In my opinion, Manchester is one of the most magical places to be around Christmas! As someone who has spent the vast majority of their 25 years in Manchester during Christmas, it truly holds a special place in my heart. Having experienced infamous Christmas spectacles in Budapest, Edinburgh, Prague, Krakow, and more, Manchester is certainly up there for one of the best places to visit over the festive season.
The city is filled with beautiful decorations, some of the best Christmas markets in the UK, fun events for all the family and so much more. So, we’re here to introduce to you a few of the must-see things whilst you’re visiting Manchester around Christmas! With both free options and those for a range of budgets, we’ve got you covered. If you’re visiting Manchester between mid-November and the end of December, get ready for some fantastic festivities.
Walk Around The City To See The Lights
The first thing we’d recommend doing to kick off a magical Christmas break in Manchester is to walk around the city to see the lights. There are stunning lights all around Manchester, with some giant lights in St Peter’s Square, which just bring the city to life. Have a walk around about 5pm just as things are starting to get dark to really appreciate the beautiful lights. This is also a good way to get your bearings in the city and have a good explore! Stop off for a hot chocolate at Knoops along the way to keep you nice and warm whilst you take in the beauty of all the lights.
Christmas Markets
When you’re walking around the city looking at the lights, it will be impossible to miss the Christmas markets! Manchester has some of the best Christmas markets in the UK, with every kind of stall you can imagine. There are markets on King Street, St Anne’s Square, Cathedral Street, Exchange Square, Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens, so you can spend a good few hours walking around, looking at the different stalls and trying some of the delicious foods and drinks.
Firstly, there are so many wonderful handmade products all across the city within the markets, with everything from handmade candles to Christmas decorations, and jewellery to alcohol, so you can get plenty of your Christmas presents sorted whilst you’re there. If you get thirsty, stop off at one of the many drink stalls, with hot chocolates (add booze if you fancy), mulled wine, beers, prosecco and everything in between. We’re sure that by now you’ll have built up an appetite, and luckily for you, the food at Manchester Christmas markets is incredible. There are all of the Christmas classics like a hog roast and Yorkshire pudding wraps, as well as Christmas inspired fried chicken dishes, Spanish food stalls, Dutch fries, delicious pancakes, Korean hotdogs, huge loaded Christmas bagels, Italian arancini, Greek gyros and so much more. You’ll honestly be spoiled for choice when it comes to food at the Christmas markets, so perhaps schedule in a couple of visits to make sure you can try everything you want to!
Christmas Shopping At The Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is fantastic for shopping at the best of times, but it goes to another level at Christmas! The whole shopping centre is filled with stunning decorations and it will certainly put you in the Christmas spirit. You will certainly get a good chunk of your Christmas shopping done, whether you want to focus on highstreet shops or the luxury department stores like John Lewis and Selfridges. We will warn you that the Trafford Centre can get very busy around Christmas, so visiting during the day on a weekday is the best time to go if you can.
As well as the shopping, if you have little ones, there is an ice-rink and a Santa’s grotto! So, you could do some shopping in the morning, stop off at the Food Hall for lunch, then head for some fun activities in the afternoon. If you’ve driven to Manchetser for your festive visit, or you’re hiring a car, then parking is completely free! There are also really easy transport links from the city centre, with the tram taking around 20 minutes and it’s a really straight forward journey.
Visit Freight Island’s “Winter Island”
Freight Island is a venue near Piccadilly station that is a really cool concept with lots of different seating areas (some outside with heaters, some inside in the main area), with some of the best street food stalls. You order food and drink from your table on your phone and it quickly gets delivered to your table. This is a great place to visit all year round, as the food and atmosphere are just great, however the venue is also transformed over Christmas to become an incredible extravaganza of fun Christmassy things! With more Christmas themed foods, wreath making workshops, a grotto and great decorations, it’s great. It’s more child-friendly in the daytime, however in the evening it does become more of a drinking venue, so this is worth bearing in mind.
Dunham Massey Lights Show
If you’re happy to head slightly out of the city, Dunham Massey is a must-see. All you need to do is hop on the tram to Altrincham which takes around 25 minutes from the city, then it’s a short walk to Dunham Massey, a National Trust site that is renowned for its Christmas lights! It’s an unforgettable experience whether you’re visiting with your family, friends or as a couple, with lots of light and sound installations across the park, including tunnels of stars. Dunham Massey is also home to lots of deer, which you’ll be able to see if you visit in the daytime!
We’d recommend booking tickets in advance for this, which are available between the 17th of November and 31st of December, and they recommend planning around 2 hours for your visit. There are refreshments throughout the park for you to enjoy whilst you take in the beautiful lights. Whilst this is slightly outside of the city, Altrincham is a stunning place in general that also has a fantastic food market, so you could head there early afternoon, go to the food market, get to Dunham Massey whilst it’s still light to see the deers, then enjoy the lights as it starts to get dark! This is a great day out if you have quite a few days of festive fun available in Manchester.
Festive Bongo’s Bingo
Bongo’s Bingo has become a very popular event in the UK, and many of the events started right in Manchester. Held at Albert Hall, this event is definitely not like your standard bingo! It’s a pretty wild extravaganza with large inflatables, lots of drinking, lots of rave music and generally just a good time. There are also great prizes up for grabs. Expect jumping on tables, extravagant hosts and a pretty surreal experience overall. This one is definitely an adults only event, so you’ll need to give this a miss if you’re visiting with your family.
Moving into December, there are Christmas specials, with a festive spin on the usual event. You absolutely need to book tickets for this, as they do get booked up quickly. We’d also recommend getting there early, to help you get a seat on the bottom tier near the stage. However, if you’re not too bothered about where you sit, take your time, as with a ticket you’re guaranteed entry anyway.
Have A Cocktail At 20 Stories
If you’re wanting to finish off your festive trip to Manchester with a fancy cocktail or two, head to 20 Stories. This is a sky bar in Spinningfields, and on a clear evening, you get the most incredible views of the city. When there are Christmas lights all over the city, you can imagine how stunning this is. The restaurant/bar itself is breathtakingly beautiful, with a stunning indoor area or a beautiful terrace with plenty of heating so you’ll never feel cold. This is a venue that you can get dressed up for that’s for sure, so get festive in your best Christmas party dresses and enjoy the evening in style! The cocktail menu changes frequently so we can’t easily recommend one, however feel free to ask the bartenders what they’d recommend as they’re fantastic at what they do.