Chetham's Library is Manchester's best kept secret - even most residents of the city are largely oblivious to its existence. Europe's oldest English language Public Library is tucked away next to the futuristic Urbis just off Millenium Square. One of Manchester's oldest buildings, it still has the original collection of books, all chained to their shelves. This is where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels would visit while in Manchester and where Engels wrote the world-changing book 'The Condition of the Working Classes in England', a key influence on the development of Communism. You can still sit in the window seat where they would talk. The 15th century structure is part of Chetham's Music School - despite the lack of signs, simply ask at the security hut and they will happily let you in for free.
St. Mary's, The Hidden Gem, near Albert Square. The oldest post-Reformation Catholic church in the country, dating from 1794. It contains one of the greatest pieces of art in Manchester, and the altar is quite magnificent. This is a quiet refuge from the noise of the city.
The futuristic Trinity Bridge, designed by the Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, who was heavily involved in the designs for the Olympic village in Barcelona, is in the Chapel Wharf Area. This links the twin cities of Manchester and Salford, leading to the five star Lowry Hotel on the Salford bank. It is all a block behind Kendals, near The Freemasons' Hall. A nice pleasant view.
The Hulme Bridge in Hulme and The Merchant's Bridge in Castlefield, by Catalan Square, are also worth a look.
Parsonage Gardens is at the back of the House of Fraser (Kendals) Department Store. This is a quaint garden. Nice to relax in when the weather is fine and to read a book. Nearby there is also an observation platform which looks over the River Irwell and is ideal for taking photos of Trinity Bridge and The Lowry Hotel. This does also serve as a carpark, on an overhang, for one of the office blocks, but you may use it. It is a little hidden away but you access this to the right of 20 St Mary's Parsonage, which runs along one side of the gardens.
Portico Library and Gallery, near Piccadilly Gardens. Home of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical society. Speakers here have included Dalton, the father of Atomic theory and describer of his own colour blindness, the Salford physicist Joule for whom the S.I. unit of energy is named and Roget (who compiled his celebrated Thesaurus here). The Austrian Philosopher Wittgenstein here claimed to have attempted to repeat Franklin's celebrated kite and lightning experiment in the Peak District while employed at Manchester University.
Midland Bank Building (was the King Street branch of HSBC) is a domineering piece of architecture from 1928, reminiscent of Dublin's General Post Office. Go inside for a look if you can once it reopens. It is located at the upper end of King Street near Armani and Vivienne Westwood, towards Mosley Street.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Manchester
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Manchester - updated May 2024
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Manchester Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
