The city of Manchester is situated in North-West England. It’s an age old city, having been founded during AD 79 when a Roman fort was constructed here to protect the area against the threat of invasions by their not so friendly neighbors. It remained a relatively small town for many centuries. During the explosive growth experienced by the textile industry throughout the 19th century the city started growing rapidly and today it has about half a million inhabitants. Below we will briefly discuss things to do Manchester.

The city is of course the home of a famous UK football team ‘ Manchester United. No visit to Manchester would therefore be complete without visiting the Old Trafford stadium. There is also a very well run museum on the premises. The complex is open to visitors every day of the year except Christmas.

Manchester has always been well-known for its music. You can probably attend more musical performances in this city at any given moment than anywhere else in Britain. The major arena for pop music performances is the Manchester Evening News Arena. This isn’t only the largest arena of this kind in Europe, but you might be surprised to know that it’s also the busiest indoor arena anywhere on earth ‘ playing host to a larger number of performances than the famous Madison Square Garden in New York.

If you are a lover of classical music, Manchester won’t disappoint you. There are two major symphony orchestras ‘ the Halle Orchestra and the BBC philharmonic orchestra. Both perform regularly during the whole year.

If you have never attended a performance by a brass band, you have missed out on a core element of musical tradition in the North of England. Many well-known brass bands in all of Britain call Manchester their home and you’ll be able to attend a performance during virtually any night of the year.

The dance, opera and theater scene in the city is, to say the least, thriving. On any particular night you can attend a multitude of performances in any of the many theaters and opera houses all over town. If you like West-End shows, there are regular performances of these as well.

There are also a wide variety of museums and art galleries all over town. Many museums have displays depicting the city’s Roman heritage and it’s role during the industrial revolution. The municipal art gallery boasts a permanent display of well-known European paintings, as well as a very interesting display of pre-Raphaelite paintings.

You won’t quickly run out of things to do Manchester. The options mentioned above are just to whet your appetite. The moment you arrive head for the tourist office and get yourself ready for a delightful and entertaining period ahead.