Manchester Neighborhoods

Canal Street (Mancunians love to drop the ‘C’) is loved by all—straight, gay, bi-sexual, trans-sexual. Lined with brilliant bars, clubs, shops and caffs, it’s one of the friendliest parts of town, no matter where you sit on the Kinsey Scale. Overlooking Rochdale Canal with a view toward Sackville Park, Canal Street and the Gay Village around it has been featured in the British TV drama "Queer as Folk." In recent years Manchester’s Gay Village has become a popular destination for hen/bachelorette parties.

We love the Northern Quarter of Britain’s most quintessentially northern city. The playground of Manchester’s creative types, the area is brimming with quirky shops, healthy eateries (not a drop of northern grease in sight), fashion houses, art galleries and, best of all, surprises. There’s a flower market, design exhibitions and a whole host of independent bars like Matt and Phred’s Jazz Bar, Cord, and the Dry Bar (which isn’t dry). And it isn’t just Mancunians that are sweet for the Northern Quarter--what was once a muddy lane flanked by flowering hedgerows is now on UNESCO’s list of potential world heritage sites.

The Locks, as they are known, were made for bar crawls. Or, rather, they were made for the industrial revolution and later converted into drinking den heaven. Hidden in the railway arches beneath the G-Mex Metrolink tram station, Deansgate Locks houses watering holes and a comedy club, plus a host of other bars within walking distance. If you’ve seen 24 Hour Party People, you’ll remember the famous New Order-owned Hacienda superclub that sat on the corner of Deansgate Locks before it was closed down. Lively Castlefield, strung out along the cobbled canalside, is a few minutes' walk from here, with a great outdoor eating and drinking scene. Nearby, the Museum of Science and Industry is a hit with kids. West of Deansgate, Spinning Gate is the site of an open-air ice rink every winter.

The city centre straddles the River Irwell, spreading outward from the site of the original Roman Fort of Mamucium. For a glimpse of the glory of yesteryear, there’s the Town Hall on Albert Square and the Greek-esque Central Library, which claims to have more than 20 miles of shelf space. If you’re here to shop, this is High Street and designer store heaven, particularly along St. Ann’s Square, Market Street and King Street. Farther east, Piccadilly Gardens (the site of an excellent, thrice-weekly flower market) bleeds into the Northern Quarter.