Manchester, UK
Highlights
Science and Industry Museum
Factory International
Deansgate and Spinningfields
Z-Arts
The Lowry and Salford Quays
Trafford and Legoland Discovery Centre
The Northern Quarter
Why visit Manchester?
Many people visit Manchester for sport, shopping, and nightlife. We like visiting the city with our kids because of the great museums and vibrant city centre.
Getting There and Around
We live in Sheffield, so Manchester is an easy 1 hour train ride or 90 minute drive across the Pennines. The train journey is preferable as it lets one sit back and take in the outstanding scenery, and without having to find somewhere to park the car.
In Manchester it is easy to find lots to see and do by walking, but there is also a free city centre loop bus, as well as trams, paid for buses, and a local train network too. The whole city region is well connected and it’s easy to rely on public transport to get around.
Accommodation
As a family with kids who are still young enough to fit in one hotel room with us, we usually stay at a Premier Inn. We like the family rooms which have a double bed and two small trundle beds. Kids eat breakfast for free.
We tend to stay at the Manchester Central Premier Inn which is on Lower Mosley Street and very well located for the city centre including Spinningfields and Chinatown.
We have also stayed at the Premier Inn at Salford Quays which is convenient for activities and facilities across the river.
Science + Industry Museum
Manchester was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution and was known for its cotton and textile industry.
The Museum of Science and Industry is family friendly and free to visit that will teach you all about Manchester’s contributions to technology and industry. It has fascinating exhibitions with huge industrial machines, loads of hands on activities, and live demonstrations.
When we visited most recently in July 2023 we paid for the special Power Up exhibition which has lots of different games consoles including early retro models. We had lots of fun playing games from our childhood and playing multiplayer games as a family.
Factory International
Also in the Castlefield area of Manchester is Factory International, based in the new Aviva Studios building. An impressive gallery and performance space, which when we visited in July 2023, was home to a remarkable Yayoi Kasuma exhibition.
Deansgate and Spinningfields
The Museum of Industry and Science is in the Castlefield area, just a short walk from the Deansgate and Spinningfields areas.
These parts of the city are really interesting to explore with a mixture of old historic buildings and modern construction and regeneration.
For architecture fans, Beetham Tower in Deansgate is an impressively tall modern skyscraper worth seeing.
As well as lots of businesses, restaurants, pubs and shops, Spinningfields is home to the People’s History Museum which is on our list to see for a future visit.
Z-Arts
We like this free arts venue which is just outside the city centre, in Hulme. It’s accessible via a 30 minute bus ride from Piccadilly Gardens (or a tram to Deansgate and then a 15 minute walk).
Z-Arts is especially aimed at young people and there is a theatre, gallery, family escape room and music studio.
When we visited in the past there was a charming Julia Donaldson exhibition with life size interactive sets of scenes from her books. They often run special events, story telling and craft activities. And it’s free to visit.
The Lowry and Salford Quays
Across the River Irwell to the west of Manchester City Centre is the city of Salford.
The Salford Quays area has undergone a lot of regeneration in recent years, with the opening of BBC studios (at Media City) and the Lowry performance and gallery space.
When we last visited the Lowry in July 2023 it was the start of the school holidays and there was a Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer exhibition. It was very very crowded.
We did manage to see some of the exhibition but after a while escaped the crowds by visiting the permanent Lowry collection instead which is free to visit and fantastic.
Trafford and Legoland Discovery Centre
To the south west of Manchester city centre is the borough of Trafford. Just across from Salford Quays is the Imperial War Museum North, and Manchester United’s stadium Old Trafford (boo). Further west is the Trafford Centre, a big out of town shopping centre.
We’ve only visited the Trafford Centre once, and it was to go to the Legoland Discovery Centre there. We took the kids when they were 6 and 4 which was a good age for it because it’s fairly small and aimed at younger children.
Legoland Discover Centres are essentially small theme parks with indoor rides and activities. The one in Manchester has a Ninjago City obstacle course, an area where you can build and race Lego cars, a Miniland (a miniature city made of Lego), and a 3D cinema.
Legoland Discovery Centres are owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments who also own Madam Tussauds and Alton Towers, and they aren’t cheap to visit. We much prefer the Lego House in Billund, Denmark, which is owned by Lego and is actually about playing with Lego and less about theme park rides.
It was crowded when we visited, and expensive even with a promotional voucher. Having said that, this is a good place to bring young kids in the north of England if they like Lego and you can’t go to Windsor Legoland (or all the way to Billund!). And as an indoor attraction it is especially good for those inevitable rainy days in Manchester.
The Northern Quarter
One of our favourite things to do in Manchester is to wander through the streets of the Northern Quarter, an area easy to reach and get around by foot as it sits just north of St Peter’s Square and west of Piccadilly Station.
This area is full of street art and creative shops which are lovely for browsing and moseying around.
We particularly like Real Camera, Travelling Man (a comic book shop), Unitom book shop, Vinyl Exchange, Clampdown Records, and Fred Aldous art supplies (and there is now one in Sheffield too - hurray).
There are also lots of independent and smaller cafes and bars.
Final Thoughts
Manchester is a fantastic city, full of things to do, buy and eat. It’s great for a city break with your partner, nights out with friends, or a fun weekend with kids.
There’s always something going on as the city hosts loads of gigs, art exhibitions and sports events. It’s an arguably trendier (albeit much wetter) alternative to London if you want to visit a big city, and we are really glad we live just a short train journey away.
