Sightseeing in Manchester

As the world’s first industrial city, Manchester has much to offer in terms of historical heritage and stunning Victorian and modern architecture. Here is a brief guide to the best heritage sites and sightseeing spots in the city.

The Town Hall and Albert’s Square

Completed in 1887, this extravagant neo-Gothic building stands as a symbol to Victorian Manchester’s wealth and opulence. The interior is lavishly decorated with mosaic floors and beautiful murals by pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Maddox Brown. The Town Hall dominates Albert’s Square and its statues of Queen Victoria’s consort and other distinguished Victorians. Visit the nearby Manchester Visitor Information Centre for guided tours of the Town Hall.

St Ann’s Square and the Royal Exchange

With its cafes, fountains and street entertainers, St Ann’s Square has a distinctively European atmosphere. At one end of the square you will find St Anne’s church, an attractive church built in local pink sand-stone, which often holds free lunch-time recitals. The other end of the square is dominated by the Royal Exchange. Go up the stairs and you will find Manchester’s former main trading room for the global cotton industry, now home to the Royal Exchange Theatre. The main hall is very impressive with its three domes of coloured glass supported by massive guilded Corinthian columns.

Deansgate and John Rylands Library

Deansgate is one of the city’s main thoroughfares and is rife with fashionable shops, bars and stylish eateries. Amid this hustle and bustle stands one of Manchester’s most beautiful Victorian buildings, the John Rylands Library. This superb neo-Gothic building holds one of the best collections of ancient manuscripts in the world, including the oldest fragment of the New Testament and the first edition of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Chetham’s School of Music

Behind Urbis and the newly created Cathedral Plaza is Chetham’s School of Music, often said to be Manchester’s best kept secret. Now the home of Britain’s most gifted musical prodigies, this magnificent medieval building was once a monastery. The library here is the oldest public library in the UK.

Manchester Cathedral

Not far from Cheetham’s there is Manchester’s Cathedral, which contains some of the best late medieval wood carvings in North England. The cathedral sustained a direct hit in the 1940 Manchester blitz as you can see from its modern Fire Window.

Salford Quays and the Lowry

A visit to Salford Quays, the old commercial port of Manchester, is essential if you want to get the full flavour of Manchester’s rich industrial past and present urban regeneration. These once grimy and functional docks have been revitalised and transformed into a prosperous commercial and leisure district, with more than 200 businesses, restaurants and shops. The docks are framed by the staggering steel silhouettes of the Imperial War Museum and the Lowry Centre, which add a cultural dimension to the Quays.

Castlefield