Manchester is known for being a vibrant university city, home to one of the most renowned football teams in the world, Manchester United and hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002. The city leads the way in urban regeneration and has gained a reputation for being the best place to shop, eat and drink and is thought to be the British music capital where bands like Oasis and the Stone Roses first came on the music scene.
On the outskirts of Manchester is the Trafford Centre – the largest shopping centre in the UK which covers a mammoth area of thirty football pitches put together – which boasts over 250 shops and Europe’s largest food court, The Orient. The retail complex also includes the UK’s longest real snow indoor ski slope, an indoor skydiving tunnel, soccer dome and two 18-hole crazy golf courses so you literally will find everything you need all under one roof.
Don’t forget to check out Manchester’s lively nightlife – the Northern Quarter (pictured) is known for its alternative and quirky culture, Castlefield is a great spot for canal side dining and drinking or roam around Canal Street where you’ll find Manchester’s well-known Gay Village. There’s an assortment of attractions and activities to suit people from all walks of life in Manchester so you’re bound to fit in somewhere.
