This is a very impressive museum full of artifacts and exhibits. We loved everything about this…read moremuseum and the best part was the entrance is free! They have artifacts from Egypt, Africa, and many locations. They have quite a bit of wild animal exhibits representing the different species in the UK. They have a nice cafe to sit and rest also. They have a lift. I definitely recommend this museum. So nice and so much to see.

Imagine it is 150 years ago, and you are a rich, white English dude. You travel the world and…read moresimply help yourself to whatever catches the fancy of your magpie little brain. You plunder flora and fauna, antiquities, important cultural objects from other peoples. You compete with other rich, white dudes to create the biggest collection of the most random things someone could think of. "I have one of every butterfly on each of the inhabited continents!" "Oh yeah, my stuffed 2-toed sloth is bigger than yours!" Fast forward to the present, and the current caretakers of this hodgepodge of objects of dubious provenance are tasked with creating cohesive exhibits for the public. There are some really interesting pieces in the museum. I was able to hold a 2,000 year-old carved stone perfum vial. See the cross section of a turtle skeleton (so cool how the spines follow the inner curve of the shell), admire a stuffed porcupine. It was fascinating to think about what caught the fancy of people in the past. I would have loved to have seen more discussion of how these objects came to be, and what that tells us about classism, racism, and the history of imperialism. Be that as it may, I'm glad to see that someone's past light fingeredness is at least entertaining and educating the public today, instead of collecting dust in a storage facility somewhere.

A fascinating perspective on the contributions by the people of the Manchester area to major…read moreinnovations in science and industry throughout history. Numerous displays and examples of equipment and machinery large and small. Steam engines to electron microscopes on display, with emphasis on Manchester's relationship with the cotton industry, both good and bad. Something for everyone here, young and old. Free to enter, donations appreciated. Reservations will make sure that you don't need to wait for entry. A must-see if you are in the area.

Fantastic place for families with children! Adults can enjoy the many exhibits while young ones can…read moreenjoy the hands on displays. We liked watching the textile demonstration in the Textile area. This place has so much to see and do. And it's free! Contributions are gladly accepted to keep this fabulous museum operational.

The Manchester Art Gallery isn't massive but has an interesting collection of pieces. It's also…read morefree to enter, so not much to lose by stopping in. My partner and I were in the area and checked it out because they had an exhibition on drinkware and the historical context of its supply and consumption. Lots of cool pieces and good insights on the exploitation involved with coffee, tea, and chocolate. Other than that, it's not unlike most museum visits. Wander around, stop by the gift shop perhaps, and then you're off!

Free to the public during the week! We stopped here because we couldn't check into your Airbnb yet…read more We stopped by and walked around. It's big, pretty and they have clean and nice bathrooms. They also have a cafe, and plenty of chairs so you can rest and sit. The gift shop is also very cute and they have free wifi! Definitely check it out if you need to kill some time!

As a football ( soccer ) coach and fan, my wife and I stopped by here to check out some history. It…read morewas located in a nice area surrounded by shopping malls, restaurants, pubs, and entertainment. There weren't too many people in when we visited so we had the opportunity to use the interactive exhibits (most of which were free, you just had to grab the ticket hanging on the lanyard next to the scanners to use). My wife and I had a great time and got a good work out in using the interactive exhibits such as the passing, shooting, and penalty blocker games. Great place to take the kids as they will be napping good after.

National Football Museum is the largest football museum in the UK, and even as a big football fan…read morewho follows Manchester City all over the country I was a little disappointed in general, and found that ever since the museum now charges it just doesn't offer value for money any more at £10 entry, I really do think the donations basis was better as obviously the museum does receive great funding from Manchester City Council, and for someone who works in the city centre even though I live just outside the city region, it is quite dissapointing that the free entry isn't rolled out to all Greater Manchester residents. When it was built, Urbis was one of the most recognisable and cool buildings in the city centre, being next to the Corn Exchange, Printworks and Victoria Station, but with Manchester's impressive and growing skyline that has been dwarfed slightly. They do have replica premier league and FA Cup trophies which are a nice addition considering they are some of the main domestic trophies within England, but with the current holders of both trophies being Manchester City, my club have been excellent in bringing the real trophies on a "trophy tour" at various points within the city centre such as bringing them to Selfridges nearby, or to WHSmith in Piccadilly Station and even the women's team trophies to the Manchester Arndale. They do have some interesting changing exhibits including from 1966, where football came home and England won the world cup, defeating West Germany 4-2 in the World Cup Final, but I do think they could have more information focused on more recent history. A cool museum but I'm yet to see the improvement to warrant the enterance fee, and it just left me a little disappointed. 2*

We were advised to go to the museum in a bar the night before. It was a pleasantly surprising…read moreexperience. You have free entry to an excellent walk through of English history in light of worker rights and living conditions. It takes you from Peterloo to current day by exploring the impact of class distinction, the industrial revolution and onwards. Very interesting and insightful.

