|
 If
clubbing is not your scene, the bars are almost as lively and filled with
music, great food and cool ambience. There's an area for everyone, such
as the Northern
Quarter, Deansgate
Locks or the environs of Canal
Street, and most pop between them on a fine night out! With the bar
scene in such an ascendancy, it could be easy to forget the traditional
pub, but given the beauties on offer around the city centre and beyond,
there's a a vibrant selection of real ales, Belgian beers, fruit brews
and whatever else takes your fancy.
 For
the foodies, there'll be something to satisfy even the most jaded of palates,
from modern British to Thai; from Japanese to Armenian; Spanish; Italian
and beyond. In Chinatown,
the
curry mile and the square mile of brilliant fine dining restaurants
in the city centre,
whatever you want, Manchester has it.
 Big
bands, small bands, global artists... when it comes to music, there's
few places that can compete with Manchester's music scene. It's produced
legends and brings the best and most diverse sounds into the city. Be
it at the stadium size MEN Arena,
the classically sedate Bridgewater
Hall, the spit and sawdust of the Night
and Day and the Roadhouse,
the ever-popular Academies
1, 2 or 3 or a myriad of others, whatever you decide, there will always
be someone on somewhere whatever night of the week you'd like your musical
fix. Don't forget the massive music scene throws up plenty of amazing
unsigned
bands too!
 If
it's theatre you're after, then from highbrow and literary to popular
and musical, venues like The
Royal Exchange, Library Theatre,
The Lowry, the
Contact and the Palace
Theatre cater for all tastes. Keep your opera glasses peeled too for
signs of a theatrical renaissance if the rumours that Manchester hope
to rival the Edinburgh festival in a few years time. The biennial event
would have a huge effect on Manchester's theatrical life.
 Of
course it would also impact on the existing comedy scene, which laughs
its way around the city. The tradition of top comics is just as long as
that of fine music, and at the likes of the
Comedy Store, Jongleurs,
The Buzz and Zzub clubs, and the
Frog and Bucket, that tradition is alive and kicking.
 For
cinema, the choice between the massive AMC Cinemas and thefilmworks
(with its massive IMAX screen) dominates the city centre, but The
Cornerhouse stands as a bastion of cinematic independence. Screening
mainly world independents, art-house and left-field films, it also houses
an art gallery and a bar.
 Artistically,
the city houses fine collections of contemporary and classic art. Manchester
Art Gallery is the obvious starting point, but a wider search gets
you to the Whitworth, the
Lowry (home to a selection of their namesake's paintings), Urbis
and a large number of smaller galleries, exhibiting everything from masterpieces
to modern art, photographs to toy brick models, and everything in-between.
 On
top of all that, there's festivals all year round too. Musically, the
Move Festival takes over Old Trafford Cricket Ground in July for the
UK's biggest urban event, while the world's biggest music convention,
In
The City, brings 500 bands and artists into the centre in September.
There's a food
and drink festival with the finest of local and global cuisine, while
the
comedy festival goes from strength to strength with each year, blasting
off the careers of comedians such as Peter Kay, Caroline Aherne and Justin
Moorhouse. The film scene is probably the most vibrant, with the Cornerhouse
being the cornerstone of the Commonwealth,
student
and Kino events, while Salford's
annual offering grows with every season.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
websites
|
