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.

in my job I work with Greater Manchester Police and without bias they are quick to respond to…read moreincidents across the city. the front desk staff at Bootle St are politeful and helpful.

I love Man's Chinatown so much. The beautiful Chinese architecture and arches are welcoming and…read moreinviting. The restaurants, markets, and shop are the very embodiment of Chinese culture and livelihood. It's an area I frequent with each visit to Manchester. Chinatown should be at the top of everyone's itinerary.

Never knew Manchester had a Chinatown but apparently it's the second biggest one outside of London…read more That being said, it encompasses only a few blocks (that we could see) but still it's fun to wander around and window shop - and have some dim sum or other more authentic dishes other than kung pao or general Tso chicken.

Crown Post Offices are a dying breed now - it seems almost every Post Office is now becoming a…read moresmall kiosk in a newsagents or similar style store, this is one of the few good remaining Post Offices remaining. This is a large branch, on Spring Gardens which is just off Market Street. It has a ticketed queuing approach, where you get a ticket and wait for them to call your number, I much prefer this to the standard queuing as it means you can sit down, relax without squabbling over your place in the queue. There is also a good number of self-service postage machines (These are great but not ideal as they don't include all services such as if the postage is pre-paid). The staff here are pretty friendly and service is quick enough, this is a huge benefit over the smaller Post Offices around the city centre located in Manchester Souvenirs and News stores, as it can be hit and miss whether you get served quickly or not - the staff always seem to take more care at this location too. It can be cheaper to pre-pay your postage online depending on the service being used. I don't understand the logic behind this, especially if you have to visit a Post Office anyway to post the parcel and/or generate proof of posting. 4* - A very good Post Office location, yet working on transparency between pricing through all payment methods and adding services to the self-service postage machines to make it quicker, and confusion-free would be a huge improvement again.

Hell hath no fury like central Manchester in the office lunch hour. I despair, I really do. And…read moreoften I found myself here having to post things off while I was working at Spinningfields, so once I'd jostled through the crowds the last thing I wanted was apocalyptic queues whilst standing like a lemon with my parcel. Thankfully, this is a particularly large post office. It sells what you'd expect - envelopes, stationery, stamps, the works, but with a great many kiosks it means you're never waiting a ludicrously long time to get rid of your items. The staff are helpful too, I was talked through the ins and outs of how many stamps I should put on a card to enable it to reach Fuerteventura, for instance. Its location just next to the Tesco Metro makes it a very handy stopping off point if you happen to be in town. I worked this out when I had to head here today to post off a box and a letter, both recorded delivery. I'm around a mile from a Post Office, no matter what direction I walk in. The shop opposite my apartment building closed down a long time ago, and now I'm at the mercy of Mocha Parade (gimme me flamin' giro), Soviet, sorry, Salford Precinct (Gorky Park) and this. This is my default. I'd like to take a moment to announce that I'm a dumbass as well. Ticket systems? Lost on me. I become like a doddering old grandmother that's been handed an iPod for the first time. Don't worry, this happens at cheese counters and in hospital queues too. Small ballots of paper bewilder me. Anyway, I realised that I shouldn't have sauntered past the friendly-looking bloke stood next to the ominous looking machine. And the lady who handled my parcels was super friendly. It's quick and easy. Worth a visit if you're parcel-sending this Christmas. Although by now you're probably too late... sorry, there was no need for that. I reckon you are though. Okay, I promise, I'll stop now.

Because I'm not a British Citizen or citizen of an EEA Country, we have to go to a designated…read moreoffice, and for us that is Manchester Register Office. It was fairly easy to find, but there isn't much parking, so we ended up finding a parking garage and walking. While the walk wasn't a difficult one, I'm not sure it is one I want to make in my wedding dress... so in that sense it was helpful for us in deciding what we will do on the day. The office is on the first floor and if you are giving notice for marriage or registering a birth, you'll go to the second reception desk (go past the first reception area). It is a very busy office, so you'll want to make sure you get there right on time. I don't know if it helps to be very early as we were on this day, but they were running about 10 minutes late on their appointments. The Receptionist was very friendly, confirmed our appointment, and invited us to take a seat in the waiting area. The waiting area is large, but there isn't a huge amount of seating. There is an enclosed area for mothers feeding children, but in overhearing the couple next to us, there wasn't a microwave to warm up bottles. When we were called back, we went to an office down the hall from the reception area. The lady was very friendly, but because of a recent change in marriage rules by the Home Office, she was still getting used to the new policies and had to keep referring to the guidance to ensure that we were compliant under the new rules. Unfortunately, there were a couple of issues that she needed to consult with her manager about. Turns out that there were two issues with our documents so we couldn't complete giving notice that day. However, they were very friendly, made sure that we knew what we needed, and also helped us book another appointment to give notice. While we were a little annoyed, I have to say that the friendliness and the sense of humor the staff had about the whole thing really helped us gain perspective on the situation and they made a potentially stressful situation less stressful.

