Manchester

Manchester. Yes, that’s just what you heard! Would you spend a weekend there in September? Don’t you think you’ll regret it? Our guide told us that just twenty years ago noone would have dared to consider Manchester as a remotely touristy place. Things have changed now. Manchester is a 2-hour train journey from London, and we decided to take up the challenge… we were surely not disappointed! (To tell you the entire truth, I chose the destination for Stevey's surprise birthday present, he just had to stick with it...). 

As soon as we got off the train, we rushed to our 11 am appointment with our Sandeman free walking tour guide, near the Piccadilly station. I can’t remember her name now, but gosh, was she a good storyteller! For those who are not aware, Sandeman tours have become our favourite way to get to know a city for the firs time: we have done one in Stockholm, Jerusalem and Berlin, and we would definitely recommend to try to do one, if you have never done so! 

Three hours of strolling about in the city, our guide told us all about the history of the city, spiced up with interesting anecdotes,  personal accounts from a born and bred Mancunian, little secret corners we would have never had the chance to see had we ventured into the city on our own.

I am not exaggerating when I say that the weather was glorious, and, in the local guide’s words, that is ‘bloody rare’!

Manchester is one of the most vibrant cities in the world, and it has this swagger and confidence that comes from the fact that it has been home to some of the finest advancements, inventions, and trends the world has ever seen. Quite a lot of things we learnt during the walk, others the following day, when we walked on our own.

Manchester is a major city in the northwest of England with a rich industrial heritage. Many of the city’s 19th-century, red-brick warehouse and factory buildings now house shops, boutique hotels and nightclubs. Major shopping areas include the Arndale Centre, King Street and St Ann’s Square.

The city is famous for the rivalry between its football clubs, Manchester City and Manchester United, whose stadium, Old Trafford, has a museum and tours (not that Stevey and I would care, but I am aware that many other visitors would).

Here are the main sights I'd recommend you don't miss:

•  Manchester Townhall
•  Ancoats and Northern quarter 
•  Canal Street
•  China Town
•  People's history Museum
•  Saint Peter's Square (we had brunch at the Anthologist)
• St. Peter's Field, where the Peterloo Massacre took place.
• ...and lots of walks along the city's little alleys.

But what is this city actually famous for? Thanks to a website for students’ accommodation and our local guide, I found out the following facts that might surprise you!

1. The leader of the Suffragette movement in the early 1900s was Emmeline Pankhurst, a Manchester native.

2. Coronation Street (if you are a Brit, you know what I am talking about) is set and filmed in Manchester.

3. At various times Manchester has felt like the centre of the Universe, and the late-70s through to the early 90s was a time when it truly felt that way. Factory Records put local bands out to the wider world, and The Hacienda nightclub created a whole new scene in dance music and ‘baggy’ culture happiness was all around and Manchester was inspiring the world.

4. Take That introduced to the world the idea of the boy band! The popularity surge in the early 90s that would become a phenomenon and change the way we looked at and consumed pop music in the UK was defined in Manchester.

5. Alan Turning worked at the University of Manchester and performed some admirable and world-changing tasks during his life, including breaking the German Enigma code during World War Two and helping defeat Nazi Germany. 

6. You can find the oldest English-Speaking Library in Manchester: it opened in 1653, changing what was possible in the minds of many.

7. The industrial revolution changed everything, and Manchester was the beating heart of the textile industry.

8. Vimto: Vimto is much-loved drink in the UK, and it was invented in Manchester in 1908. John Nicols was looking to create a health drink to help battle alcohol, but instead created a unique soft drink made of grapes, raspberries, and blackcurrants. There is even a monument on the spot where it was created, with a giant bottle of Vimto.

9. The Football League: the beautiful game is the most popular sport in the world, and you won’t be surprised to hear that regular competitive competition was devised in Manchester.

10. Manchester City are one of the biggest clubs in the world with one of the best managers of all time, and Manchester United started football as big business, becoming the first super club in the 1990s as the Premier League grew.

11. Back in 1961, Herchel Smith, a lecturer in organic chemistry at the University of Manchester invented the Contraceptive Pill.

12. Canals: the first artificial waterway was opened at the Bridgewater Canal in Manchester in 1761. It completely revolutionised industry and the potential for transportation across long distances, which at that time were particularly cumbersome and dangerous (especially with larger, awkward loads and materials).

13. Railways: in much the same way as canals changed the game, the railways did so on an even grander scale, and with the opening of the first railway line in Manchester in 1830 the world would never be the same again. Manchester Victoria station is one of the oldest stations in the world to continuously operate since opening, and is still the second largest in the country.

14. The submarine was developed in Manchester in 1878, by George Garrett, a vicar turned inventor.

15. Socialism: We all know how modern-day socialism was developed by Marx and Engels, but you might not know that they first met in Manchester in 1842. It was from this first meeting that the seeds of The Communist Manifesto were first sown, and the ideology that would shape much of the 20th century began to manifest.

16. UK Gay Scene: The LGBTQ+ community continues to grow, and Manchester is rightly heralded as one of the most welcoming and inclusive cities in the UK. In fact, the area around Canal Street was one of the first to have such an active gay community from the early 90s on, referring to itself as a gay village within the city.

17. Peterloo Massacre: August 16th 1819 – the worst violence ever encountered on British soil at a political event. The cavalry was brutal in its dispersal of a peaceful crowd of over 60,000 people. It was a marker that stood for something righteous, and would lead to further political discourse that moved the country closer to universal suffrage and political reform.

19. The Guardian: In direct response to the Peterloo Massacre the Manchester Guardian was formed in 1821, and has since become a bastion of free-press and left of centre media that continues to provide a voice to the masses.

20. Music: So much music has come out of Manchester over the years, and it continues to inspire some of the finest music the world over. Think back to The Hollies, Joy Division and New Order, The Smiths, Inspiral Carpets, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, Oasis, and The 1975 and you can see a clear succession that is likely to continue for many years.