Meandering Around Manchester

Although the eyes of the world might firmly be fixed on London with the Olympic games this summer, it is not the only great city destination in the UK, and is decidedly expensive compared to some of its rivals. If you want a family friendly city break, there really is only one choice this summer: Manchester.

 

First of all, thanks to sites like Millennium Hotels, hotels in Manchester are easy to find and super cheap, and you can get some great hotels for hardly any money if you look carefully. Secondly, whilst there isn’t the quantity of things to do in Manchester as there is in London, there are still some great places to visit, and here are three of the best:

 

Museum of Science and Industry

Top of the list is the Museum of Science and Industry or MOSI. Manchester has a rich industrial background (indeed, it often claims to be the home of the industrial revolution) and some of the finest examples of that are on display at MOSI. The Museum is free to enter and has hundreds of great interactive activities for children (and adults) whilst being engaging enough to make sure that even if you don’t feel like getting involved, there’ll still be plenty to keep you occupied. As an added bonus, the food in the Museum restaurant is of exceptional quality and really good value so an all round great place to go for a day out.

 

The Manchester Museum

The Manchester Museum is a fantastic natural history museum, the highlight of which is probably Stan the T-Rex (why he’s called Stan remains something of a mystery). Like MOSI the Manchester Museum is free to enter and has a range of great activities for kids, particularly during the holiday period. Unlike many other museums you can actually handle some of the artefacts, and if you fancy something a little more cultural, you can take one of the wine tours around the museum (where you get a tour round the museum, and take a glass of wine with you).

 

Stadium Tours

Being careful not to show any preference between the two major football clubs in Manchester, both offer fantastic stadium tours which are well worth the cost for any young fan (you wouldn’t even need to be a fan of the club). Manchester United’s trophy room, is, of course quite remarkable whilst City have worked hard on their club museum and facilities to make an interactive and engaging experience for young and old. As Manchester is a city that loves it’s football and it’s teams, you can’t really visit without heading down to Old Trafford or the Etihad for a look around.