Whether you’re here for the music, the museums, the nightlife or the sport, Manchester is always on the go. Here we look at some of its newest cultural offerings.
Manchester has an inordinate number of things to shout about. Two titanic football teams; a music scene that birthed everyone from The Smiths and New Order to Bugzy Malone and The 1975; an industrial heritage unmatched virtually anywhere on the planet; a claim as one of the cradles of feminism, vegetarianism, communism and trade unionism. And the list goes on. For the visitor, it makes the city not only somewhere to delve into at length — shopping for vintage clothes at Affleck’s Palace, gazing at neo-gothic architecture at the John Rylands Library, bar-hopping in the Northern Quarter, wandering the superb National Football Museum — but also a destination that evolves by the month. New attractions come thick and fast in Manchester. Here are some of the most notable.
Castlefield Viaduct
YHA Manchester has a fantastic canal-side location within walking distance of the city centre. It’s also virtually in the shadow of the Castlefield Viaduct, a 56-arch, Grade II-listed railway bridge, which today is far more than just a photogenic relic of the industrial era. The landmark was given a fresh lease of life in 2022 when the National Trust — inspired by the High Line in New York City — transformed a 330-metre stretch of the viaduct into a public sky garden.
Around 3,000 species of plants and trees are now growing along its length, and the viaduct can be visited at no cost (although you’ll still need to pre-book tickets at certain times). It’s an extraordinary attraction — a piece of bygone Victoriana reimagined as a carefully nurtured green space — and has become another symbol of Manchester embracing its past in creative ways. Some sections remain untouched, to show how nature had already begun to reclaim the viaduct through wild grasses and weeds, but the main areas are a joy to visit on a bright day.
Manchester Museum
After a three-year closure that culminated in February 2023, the Manchester Museum is back. A £15 million transformation has seen the venue — which dates back more than 130 years and forms part of the University of Manchester — add a two-storey extension. New to its offering are the South Asia Gallery, the Chinese Culture Gallery and a brand-new exhibition hall.
The latter is currently hosting the Golden Mummies of Egypt exhibition, which has already successfully toured the USA and China. It showcases an incredible array of artefacts from ancient Egypt and Sudan and runs until the end of the year. Perhaps even more remarkably, it’s free — just book your tickets online.
This is, to be clear, a cut above the average civic museum. There are some 4.5 million objects in the collection, including some 100,000 fossils and one of Europe’s most important collections of Ice Age animals. Perhaps most unusual of all, however, is the Vivarium, which houses live amphibians and reptiles. It’s renowned worldwide for its conservation work and was recently able to captive-breed a variable harlequin toad. Hop along and see it for yourself.
Factory International
Less than 10 minutes on foot from YHA Manchester you’ll spot this show-stopping new cultural centre, scheduled to open in June… Factory International. If you’re expecting a bog-standard event venue, think again. The £186m complex was designed by prize-winning Dutch architect Ellen van Loon and is said to be the largest investment in a national cultural project since London’s Tate Modern in 2000.
Topping the bill this year is the biennial Manchester International Festival, which will be running from 29th June to 16th July. One of the most eye-catching inclusions in the programme is an exhibition by the much-famed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, whose giant inflatable installations can be visited until the end of August (standard tickets £15).
Elsewhere, the multi-Grammy-nominated US musician Janelle Monáe will be performing a three-night residency at the venue, while world-class singer-songwriters such as Alison Goldfrapp, John Grant and Angélique Kidjo are also appearing. The programme includes a whole range of other events, with a number of them offering free or £10 tickets.
Science & Industry Museum
Even closer to the hostel is the renowned Science & Industry Museum, which sits on the site of the world’s first passenger railway (pub quiz fact: it opened in 1830 and ran from here to Liverpool). The museum has been a major draw ever since being unveiled in 1983, but the big news in its 40th anniversary year is the arrival of two exciting exhibitions.
The first, Operation Ouch!, will appeal to families. It brings to life the hit CBBC series of the same name with interactive exhibits and on-site doctors to guide you through the wonders of the human body. It opens on 21 July and runs until the end of 2024 (£10 adults, £9 children, under-3s free).
The second, Stephen Hawking at Work, arrives here in May — having initially been shown at London’s Science Museum — and will be in place until January 2024. Giving a fascinating insight into the life of one of the world’s greatest thinkers, it showcases many of the extraordinary objects and contents of his office, including his PhD thesis and his spectacles. It’s free to visit.
Co-op Live
It was 1863 when 300 individual co-operatives banded together in Manchester to create the Co-Operative Wholesale Society — the forerunner of today’s organisation — so the sponsor of this major new live events arena has meaningful links to the city. Co-op Live is set to open at the end of 2023 and expects to host around 120 events a year.
The venue, which will be located next to Manchester City FC’s stadium, will accommodate up to 23,500 fans, as well as having space for 32 bars and restaurants. Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles have helped advise on the design and layout of the main event space, which will make a point of having no corporate branding.
It’s a notable project in other ways, too. It aims to be the most sustainable arena in the UK, with initiatives that include rainwater-flush toilets and a football-pitch-and-a-half’s worth of rooftop solar panels. It’s also pledging to use locally sourced construction materials and aims to send zero waste to landfill.
Mancunians on Manchester
“A city that thinks a table is for dancing on.”
“Manchester’s got everything except a beach.”
“The thing about Manchester is… it all comes from here.”
“This is Manchester. We do things differently here.”
If you’re planning on giving this vibrant city a visit, make sure YHA Manchester is your first accommodation choice.
Photo credit: coward_lion / Adobe Stock
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