I'm going to do something really bad right now. I'm going to review a museum... café! Without…read morereviewing the museum itself, you see. So last Saturday I sidled in here, sheltering from the Mancunian drizzle, to get me some lunchtime eats. I was greeted by a very pleasant man who seemed to be running the show by himself, and there were countless comfy sofas and chairs and vertigo-inducingly high tables and stools dotted around. It was quiet, and that's the way I like it. The Left Bank café's incredibly sleek, as one would expect from a Couture Café enterprise (my, all Manc's museum eateries seem to be in bed with one another!). I clocked the chalkboards behind the dude in charge and saw 'vegetarian hot sandwich'. SOLD! Only then I was crushed, because as soon as I started saying it the gent told me the chef doesn't work on weekends so the options were pre-made sandwiches and soup. But this is where the place started to shine. When I heard tomato I winced, thinking, 'If this is cream of tomato, I'm outie.' Nope! Inspection of the self-service vat revealed a vegetably proper Italian soup, and since it was self-service, I totally abused my bowl. The bread was also help yourself, in a cute little box behind the soup, with options of white and granary. Very nice it was too. Combined with a very good strong coffee my lunch only cost me a little over a fiver, and I was full to the brim. I made a mental note to go back on a weekday and try more of their options. Oh, and I might have to check out the museum too. PHM, thankies for providing me with a most pleasant weekend afternoon!

Fab art gallery which is definitely worth a visit. Building has been restored in an amazing manner…read more Great open spaces house some wonderful art. Really enjoyed our visit there in October, 2017.

We managed to time our visit here so well that it had just been announced that the Whitworth had…read morewon UK Gallery of the Year for 2015 which was just perfect. It's a bit of a walk from the city centre (35 minutes from Piccadilly Gardens) so we had a drinks stop at Big Hands along the way - highly recommended. The Gallery itself is absolutely beautiful, having recently been refurbed. It has a very tranquil feeling to it and a lot of green credentials which is fantastic to see. As we entered we could hear a choir singing which was so lovely and welcoming - we headed to see who they were and it was a group of school kids. I'm not sure if it's a regular thing or that was a special occasion but either way, it was really nice to hear them as we wandered around the gallery. I won't pick out any specific highlights as I think overall the gallery is really lovely, and a must-see when you go to Manchester.

Went here for a gala dinner to celebrate the launch of Cathay Pacific's flights from Manchester to…read moreHong Kong. The venue is stunning for functions. At the entrance the stairs were lit up with hundreds of candles and my eyes were instantly drawn up to the ceiling. We all gathered outside the main room for drinks and canapés then we were ushered in to take our seats at very beautifully decorated tables. I had never been inside the town hall before but I know you can take a tour of the building and I'd heard great things. It's really beautiful inside and it looked fab lit up in coloured lights. The food was the town hall's own catering and it was superb.The chef cooked up a fusion of Asian and British cuisine. Starter was steamed fillet of bream, rice and seaweed crackers, crab salad edame, miso and hazelnut. Main was coal roasted sirloin of kings valley beef, roasted broccoli and sesame emulsion, lightly picked mouli, fermented bean reduction, shin dumpling & aromatic mini fondants. Dessert was coconut milk pannacotta, mancha green tea sponge, papaya & lychee.

Town Hall, Albert Square in city centre has been renovated over the years but it still boasts its…read moreglorious 1800s Victorian architecture with stellar beauty. Many events are held here from weddings, concerts, special events, holiday markets, and more. It's easy to see why. It makes for a beautiful backdrop for any occasion. I do like stopping by when I'm in Man to take in anything that may have changed and its infinite gothic presence.

An interesting way to spend an hour finding out about the life of an 19th century author.read more

OK full disclosure, I've been volunteering here. With that off my chest I can go on to recommend…read morethis honestly. This is the former home of Elizabeth Gaskell, one of the most important Victorian writers and an important person in Victorian Manchester. It's also an interesting slice of 1860s middle class life. The dining table is set for a family luncheon and the drawing room looks like the lady of the house has just set down her sewing. There is a tea room on the lower level and I can personally recommend the cakes!

