Manchester City Guide

Manchester is located in the North West of England. The city lies at the heart of the country, situated approximately halfway between the nation's capital, London, and the Scottish border. Manchester is the commercial, educational and cultural focus for North West England and is ranked as the fourth biggest retail area in the UK.

Whether Manchester is your intended destination or just a brief stopover on the way to your new home, we have compiled this guide to help you get your bearings on arrival. To obtain more details about the city check out the websites listed at the end of this profile.

Population

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester. The City of Manchester metropolitan borough has a population of 452,000. Manchester lies at the centre of the wider Greater Manchester Urban Area which has a population of 2,240,230, the United Kingdom's third largest city. It is also the second largest urban zone in the UK and the fourteenth most populated in Europe.

Geography

Often described as the "Capital of the North", Manchester today is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce. Manchester is perfectly situated for access to two of the most important motorways in the country. The M6 Motorway can be reached from Manchester providing a direct route to Birmingham in the South, or Cumbria in the North. Manchester is dissected by various canals, the most famous of which is the Manchester Ship Canal.

Economy

The city's economy is now largely service-based and is one of the fastest growing in the UK, with inward investment second only to the capital. Manchester’s State of the City Report identifies financial and professional services, life science industries, creative, cultural and media, manufacturing and communications as major activities. The city was ranked in 2007 as the best place or the second best place to do business in the UK, and the eighteenth best in Europe. Manchester has the largest UK office market outside London and the region has the highest number of publicly listed companies outside London. Greater Manchester represents over ?38 billion of the UK GVA, more than Wales, Northern Ireland or North East England.

A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically. It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors.

Manchester is a focus for businesses which serve local, regional and international markets. It is one of the largest financial centres in Europe with more than 15,000 people employed in banking and finance and more than 60 banking institutions. Legal, accounting, management consultancy and other professional and technical services exist in Manchester.

Dining Out

Manchester’s cultural mix adds up to a great range of places to eat and drink. From Michelin-style gourmet to fresh local produce at speciality markets, from stylish venues for intimate occasions to out-of-the-way places for a good, cheap meal with friends, there’s good food aplenty in Manchester. You can eat your way around the world in sampling everything from African and Australian to Armenian. Culinary delights include both traditional and upmarket variations on Spanish, Italian and French, Rusholme’s Curry Mile and Chinatown and there are a host of international restaurants offering gourmet global fare.

Some dining spots are a feast for the eyes as well as for the tastebuds. There are some great places where you can look out over the Manchester skyline, take in grand historic buildings such as the former Stock Exchange, or enjoy dinner and a spot of people-watching by the lively canal-side and 2007 saw the first ever Greater Manchester Food and Drink Festival.

Local Transport

Greater Manchester has an extensive public transport system, including a comprehensive system of buses, trains and trams. All your journeys in and around Manchester can be planned with the aid of Manchester’s official public transport site (http://www.gmpte.com/), which includes timetables and journey planning systems for the area.

Arts & Culture/Performing Arts

Manchester is one of the world’s most innovative, original and exciting places for both making music and going out to listen to it. In Manchester you can follow in the footsteps of famous performers such as Morrissey, Oasis or Happy Mondays or attend a gig in one of the city’s 30-plus intimate live venues.

Manchester’s landmark galleries and museums like Daniel Libeskind’s Imperial War Museum North, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Manchester Art Gallery give you the chance to view fantastic permanent and touring exhibitions.

Lifestyle & Outdoor Recreation

Manchester does funky, fashionable, chic and sleek better than anywhere else in the country. Retail therapy is a speciality. Hunt down something unique at Saturday’s Tib Street fashion market, browse for vintage chic and rare records in Northern Quarter, or cruise the designer stores and then relax with a long lunch and cocktails in Harvey Nichols’ brasserie.

Sport forms a pivotal part of most people’s lives in the city of Manchester. Manchester was the host of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and among its other sporting connections are its two Premier League football teams, Manchester United and Manchester City and the international renowned Old Trafford cricket ground.

On the Net

Manchester Coucil
www.manchester.gov.uk

Manchester Tourism
www.visitmanchester.com

Local News
www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/

Weather

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Avg. Max.

6°C

6°C

9°C

11°C

15°C

18°C

19°C

19°C

17°C

13°C

9°C

7°C

Avg. Min.

1°C

1°C

2°C

4°C

7°C

10°C

12°C

12°C

10°C

7°C

3°C

2°C

Mean

4°C

4°C

6°C

8°C

11°C

14°C

16°C

16°C

13°C

11°C

6°C

4°C

Avg. Precip.

69 mm

51 mm

61 mm

51 mm

61 mm

66 mm

66 mm

79 mm

74 mm

76 mm

79 mm

79 mm

Time

GMT +/-0

Daylight Savings Time (DST) starts on Sunday, 30 March 2008 at 1:00 a.m. local standard time.  Daylight Savings Time (DST) ends on Sunday, 26 October 2008 at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time