5 Interesting Things To Do In Manchester

Spending the weekend in Manchester was a blessing for me in terms of the amount of that they had on offer. The city’s best known for its colourful diversity, metropolitan like setting and of course – if you’re a Football fan – the place where many sensational triumphs and achievements has been celebrated courtesy of a certain two Football clubs.

Manchester leaves you nothing short for people who are into leisure and entertainment activities, top-quality art and cultural exhibitions and got a bit of cash to splash in shopping malls.

Here are 5 interesting things to do in Manchester today:

Image Credit: Resplash

1. Take A Tour Around Old Trafford

Football mad or not, the Football ground of one of the biggest clubs in the world Football in Manchester United is enough reason for anyone to have it on their travel itinerary.

The Old Trafford stadium is nicknamed the theatre of dreams for a reason (obviously the theatre of nightmares recently – sorry I couldn’t resist). It’s the biggest football stadium in the UK with roughly 75,000 seating capacity.

The countless amount of domestic and European Glory courtesy of world class managers like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby and iconic players such as George Best, Denis Law, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney transcends football culture and has helped shaped local communities and the city as a city into what they are today.

It’s fair to say unlike their neighbours at the Etihad Stadium (again couldn’t resist :p), Old Trafford is regularly complimented with plenty of tourists from many parts of the globe.

And I had no qualms trying to make my visit to Old Trafford awkward by wearing an Arsenal shirt. As you can see from the pics below. It felt so good and liberating – and I’ll do it again!

For stadium and museum tours, they’re gonna cost you £25 and £13 per adult and child respectively. Members get it for cheaper. In addition there’s plenty of other stadium experiences available along with the United megastore you can also visit to buy some of the club’s merchandise as souvenirs to take home.

2. Eat Or Slurp On A Milkshake From Archie’s

Fancy a juicy burger or are you thirsty for a thick shake to bring your energy levels up? Then Archie’s is definitely somewhere you got to hit up as a temporary Mancunian

Originally set up in Manchester, the burger and shakes restaurant and take-away has kept its ultra-cool movement and expanded to other Northern cities (e.g. Liverpool) and cities in the Midlands (e.g. Birmingham).

What I like about Archie’s most is how varied and personable their menu is: from burgers and hot dogs to sides such as french fries, onion rings to waffles and smoothies and obviously milkshakes. All their food is halal and also have vegetarian and vegan options. You can create your own milkshake with a very wide range of ingredients and flavours to choose from. You can also upgrade sizes on drinks

They also have strong ties with pop culture and celebrities. The likes of Rita Ora, Kevin Hart, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Amir Khan have graced Archie’s and endorsed its products.

I would be biased and recommend the Peri-Peri Chicken Burger w/ fries and Kinder Bueno milkshake, which was the meal I got and was banging in terms of taste and quantity. Although almost anything on that menu is worth trying!

Students get 10% discount if they have a valid NUS card along with 15% for “Archie’s Addicts” who are signed up to the business’ newsletter

Fun Fact: Archie’s was inspired by a fictional diner with the same name in the 1988 film “License To Drive” , which was the co-founders’ favourite film

3. Visit National Football Museum & Manchester Cathedral

Okay – so less talking about Archie’s and more about Manchester’s passion for Football again? Aye to that xD

The National Football Museum houses everything and anything Football related: stories of club triumphs and revolutionary managers and coaches, vintage football shirts, trophy replicas and video games on display, mini games for visitors to take part in. The list is very much endless. For me it’s a massive exhibition that shines light on the whole history of the beautiful game.

If you’re acknowledging this you’re acknowledging a big part of the city’s culture is, considering that two of the high-profile Premier League clubs are in Manchester. Visitors get a free entry for their 2nd visit if it’s within 12 months. City Of Manchester residents get free entry for all visits.

After you’ve come out of the museum take a quieter trip to the city cathedral that’s been standing for 600 years and admire its medieval interior and exterior architecture. Admission is free for all visitors with guided tours around the place of worship available also.

4. Go Shopping At intu Trafford Centre

A 20 minute bus journey away from the centre of Manchester via bus is the enormous Trafford Shopping Centre in Stretford.

Shop til you drop with high street and designerwear brands at your disposal! From Zara, Topshop, River Island to Victoria’s Secret, Selfridges and All Saints.

Go back in time to your childhood and be in awe of the leisure and entertainment venues. You got sea-life aquarium, Legoland, Namco Funscape, Adventure Golf.

Pass through the food court and be converted into a full-time foodie (maybe part-time at best!) with the numerous number of both high-street end restaurants and luxury and exotic food outlets.

The Trafford Centre is a shopping complex that’s easy to get to via bus or metro and get around despite being very long and big. Most of the odd 200 shops and stores close 10pm latest, 8pm and 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays respectively. However many Food and drink outlets remain open beyond those times.

Image Credit: Intu

Recommendation: Haute Dolci

5. Wander around Chinatown

For our final activity on our to do list we head back to the heart of Manchester. By the heading you can sense a bit of irony as its paying a visit to the city’s very own Chinatown.

Located near the Manchester Art Gallery in the Northern Quarter, Manchester’s Chinatown is the 2nd biggest Chinatown in the UK. Featuring up to 150+ Chinese-themed businesses ranging from bars, food and drink outlets and shops.

More than enough to get tastes of authentic Sushi or feels from unique massages and muscle therapy from massage parlours. Hopefully an afternoon or evening there will quickly leave you wanting to secure a flight to Shanghai or Beijing!

A little bonus for me was preeing the sports cars and just glossing over them. Such a thing of beauty 👌🏾

Fun Fact: Led Zeppelin was said to have had their first music rehearsal in a basement on Gerrard Street, where Chinatown is now today.

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