Manchester Highlights of the City Tour

Spectacular steel and glass architecture and a wealth of attractions make the Lowry complex the perfect first stop on your Manchester Highlight of the City Tour. With a dramatic location on the Salford Quays waterfront, the Lowry is just 2 miles from City Centre.

Opened in 2000, the Lowry building is designed by architect Michael Wilford, constructed of aluminum and titanium. The interior is masterfully designed to contain three theatres, an art gallery, bars and restaurants.

How to Get Here: Take the Metrolink Service.

Imperial War Museum North faces the Lowry across the canal, connected by footbridge. Combined with an audio-visual presentation, the museum is a dramatic exhibition with galleries allowing exploration of the impact of war.

Part of a family of 5 museums in England, IWMN features special exhibits, ranging from the Falklands to Bagdad. Its Main Exhibition Space traces the conflict of war and its history dating back to 1914. Stories behind objects such as World War II's fire-fighting trailer pump and modern warefare like T34 Tank reveal the evolution of war. At the Big Picture Show every hour listen to first-hand tales of war vetrans and their experiences.

Open daily 10am - 5pm, Last admission 4.30pm
*Closed 24, 25 and 26 December

Admission is free


How to Get Here: Located in the Quays, and walkable from The Lowry complex.

Witness for yourself Mancunians passion for sports in the Quays at the legendary Old Trafford football grounds, home to Manchester United’s football since 1910. Over a century ago Manchester United began making history and continues today, holding title to the 2012 champions of the Premier League.

Start your visit by reliving the heartbreaks and victories at Old Trafford Museum at regularly varying exhibits. Then continue on the tour of the Manchester United Stadium, and get the full picture of the story behind Old Trafford and Manchester United.

PRICING:
Museum Only COST: Adults £20.00. Juniors £15.00. Add Audio Guide £3.00.
Tickets for Museum & Tour: Adults £15.00. Family of 4 £45.00 Old Trafford Museum & Stadium Tour

HOURS:
The Museum & Tour Centre opens 7 days a week at 09:30 through to 17:00. Museum closed on weekend match day but open 3 hours prior to kick-off on mid-week match day. Pre-booking of tours highly recommended!

Getting There from The Lowry: Within 10 minute walking distance.

Getting There From City Centre: The stadium is approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent tram station. The Metrolink service operates a frequent service from the City Centre (including Victoria & Piccadilly

An internationally acclaimed neo-Gothic masterpiece, the Manchester Town Hall was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and completed in 1887, receiving Grade I status in 1952. Sitting on a triangular site, the building dominates Albert Square, listen for the distinctive chimes of Great Abel, the clock tower.

Manchester Town Hall has been featured in numerous television and films, including all interior shots of the Iron Lady (2011) and the filming of Sherlock Holmes.

How to Get There: Take the free Manchester Metroshuttle to Albert’s Square.

TIP: Visit the Manchester Visitor Information Centre, an extension of the Town Hall, near Lloyd Street (tram stop: St Peter's Square).

Culturally, Manchester Art Gallery and The Gallery of Costumes is a class act displaying more than six centuries of the city’s finest art works. Best known for its 19th century British paintings, a £35million expansion has transformed the experience.

For those not into fine art, Manchester Art Gallery isn’t your typical art museum experience as amongst its 25,000 items, almost 13,000 are paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs, including the world-renowned Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

You’ll also find several unique displays including the Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall with more than 21,000 items of clothing and accessories, ranging from 1600 to modern times. In the Decorate Art Collection, you’ll even see a Levi jeans chair!

HOURS: Monday-Sunday 10am-5pm

Entry is Free

Getting here:
Metrolink tram: St Peter’s Square or Mosley Street stations are the nearest Metrolink stations. Both are on the Altrincham and Eccles lines.

By bus: Nearest bus stops are St Peter's Square or Piccadilly Gardens.

By train: To Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road or Manchester Victoria stations. Take the Metrolink from Victoria or Piccadilly (Altrincham or Eccles direction) to Mosley Street or St Peter's Square.

Order a cup of coffee and freshly baked croissant in the Manchester Art Gallery Cafe, also a perfect stop for afternoon tea with homemade scones. In the restaurant, enjoy soup and sandwich. If your city tour brought on an appetite, order full Manchester brunch at just £5.45 and served 11am–3pm.

Take your tour outside and visit St. Ann's Square, one the city's oldest and most distinguished squares. Located in the center of Manchester's main shopping district, St. Ann's Square is often packed with shoppers and a few street performers, and well-known for its markets and food venues.

Other landmarks include the 18th century St Ann's Church, Manchester, consecrated in 1712. The Royal Exchange Theatre is located in the renovated Great Hall of the historic Victorian Cotton Exchange Buildings in Manchester city centre. British celebrities who have performed here include Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet.

How To Get Here: Use the free Metroshuttle bus service to St. Ann's Square. It is also within walking distance of these Manchester city centre stops: Piccadilly Gardens, Cross Street or Shudehill Interchange.

Traditional British Cuisine is available at Sam's Chop House, a Manchester tradition for 140 years. Dishes include Corned Beef Hash and homemade steak and Kidney puddings.

Pose for a picture with the famous life-sized bronze statue of LS Lowry. LS Lowry died in 1976, sadly a few months before his first exhibit at the Royal Academy in London.

How to Get Here: Walkable from St. Ann's Square.

The second largest in England and the third largest in Europe, Chinatown Manchester is a cultural gem in the heart of the city. Home to ethnic shopping and restaurants, it is also the core of the Chinese community. Located in a square bordered by York Street, Portland Street, Oxford Street and Mosley Street, Chinatown is really an enclave of Asian restaurants, shops, bakeries and supermarkets, including Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean and other ethnic Asian tastes.

Manchester welcomed its first Asian settlers in the early 20th century, and in 1948, the first Chinese restaurant, Ping Hong, opened on Mosley Street. The largest wave of Chinese immigration began post World War II with the passing of the 1948 British Nationality Act, responding to a shortage of labourers.

Since 1987, Chinatown is marked by the Chinese Arch over Falkner Street. A symbol of luck and prosperity, the arch is brightly painted in red and gold adorned by dragons and phoenixes.

Getting Here: Nearby stations are Piccadilly Gardens and St. Peter’s Square.

Founded in 1977 by the sons of renowned Hong Kong dim sum chef Tim Kwan Yeung, the Yang Sing Restaurant is a two generation, family-owned Cantonese restaurant, and a perfect restaurant to sample the ethnicity of Manchester. Yang Sing has received many culinary awards, including the Pestle & Mortar by Good Food Guide as the first recognized ethnic restaurant in this category.

Dine amongst colonial, 1930s-era Shanghai décor in this popular Manchester Asian restaurant. Both classical and innovate Cantonese cuisine is served. You’ll have a difficult time deciding from the dim sum menu’s over 60 choice, or the 200 dishes on the a la carte menu, such as stir-fried scallop with seasonal green, braised duckling in a spic bean casserole, and the tasty dim sim dumplings.

Price range: US$16 - $79
Main courses £22-£30; 4-course fixed-price menu £30; 5-course fixed-price menu £38
Hours:
Sun - Mon Noon - 11:30 pm
Tue - Noon - 10:00 pm
Wed - Noon - 11:00 pm

How to Get There: Metrolink: Piccadilly