Is Manchester worth a visit?

[Cam]

Having never been there, I have the opportunity to go with dh (he'll be on business) for an overnighter. Is it worth the effort for me to accompany him? Tell me the gory details Northerners.

Yes, yes, yes!!!

It's my favourite city, can you guess? It's been transformed since the late 90s and there's loads to see now, loads of good shops, nice places to eat etc. plus you can get the tram out to Salford Quays and go to the Lowry, War Museum.

Got to go, which is a good thing as I could go on and on and on...

As long as you don't go to certain parts (ie the bits tourists wouldn't normally see) then its brilliant! Used to live near there and like clayhead says, there's loads to do and shops galore. You should definitely go if you fancy the trip, you won't get bored - you'll probably end up wishing his trip was longer.

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Cam? In the North? Of course it's worth the visit, just beware of all those dark satanic mills Is he staying at a swanky hotel?

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yes. Lots to do there, and loads of shopping especially If it is raining try and get off to the Trafford Centre for some retail therapy - as all indoors. Love Selfridges in there.

Yes, it's great (well, some of it). I was born there, what more do you need to know
Trafford Centre is fab if you are into retail therapy, but also Manchester City Centre (not the grim Arndale Centre) but head down to St. Anne's Square, Deansgate (Daisy and Tom's, Kendals) etc. Just get an City Guide and see what you fancy. Excellent art galleries too, John Rylands library...ooh yes, go for it!

i just wet myself thinking of you in manchester!!

its a shithole - but am sure you will find the posh bits!!

manchester and posh in a sentence .... oxymoron?

look out for bad perms and rubbish accents

have a ball xxxxxxxxxx

If you are taking Jnr, Daisy and Tom is worth an hour, Kids hairdresser on 3rd floor good, merrygoround on groundfloor runs every 30 mins. Free soft play in basement.
Oilily (expensive but wonderful) is worth a visit (arcade behind Disney shop) and there is a fantastic cut price kids designer shoe shop opposite.
Coronation Street tour is worth a visit if you like that sort of thing and is just round the corner from the center. Often see street actors lurking about city center.
If your on your own head up to the designer shops, Armani, DNKY, Joseph etc all in one area, good for a quid a two.
Pizza express is best place we have found to feed kids in town center.

Cor, thanks ever so much for all these messages. I still haven't decided whether to go or not though.........will I get cultureshock Custy? Some of the accents down South are pretty dodgy but haven't seen a perm lately.

Mcr is definitely worth a visit (ignore custardo snide remarks) especially for shopping, but not if you have no money like moi. Loads of museums/shops/restaurants etc etc

Make sure you visit Levenshulme, Hulme, Mosside and Newton Heath (pronounced Heaff).

Seriously though, its a lush city. Its got Selfridges - what more can a gal want?

Ooh and I'm going this weekend.

manchester is great - there is so much to do and see. you will have a fantastic time despite what custardo may think

Mcr has a good train/tram service out of there if you need it.... but yes it does have some very nice shopping, museums and art gallerys.. worth seeing at least once in your life..go for it.

And a Harvey Nicks.

custy - hope you are joking as I know how you hate for people to be labelled

manchester is good.

stay at the Rosetti hotel, go the war musuem (yes really), Urbis centre, Selfridges (don't like harvey nicks myself). Eat at Piccolinos, or yang sing in china town.

Manchester is definitley worth a trip since the bomb. It got a much needed facelift. No one has mentioned the museum of science and industry which is free to get in. There's loads of steam trains and old planes. There's also minature models of Thunderbird3 and 5. Also I can't believe no one has mentioned the IMAX. Floor to ceiling cinema screen. Well worth a trip. We watched the Lion King there and the whole place thundered with the stampede. Very good! If you're staying for the night and you want something more, you can always see what's on at the Palace or the Opera House.

Have a good time. If I had the chance to go to London even for a day, I'd go.

If you are taking a child the interactive bit of the art gallery is amazing and totally free. Actually it's worth going even without a child.

For kids the science museum is great, and the art gallery interactive bit is fab*, but I wouldn't choose to go to either if I were child-free.

*We've been to loads of interactive museum things, and after a while they all get a bit samey. But the Manchester art gallery is different, very striking. I particularly liked an exhibit that looked rather like a photo booth ... A child sits in it and looks at a 19th (?) century picture of a girl with a book ... If the child sits PERFECTLY still and quiet the girl starts to move gradually. The kids are completely entranced by them ... and silent! I wonder where you can get these things from and how much they cost