I am sure we all have had one of those blah days which suddenly get very exciting with a new…read morediscovery...I had one of those days last week when I dropped my very close friend at the train station (was a little sad, emotional cow that I am) and then met a friend who was walking home with me just to point out this incredible library. Its located right above the pub Bank (I used to call it 'The Old Man's Pub') which is very close to Piccadilly Gardens. The minute he pointed out I wanted to go in and see what it is like. The most interesting entrance ever, because we had to ring the door bell (very old English style bell) to enter. Very Cool and Very British. The moment I walked in I felt like I am in a Sherlock Holmes movie.. yeah its Grand and so mysterious. This is a 19th century library, with books from the late 18th century (whoa) and a little fun fact the librarian told us ... John Dalton wanted a membership here which he could not afford so he was asked to clean the grand clock (which btw was made by the same chap who made the clock for Big Ben) instead of paying the membership fee! How awesome is that? This used to be the hub for the rich and the famous once upon a time but sadly not many people know about it now and barely a few visit. *sigh*. The space inside is incredible and perfect for art exhibitions and guess what they actually do have quite a few of those. There are book reading sessions here too, so next time you complain about not finding a good place to do such cultural stuff, you know where to go! The membership fee here is as low as 175 pounds for the whole year and you get to access every book and much more... Verdict : *Phew* I am totally bowled and sold! Can't wait to go back again!

This place is my little escape from the city, a step back to times of tail coats and top hats…read more. perhaps even a monocle or two! The library sits on top of the bank pub (once upon a time the entire building was a library but the library now rent the downstairs out to the pub to help fund the restoration of the antique books they house upstairs). Anyone can visit the library, there's a little black door around the side, you need to ring the buzzer and wait to be let in. There's an art gallery and café that is open to the general public but only members can actually read/borrow the books and there's a members lounge at the back that is AMAZING, please see attached picture. The interior is stunning, ask the staff to give you a free guided tour and they'll explain all the features, the wind dial and various coats of arms to you. I find this place so comforting. I love tucking up in one of the huge leather armchairs reading one of the many glorious books, wondering who else much have cast their eyes over the same words in times gone by. Membership is around £110 (cheaper for concessions) a month and members can take their guests in to the members room. You can order lunch/drinks and enjoy them in the room too. FUN FACT: the oldest post box in Manchester, which happens to be Victorian is located just outside the bank pub, it's still in use and bears Queen Victoria's coat of arms.

I've genuinely never left a bad review in my life, but the experience I had at Manchester Central…read morewas beyond disappointing. I came in to print a few pages and was incredibly polite the entire time--even when things kept going wrong. The papers kept coming out incorrectly, but I stayed calm and asked nicely if they could be reprinted. At no point was I rude or demanding. Eventually, the price on the screen didn't match what it should've been, but I even said I'd just pay the higher price to avoid causing trouble. After paying, one of my documents printed completely wrong--an A3 image came out as A2 on an A3 paper, with no visible writing. I pointed it out and explained that I wouldn't pay again for a print that was clearly incorrect. This clearly upset the ginger receptionist at the bottom front desk, who suddenly told me (in a very rude and dismissive tone) to not come to her anymore and that I should take out cash and print everything myself. Even then, I told her it was fine--I actually felt bad for making her print something I didn't pay for, even though it was their machine's error. But on my way back to my seat, I overheard her talking about me to another receptionist, and when I showed the incorrect printout again, another staff member (with shorter hair) said it was my fault. I've never been treated with such disrespect by people in a public service role. You'd expect librarians to be kind, helpful, and professional--but what I experienced was the opposite. I walked out feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable, despite being nothing but polite and patient throughout. Absolutely shameful service.

If you're a Manchester resident, whether that be from one of the boroughs of the city, like me who…read moremight have their own unaffiliated library chain, the Manchester Central Library certainly makes it worthwhile to be apart of Manchester City Council's Library programme, which is by far the best library service overall in the Greater Manchester region by availability of the newest books and even individual library locations, like this one. Manchester Central Library is a huge, stunning old building which was recently renovated in 2014 in Manchester city centre, it is just off Deansgate via Peter Street in St Peter's Square meaning it is also close to John Ryland's Library (which has actually been reviewed more on Yelp!) The location basically opposite a branch of Starbucks as well as The Midland Hotel and the Radisson Blu Edwardian, the latter is part of the exclusive few places to actually have warranted a perfect five-star rating from me (and the only accredited 5* hotel in the city centre) The City Library is on the lower floor, but that doesn't mean the rest of the building is left empty - the ground floor features a Cafe which is reasonably priced as well as a cool archive space, which although to the back of the library could be laid out better, it still is a rather nice exhibit. There are some tables and computers making it a decent place to work, obviously with the benefit, you don't have to buy a drink with it being a library building. It was actually built in 1930 here, taking four years to complete and that same length of time was spent on the renovations between 2010 and 2014 and part of the design is based from the Pantheon, Rome, meaning walking into it, it feels like a fancy old building, it reminds me of a typical Apple Store which in large cities are often located in these big, impressive, historic buildings - think of London, Berlin etc. A pretty cool place to spend time without looking to spend too much in the city - although there are some areas of improvement such as the layout and how welcoming certain parts are (certain parts appear derelict), more charging points and helpful staff is always a bonus! 4*