Manchester

Manchester is an inland city, and beaches play no real part in a stay. The nearest coast is the Irish Sea, about an hour or more away by train: the dunes and pinewoods at Formby, or the long promenade at Blackpool. Both are pleasant for a walk on a bright day. The water is cold, rarely much above 15°C even in late summer, and few visitors swim. If you want to swim, use an indoor pool. Treat the seaside as a day out for its sea air and fish and chips.

Eating in Manchester is varied and casual more than distinctive. The city has no great regional cuisine of its own beyond hearty Northern staples such as pies, Lancashire hotpot and chippy teas. What it does well is range. Chinatown, behind the art gallery, is one of the larger ones in Britain. The South Asian restaurants along Wilmslow Road in Rusholme are cheap and filling. Converted mills and market buildings in Ancoats and the Northern Quarter hold busy food halls and independent kitchens.

Drinking is the bigger strength. The city has old Victorian pubs, a deep craft-beer culture with breweries under the railway arches, and good coffee in the Northern Quarter. Fine dining exists but is small.

Manchester's heritage is the heritage of the world's first industrial city, and that is what the sights cover. The neo-Gothic Town Hall, the John Rylands Library and the warehouses and mills of Ancoats and Castlefield show the money and confidence of the cotton era. The Science and Industry Museum on the site of the world's oldest passenger railway station tells the story directly. Other good, mostly free collections include the Manchester Art Gallery with its Pre-Raphaelites, the Whitworth, the Manchester Museum and the People's History Museum. The cathedral and Chetham's Library add a medieval layer.

It is a rewarding two days for anyone curious about industry, politics and Victorian building. No single sight here is famous worldwide, though.

Going out is one of the things Manchester is known for, and the city's dance-music history still shapes its nights. The Northern Quarter is the core, a grid of old textile warehouses packed with cocktail bars, basement dive bars and small DJ rooms. The Gay Village along Canal Street is among the oldest and liveliest in Europe. Deansgate and Spinningfields are glossier and draw dressed-up weekend crowds. In autumn and winter, large warehouse raves in industrial spaces bring in big-name DJs.

Two large universities keep the city busy through the week in term time. Friday and Saturday nights run late. Summer is quieter once the students leave, and the centre gets loud and messy at closing time.

The city centre is built up and flat, but Manchester has large green spaces further out. Heaton Park in the north is one of the largest municipal parks in Europe, with woodland, open grassland and a boating lake. Wythenshawe Park and Platt Fields add more green space to the south. Canal towpaths run out of Castlefield for easy walking and cycling.

Real hill country starts close by. The Peak District's dark gritstone edges and moorland begin on the eastern fringe. Trains on the Hope Valley line reach Edale and Hope in under an hour, and from there walks climb onto Kinder Scout and along the ridge from Mam Tor. Hayfield, the other classic start for Kinder, is a short bus ride or walk from New Mills station. The West Pennine Moors lie to the north. The Lake District is about an hour and a half by train, and Snowdonia is a long day out. The climate is wet and mild, so moorland walks often mean low cloud and mud. Bring waterproofs whatever the month.

Manchester's position at the centre of northern England's rail network is one of its best assets. Liverpool is under an hour away, with its waterfront, two cathedrals and Beatles history. Chester, with its Roman walls and black-and-white Rows, is about an hour. York, with its Minster and medieval streets, is about an hour and a half across the Pennines.

Closer in, the spa town of Buxton, Bakewell and the stately home at Chatsworth make a good Peak District day. Lyme Park and the cotton mill at Styal are nearer still. Leeds, the Brontë village of Haworth, the model mill village of Saltaire and the Lake District towns of Windermere and Keswick are all within reach. Few English cities have this many good outings so close.

Manchester works reasonably well with children, mostly because so much is indoors and free. The Science and Industry Museum has working engines and hands-on galleries. The Manchester Museum has dinosaurs and a vivarium. At the Trafford Centre, the vast mall on the western edge of the city, there is an aquarium and an indoor Lego attraction. An indoor real-snow slope next door gives a winter outing in any season. The Imperial War Museum North stands at Trafford Wharf, across the water from Salford Quays and a tram ride from the centre. Football fans of any age can take a stadium tour at Old Trafford or the Etihad.

The big draws need a day out. Chester Zoo is about an hour away, and the Alton Towers theme park and Blackpool's seaside rides take a little longer. Expect frequent rain, and a centre that gets rowdy on weekend evenings.

The city centre is compact and flat, and most sights, from Castlefield to the Northern Quarter and Piccadilly, are within a walk of each other. The Metrolink tram network, with its yellow trams, is the easiest way further out. It goes to Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, Old Trafford, the airport and the suburbs. A dense bus network covers the rest, and rail links from Piccadilly and Victoria stations make day trips simple.

The weak points are a road layout that confuses drivers, a tram network that is busy when big events are on, and rain that makes walking less pleasant. A car is unnecessary in the city and useful only for the more remote parts of the Peak District.

Manchester is the main shopping city of northern England, and it has a broad range rather than a speciality. The core around Market Street and Exchange Square has the big high-street names, a large central mall and two upmarket department stores. King Street and Spinningfields add designer labels. The real character is in the Northern Quarter. There you will find record shops, vintage clothing, independent fashion and Afflecks, the multi-storey indoor emporium of stalls that has been a fixture of the city's alternative style for decades.

On the edge of the city, the enormous, palatial Trafford Centre draws shoppers from across the region. Local crafts are few, and football shirts are the souvenir most visitors take home.

Manchester is a mid-priced city by Western European standards. It is noticeably cheaper than London but not a bargain. Hotel rooms are reasonable on ordinary weeknights. They rise sharply when there is a home football match, a big arena concert or a conference in town, so dates matter. Eating out costs what it does in most British cities, though the curry houses, Chinatown and food halls keep a cheap meal easy to find. Pub drinks are standard British prices. The biggest saving is culture, since most of the main museums and galleries are free to enter.

Live music runs through Manchester's identity. The city that produced a long line of famous bands still has a deep gig circuit, from tiny back rooms in the Northern Quarter to mid-sized halls and one of Europe's largest indoor arenas. Classical music is strong too. The Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic are both based here and play at the Bridgewater Hall, and the Royal Northern College of Music has its own concert programme.

Theatre is centred on the Royal Exchange, a striking theatre-in-the-round set inside the old cotton trading hall. HOME runs theatre and art-house cinema, and the Palace Theatre and Opera House stage touring West End musicals. There is no resident opera company. Visiting productions fill that gap.

Manchester is not a place to slow down. The city has no bathing tradition. Wellness here means hotel spas and a few day spas in the centre, plus Victoria Baths, a grand Edwardian swimming bath that is open to visit as heritage rather than to swim in. The pace is loud and busy, especially at weekends. If you need a restorative break, take the train to the Peak District or to the old spa town of Buxton, about an hour away.