Manchester, the city of firsts. The heart of industrialisation in the UK. The city is famous for its culture, music, science, and sports. From the Manchester Derby between arch-rivals to the famous Cricket rivalry between England and Australia (Ashes); from the first ever inter-city railways to the world’s first industrial city, and finally my first solo trip in the UK. Manchester has seen it all.
Being a die-hard Manchester City supporter, I had to watch their game live and explore this beautiful city. So, I booked tickets for the Champions League game between RB Leipzig and Manchester City and headed off to this new city. I planned to explore Manchester after the match for the next 2 days to see what the city had in store for me!
I took a train from Nottingham on the afternoon of 14th march, checked into my hotel (Travelodge in Salford) and moved straight to the famous Etihad Stadium. Watching City play live for the first time was mesmerising and to see them win 7-0 was just out of the world. I came back to the hotel with a big grin on my face and was looking forward to the next 2 exciting days to explore the city.
The next morning, I grabbed my backpack, camera and left for the adventure. My first stop was Castlefield Basin where many famous movies and shows like Peaky Blinders have been filmed. I hopped on the tram from Salford Quays and got down at Deansgate. Castlefield Basin is a bridge water canal, a nice, picturesque walk with graffiti’s all around the place. After completing the canal walk and clicking some good photographs of the place I walked towards Deansgate.
Deansgate is Manchester’s most famous and historical street. It is a vibrant area in the city centre filled with happening bar and pubs. It’s home to a lot of youngsters as their workplaces are located here. During a walk down this street, you will come across tall skyscrapers on one side and old medieval architecture on the other.
Nearby is Arndale Mall. If you are a shopaholic, this is the place is for you. With over 200 stores, this is Manchester’s biggest shopping centre having a lot to offer. Gothic architecture lovers, do checkout the Manchester Cathedral. It’s hardly 5 minutes from Arndale mall and has a dramatic and rustic feel. This should definitely be on your itinerary. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city’s parish church. The Holy Communion is celebrated every day, Monday- Friday at 1.10 pm; Saturday mornings at 9.00 am and Sundays at both 9.00 am and 10.30 am. For more information about the cathedral click on this link-
https://www.manchestercathedral.org/worship-music/worship-with-us/service-schedule/
Another must visit in Manchester is the Manchester Art Gallery which is free of cost. Filled with some exquisite art and vibrant sculptures, it is one of my favourites spots which I visited. It contains nearly 13,000 items including paintings, sculpture, drawings, watercolours, prints, posters and photographs.
After a long day of sightseeing, I went to Salford Quays for an evening stroll. The walk along the Quays is not only very relaxing, but also picturesque with a landscape of the quays.
From Quays, I walked towards the Historic Old Trafford stadium to see the Red’s Den. It had been a tiring day and it was time to go to bed. The next day was my last in Manchester and I had a train to board late noon. My last stop was the Manchester Museum. You can call me a Museum geek. I simply love visiting museums. The Manchester Museum is opposite the University of Manchester. It has some amazing works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history with a live reptile room which was my favourite part of the museum. Entry is free. The museum is massive in size with so much of interesting and informative stuff. You can easily spend a good 2-3 hours here.
( https://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk )
Manchester has some diverse variety of food such as Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Chinese, Italian etc and I got to taste some. For all my Pizza lovers, Nell’s Pizza will be my go to spot. The pizzas are quite affordable and taste amazing. For fast food you should try Fatpat; they make yummy and heavy sandwiches which can last you the whole day.
This sums up my trip to Manchester and very soon I will definitely plan my second visit to this city as it has a lot more to offer. Do checkout my Manchester portfolio for more photographs from this short yet amazing trip!
For any questions, comment down below!
