a capacity of almost 2,000 people.Between these two emblematic and cultural buildings in the city are a multitude of select restaurants, bars and huge spaces such as Albert Hall, an old chapel converted into a concert hall, shows and social events.
And very close by is the Museum of Science and Industry (Mosi), which shows the scientific and technical advances that were experienced in Great Britain from the 19th century.This space, one of the most important science museums in the world, houses an exhibition on the train that connected the city with Liverpool, the first passenger railway in history, as well as the Power Hall, an area dedicated to the advances in steam engines, which were crucial to the development of the Industrial Revolution.
Northern Quarter, the other area where you can stay in Manchester
Very close to the centre of Manchester is the Northern Quarter, a very well communicated area that hosts luxury hotels at a more affordable price.
The Northern Quarter has always been famous for its emporiums and independent shops, selling all kinds of weird and wonderful products, from retro clothes and rare vinyl, and collectible comics and smoking paraphernalia, to unusual furniture and magnificent art.In addition to these unique shops, this is the city’s main shopping centre, the Manchester Arndale Shopping Centre, one of the largest in Europe, where you can do all sorts of shopping in its exclusive boutiques and in the international shops that are located indoors.
A few steps from Arndale is also one of the icons of the city, the Manchester Cathedral, which had been the old medieval church of Santa Maria.The National Football Museum, the largest in the world, was created to explain how and why football has become the beautiful game, and opened in 2012 and houses the largest collection of football memorabilia (over 140).000) and is located next to the Royal Exchange Theatre, an imposing 20th century building of French architecture and design, built on the site of a former exchange house, where plays are performed and exhibitions are shown.
In addition, the Barrio Norte is equally famous for its nightlife, as it is home to a large number of bars and pubs offering a good variety of foreign and local beers, cocktails, spirits and food.This neighborhood also has a high proportion of live music venues with the long band standing on the wall, Night & Day Cafe, Dry Bar, Matt & Phreds Jazz Bar and The Roadhouse, all enjoying a great revival.
