Manchester is the ‘original modern’ city and has earned a reputation as being revolutionary, innovative and entrepreneurial.  The city was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, leading in the development of the modern world. Set in a region that offers great value for money, Manchester welcomes visitors with its fine traditions of culture, music, sport and top class events. Its vitality is expressed through its fascinating history, interactive attractions, magnificent architecture and most of all, the spirit of its people.

Destination profile

Manchester is the third most popular destination in the UK for overseas visitors with approximately 988,000 people visiting the city centre each year (source: 2013 IPS). It is the third largest city in the UK with a population of approximately 2.6m people within the Greater Manchester metropolitan area.

Manchester Chinatown

Manchester Chinatown is the second largest in the UK, located in the city centre. Its iconic archway is situated on Faulkner Street and the surrounding streets contains many Chinese restaurants, shops, bakeries and supermarkets.

Click here Manchester Chinatown’s website

International connectivity

Manchester Airport is the largest UK regional airport and the busiest outside of London. It handles over 22 million passengers every year and is connected to more than 225 destinations by more than 100 airlines.

Domestic connectivity

Manchester is a two hour train journey from London with three trains running each hour. The city is well connected by train to most other cities across the UK.

Top ten visitor attractions (visitors per year)

The Lowry (819,325)

Museum of Science & Industry (676,677) 

Chill Factore (451,000)

Manchester Art Gallery (386,580)

Bolton Museum, Aquarium & Archive (367,342) 

Manchester Museum (365,817) 

Manchester United Museum & Stadium Tour (330,963) 

Runway Visitor Park (330,800) 

Imperial War Museum North (328,523) 

Dunham Massey (225,300)

Manchester’s Busy Bee symbol 

Adopted by Manchester in the 19^th Century to symbolise the industrious nature of the city and its people, the logo can be found dotted on much of Manchester’s street furniture and can be seen as a part of the mosaic floor at the Town Hall.

Football

More than 900 teams compete in over 75 different leagues across the city, including three Premiership teams. The National Football Museum opened in July 2012 and is home to the world’s largest football collection.

Music

Manchester’s diverse music scene is legendary and Mancunian artists include The Hollies, 10cc, The Bee Gees, The Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, Simply Red, The Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Oasis, Take That and more recently, Doves and Elbow.  The longest established symphony orchestra in Britain is Manchester’s Hallé, founded in 1858.  

LGBT

Pivoting around Canal Street, Manchester’s Village is home to a thriving LGBT community. The annual Manchester Pride, held in August, has been voted Pink Paper Awards ‘Best UK Pride’ on numerous occasions and the event has raised over £1m since 2002 for LGBT charity organisations.

Manchester’s countryside

It’s a little-known fact that Greater Manchester has over 500 square miles of easy-accessible picturesque countryside. Popular day trip to the countryside include Saddleworth, Middlebrook Valley and Dunham Massey.

www.visitmanchester.com