This has been my fourth trip to Manchester (albeit my first that I’ve actually done enough to make it worthwhile writing about – I will however have a ‘throwback’ section at the end recommending activities to do which I’ve done on previous trips to Manchester but which I did not do this time).
The purpose of this trip was to watch Manchester City vs. Southampton in the Premier League, but we thought we’d make the most of our time in the city.
We arrived in Manchester very late on Friday night, and headed out immediately after landing (well, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and quickly changed). We grabbed an Uber to ‘Venue’, a rock bar which was playing the many songs from the best of Manchester’s indie scene (including the likes of: The Smiths, Oasis, The Stone Roses and The Courteeners).
Here we met a friendly group of students who were more than welcoming towards us on the dancefloor.
The Venue is great if you’re interested in a more alternative night out to your regular nightclub.
After grabbing a late night pizza from a nearby kebab shop we headed back to the hotel to get ready for match day.
Our hotel was on Princess Street, in close proximity to the City Centre and the Etihad arena for the football match. It is also located around the corner from Cloudwater Brewing Co. which was recommended to me by my craft beer aficionado friend. So when we woke the next morning, our match day ritual began; we got dressed and sought out our morning pint (and breakfast).
We were initially unsure if we were in the right location as it seemed we had just ended up in an industrial estate, however as we approached the door to warehouse 9 and it said “Cloudwater Brewing Co. – come on in”. The taproom at Cloudwater brewing was upstairs in the warehouse, and was very modern, not what you’d expect from the outside.
I had the Hefe lager which the barman recommended whilst Amy opted for the wheat beer on offer. Both were delicious but after having a sip of Amy’s I regretted not getting the same as her. We ordered scotch eggs here for breakfast and then went to Mary D’s Beamish Bar, a Manchester City fan bar very close to the Etihad.
The atmosphere was amazing, and with this added to the few pints inside, we didn’t struggle to get pumped up for kick off. The scotch egg from that morning was not substantial enough, but thankfully we were able to get a curry chip inside Mary D’s (curry chip is a traditional English breakfast, right?)
Many songs adopted by City’s fan base blasted out over the bars’ sound system, and the atmosphere was amazing. The cross-city rivals Manchester United were televised playing in the early match, and the place erupted when Bournemouth scored to go ahead of them.
When the time came, finished up our drinks and headed over to the Etihad for kick off.
The first half of the match was subdued. City weren’t in their normal attacking stride, and went behind in the opening minutes. It took until the second half for the comeback to begin but it came. I won’t bore you with the game details but here’s the highlights.
After the game we met up with my friends Danielle and Gabi who lived in Manchester until fairly recently before relocating to Sheffield. We rushed back to the hotel to change and then got an Uber to Chinatown.
Manchester’s Chinatown is the second largest in the UK, and the third largest in Europe.
We visited a restaurant here where I had duck in orange sauce (the orange sauce literally tasted like the jelly bit from a Jaffa cake). It was nicer than it sounds, but very sweet.
After our dining experience in Chinatown, Gabi and Danielle took us to their favourite bar in the Northern Quarter, NQ64. NQ64 is an arcade bar kitted out in many classic video games, including Pac-Man, Taxi Driver, Time Crisis, pinball and Mortal Kombat. See action shots below:
After failing miserably at the games in the arcade, we bode farewell to Danielle and Gabi who had to travel back to Sheffield, and continued exploring the Northern Quarter. Next on the list was Hula, a Hawaiian themed cocktail bar – I ordered a cocktail called “Pirates Booty” solely for its name, whilst Amy’s cocktail came with a flaming shot and pyrotechnics – it took me too long to take my phone out, so you’ll just have to believe me about the pyro.
After Hula, we ventured on to Jimmy’s, which I can only describe as a Rock n’ Roll bar. The music was reminiscent of the 60s, Jerry Lee Lewis was blasting through the speakers, all that was missing was the cast of Grease. Plus there was oddly a McDonald’s sign above the bar.
After Jimmy’s we’d ventured to the gay village, where cheap drinks beckoned. First up was Club Tropicana (great song, not so great a venue), before heading on to Bar Pop (great venue – no song to comment on, yet). The gay village is extremely welcoming and the aforementioned cheap drinks are the cherry on top of a great night.
A hazy Uber home from the gay village got us back to the hotel around 5.
Our last day was largely spent exploring and eating. We grabbed a late breakfast from the ever faithful Wetherspoons, before venturing to the Alchemist bar – a funky cocktail bar with all sorts of cocktails, some coming with dry ice, others accompanied by complimentary hip flasks, The Alchemist had all sorts of niche cocktails.
After our fancy cocktails we were both still feeling a little delicate, and we opted to have another drink to settle our stomachs, and discovered a cosy spot just on the edge of the Northern Quarter, the Crafty Pig. Whilst here we saw roast dinners advertised and we both realised we were still hungry. We opted to try the market at Piccadilly Gardens rather than the roast dinners, and we choose correctly, the street food was a delicious decision.
I opted for a pork fried rice dish from the Vietnamese stall, whilst Amy choose food from the Chinese. Mine was great and just the spot, we wolfed our food into us as we looked at the cold surroundings of Piccadilly Gardens, where brave/stupid (delete as you see appropriate) kids ran through the fountain – I reiterate the fact it was a cold November evening.
Now comes the time capsule bit. There are Manchester attractions which I did not get around to visiting this time, but must mention because it’d be a shame to miss out on.
The National Football Museum
Whether you’re a football fan, or not, the football museum is a great way to pass 60-90 minutes in Manchester, whilst it was previously free to visit, it now costs £10 but it is worth the entrance fee, with many fun facts about football on display (including the story of Bert Trautmann who played on in nets, winning an FA Cup despite suffering a broken neck).
The museum is home to the three English football trophies when they aren’t touring with their current holders, and offers a photo opportunity with the silverware.
The museum was also home to a Michael Jackson statue until it garnered controversy from the recent documentary about his life and the renewed allegations against him. The statue is an odd piece of football trivia, it was erected outside Fulham’s ground Craven Cottage in 2011 by its then owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed, a friend of Michael’s, to commemorate the King of Pop’s visit to a Fulham game in the 90s, however when Fulham was sold in 2013, the new owners wanted it removed. After the sale, the statue was donated to the National Football Museum, until it was taken down from its display in 2019.
Affleck’s
The second must visit spot is Affleck’s. They describe themselves as an emporium of eclecticism on their website. It is a multi-story collection of shops. It can only be described as such an unusual yet charming marketplace. Home to barbers, clothes shops, action figure collectors, Knick knack stores and even a tattoo parlour (where I got a bee tattoo in 2017 – see reasoning below). It is a must visit destination to explore in Manchester, and I can guarantee it will leave an impression on you.
Whilst in Manchester, you’ll notice images of bees everywhere, the bee has been a symbol of Manchester for over 150 years and the Manchester City Council states “The bee denotes Mancunians’ hard work ethic and the city being a hive of activity. It has also come to represent the sense of unity in our great city.”
The bee has become a lot more prominent in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester bombing, as the city shows resilience in the face of adversary.
This is the end of my post about Manchester, which I can only describe as a friendly city with so much to offer the deeper under the surface you crawl. It is one of the best cities I have visited. I’d also like to thank Nele, a Manchester resident and fellow travel blogger who runs The Navigatio, for her recommendations for my visit (as she did with my prior visit to Eindhoven).