One of my favourite Streets in Central Manchester (of which I have many) this street is seemingly…read moresplit in space and time. Two thirds of this lies in Chinatown and forms one side of the main square in Chinatown and includes the Chinese Imperial Arch the first, and once largest, of it's kind in Europe. What I like about this street is that the first part of Faulkner Street (I'll call it Part I) is pure Chinatown and home to the fantastic Ho's Bakery amongst other restaurants, Oriental craft shops (windows full of those waving cats) and supermarkets. Come night time and it's full on Neon and hanging lanterns shining their spirits on the tourists and human browsers below. Due to it's density it has a real Chinatown (still one of the largest in Europe) feel, rather a brief nod to the Orient with one supermarket and a generic Mr Wok restaurant. A large proportion of Manchester's Chinese community live in the area and are often seen about either shopping or working. The sights and smells of this area give it a genuine, almost cinematic aura. Grab an ultra large spring roll from Ho's and just pot around here taking it all in. But this review is not all about Chinatown per se, more Faulkner street which cuts through it. Because once you walk out of Chinatown's northern end and carry on towards the latter half of Faulkner Street (I'll name this bit Part II) you're entering a set from a 70's made Sci Fi movie (think Logan's Run). I barely see anyone walking down this bit of street on which the glorious, monolithic 'Bank House' building sits upon, aside from the odd security guard. It's the kind of back street which seems to energise you and make your brains synapses sparkle large cities do this very well. Take a stride down this street (commencing at the Princess Street end) via Ho's bakery and finally into the last section (which then leads into the newly refurbished and mighty fine New York Street); Manchester's coming on in leaps and bounds now the landscape is altering at a quick rate around here (and for the better in my opinion).

worst post office in Manchester. an Evri parcel point who doesn't stick to hours advertised and are…read morevery rude when you ask for your parcel to be told they're closed, when the advertised closing time for Evri us 7pm. I got there just before 6 and all post office shutters were down. I told them you're evri hours state 7pm not 6 and the guy couldn't have bed. less interested, they give Evri a bad name and that's saying something. Thus us the second time thus has happened, rudest and laziest post office staff in Manchester. Don't offer services if you can't produce if, never mind that you only earn 30p a parcel that's not my problem.

This branch of Post Office is one of three locations in Machester City centre, it is located just…read moreoff Market Street, in Piccadilly Plaza, fairly close to City Tower and it is inside a Manchester Souvenirs store. The branch its-self is quite small due to being located in a shop, and you have to go through the shop to get to the Post Office, which is slightly inconviniant, supported by the fact as a sub post-office it doesnt sell the range of other products (generally overpriced parcel stuff), nor have the self service machines. The layout is a little confusing with different queues for Special Delivery and a few others and regular posting, with no tanoid or system to tell you when someone's free. There is no Post Box nearby, the nearest one is probably near Morrisons (a gold one dedicated to an Olympian) at the other side of Piccadilly Gardens, meaning you might have to queue up to post a letter. Poor facilities, yet store is in a decent location with decent service yet due to it not competing with a regular post office with certain items being poor, confusing and/or inconvenient, I feel only a two-star rating is possible.

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*

Not only does Manchester has got its Chinatown, it also boasts a Chinese Arch! This adorable…read moreaddition to the truly multicultural city was assembled by a group of Chinese craftsmen from parts shipped from China and unveiled to the public in 1987. It is decorated with traditional symbols of luck and prosperity: golden and red dragons and phoenixes. It can be seen from either end of Faulkner St, and is particularly impressive in the evening when the entire Chinatown oozes mystery, vice, and the promise of adventure.