Discover Manchester, UK

Places to visit in Manchester, UK

Discover local landmarks and their stories. Open a place guide to plan your visit, or explore the city with a self-guided quest.

Explore the places ↓

Places worth exploring

Find a place

Manchester, UK

Manchester Town Hall

Manchester Town Hall is one of the finest Victorian Gothic buildings in the world, a Grade I listed masterpiece designed by Alfred Waterhouse and opened in 1877. Waterhouse won the commission in 1867 from a competition …

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Palace Theatre Manchester

Affectionately known as the "Grand Old Lady of Oxford Street," the Palace Theatre has been dazzling Manchester audiences since its doors first opened on May 18, 1891. Designed by architect Alfred Darbyshire and built at …

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Royal Exchange Theatre

There's nothing quite like the Royal Exchange Theatre anywhere in the world: a futuristic seven-sided steel and glass capsule suspended inside a cavernous Victorian trading hall, creating one of the most intimate and thr…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

The Rochdale Canal St Tow Path Bridge

It all began in 1776 when 48 determined men from Rochdale pooled their resources and commissioned engineer James Brindley to survey a route that would change northern England forever. The result was the Rochdale Canal, w…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

The Portico Library

Behind the elegant Greek Revival columns on Mosley Street hides what has been called "the most refined little building in Manchester," and once you step inside, you'll understand why. The Portico Library was founded in 1…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Manchester Cathedral

Manchester Cathedral stands as one of England's great medieval churches, its roots stretching back to 1421 when it began life as a collegiate church long before Manchester was the industrial powerhouse it would become. T…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Science and Industry Museum

Step into the world that changed everything. The Science and Industry Museum sits at the epicenter of Manchester's transformation into a global manufacturing powerhouse. Housed in Liverpool Road, the world's oldest survi…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

National Football Museum

Manchester is the birthplace of modern association football, and this museum celebrates that legacy with incredible passion. Home to over 140,000 items including official FIFA exhibits, the National Football Museum tells…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

John Rylands Library

Walking into John Rylands Library feels like stepping into a fairytale. Built as a memorial to John Rylands by his widow Enriqueta Augustina Tenant, a woman from Spanish-speaking Caribbean nobility, this architectural ma…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery houses one of the greatest Pre-Raphaelite collections in the world, with over 100 paintings and watercolours that capture Victorian beauty and emotion. Step into Gallery 8 and encounter masterworks…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

O2 Ritz

Built in 1928 as a Grade II listed venue, the O2 Ritz Manchester has danced through decades of cultural revolution. Originally constructed in 1927 as an elite dance hall destination, it features a legendary sprung maple …

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Refuge Manchester

The Refuge building is one of Manchester's most distinctive architectural landmarks, representing Victorian optimism and industrial pride. The Refuge Assurance Company was founded in 1858, and in 1890 founder James Proct…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Free Trade Hall

Built on the site of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, when cavalry charged 60,000 protesters demanding parliamentary reform, killing 15 and injuring 700, the Free Trade Hall represents both tragedy and the triumph of civic…

Read the place guide →

Manchester, UK

Afflecks Palace

Affleck & Brown started as a drapery business in the 1860s on Oldham Street and grew into a full department store occupying an entire city block. Post-WWII decline and changing shopping patterns led to closure in 1973. I…

Read the place guide →

Turn a visit into an adventure