To avoid Manchester Christmas markets

[Onand]

Firstly they’re all selling the same items, woolly scarves, laser cut decorations, sweets, biscuits, tat etc etc. The food and drink areas are beyond packed, huge lines waiting to buy grossly overpriced average food, nowhere to stand or sit to eat the food. It’s freezing cold, damp and smokey with some very dubious smells thrown in.

The weekends must be traveller meet ups because there are lots of of traveller teenagers, some fighting, screaming and causing general mayhem and mischief in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, they closed the doors in Selfridges it got that bad on Saturday. The traffic in and out of the city is gridlocked and the public transport is packed with half cut pensioners stinking of bratwurst.

The crowd control is non existent, the whole place feels hugely unsafe given how many people are drunk from the mulled wine. It’s just a generally abysmal experience especially for young children. Midweek early on is a quieter more calm experience but otherwise avoid them like the plague unless of course you don’t mind the madness. I live in the city so unfortunately if I need to do food shopping or nip to the shops I can not avoid them.

I'm going Friday 🙈

I was going to say avoid but if you live locally then you have no choice.

Personally, I don't like them. When they first started they used to sell lovely items for gifts and the food was reasonable. Now it just seems to be overpriced stuff you can buy anywhere and the food prices are extortionate.

I don’t go anymore after I got by bag pickpocketed. Too many food and drink stalls, and samey tat. I remember the very first year when I bought a load of writing pads covered with recycled banknotes all chopped up. You could buy a roll of it to cover schoolbooks and they estimated it was around a million quid’s worth of banknotes. Not seen them before or since but nothing stands out as anything I want to buy anymore.

I went this weekend and had a lovely time 🤷🏻‍♀️

Slightly hubristic description there op but I agree. You couldn’t pay me to go to a Christmas market!

I live in the area but not central. We used to like going but not really anymore. Far too crowded and overpriced. Have you seen the pick n mix memes! My DD wants to go because she says it makes her feel Christmassy but I'm trying to persuade her to go to Leeds because I hear it's supposed to be better.
I recommend Halifax Piece Hall some nice stall and shops and lovely building.

Yes you are - because all Christmas markets are utter 💩

I do like them but do what you like, it can be repetitive to go to the same stalls year after year. But I really struggle to believe that so many people are getting so drunk on the (expensive for a small cupful, not that strong) mulled wine that it feels unsafe….

Used to really look forward to the Manchester markets but since Albert Square has been closed off they've not been as good. And they get a bit lairy with day drinkers now too. We tend to avoid Piccadilly gardens and head for St Ann's and the French market on king street where the food and stalls are more interesting and you can use the loo in McDonald's lol.

Believe me, drunks everywhere

There's a fairly recent trend for big all male groups to head down on weekends dressed in Christmas jumpers. Most of them are just having fun but there's deffo some very beered up and lairy

Yes, but from the mulled wine??

Casual traveller racism as usual. Would you of written that about any other ethnicity?

Don't go if you don't want to know ones forcing you

I think it's fun to go with friends, but I never buy anything as it's very overpriced. I agree with PP about about Halifax Piece hall, it's a lovely building. Not local, so no idea about xmas offering, but concerts there are fabulous!

Not getting into any more replies about this I get enough day to day racism without people piling on their 'experiences' and taring everyone with the same brush.

The one in Birmingham was good about 15 years ago, but you can have too much of a good thing.

It now takes over a large part of the city centre. Making moving around a pain if you are there for other reasons.

I was there in the weekend and agree that it was beyond capacity to the point of not being safe. Impossible to approach stalls, long queues everywhere, rivers of people inside and outside shops. I didn't see any drunkenness or fighting but it was still the opposite of a good time and a horrible experience for the children. Will avoid like the plague in future.

They also stink of piss!

@ouch44 You should go to the peaks instead. Lot's of lovely Christmas markets and events going on that are much cozier than both Manchester and Leeds: https://boutique-retreats.co.uk/guides/3384/winter-events-in-the-peak-district.html

I bloody hate the Christmas markets (not all! I have romantic illusions of the ones in small towns being something out of a Hallmark movie or National Trust brochure...) and do my best to avoid them, or choose to watch people smugly from inside a nice cafe (Rapha on King St is a good one).

Unfortunately a friend is very into them and I promised I would go with her...

@RoachFish Peaks sounds a good idea thanks. I will also see if there's anything good on at Buxton Opera house!

I don't know what people expect on a weekend. If it's so important to you, book some annual leave and make a day of it midweek. You will have a much better experience.