Manchester City Centre: How to spend 24 hours

Recently I visited Manchester City Centre for a Galentine’s trip away and I discovered some new places.

I thought I would showcase some popular places as well as some hidden gems too!

Manchester is a massive hub of the North. Some say its Northern London. It has everything you need and it’s the base for not just tourists but thousands of businesses too. So whether you are visiting for business or pleasure you will want to know the best places to go to.

Manchester City Centre- Northern Quarter

The Northern Quarter is one of the most popular places to visit. It’s street art makes it stand out from the crowd and it’s definatly the trendiest place to be. It is packed full of bars, cute little cafes and shops. Vintage shops are amazing!

One of the shops that you simply have to go in in Afflecks. From the outside it doesn’t look like much however inside is an array of vintage shops, art stalls, retro games and just FUN! We found a great creative corner where we stayed and stamped our thoughts into books and read what other people have come from all over the world to Manchester had to say. If you want to eat, the Northern Quarter is great for brunch and I would also recommend Evelyn. Its a fave for gluten-free and Vegan lovers too!

Spinningfields

This area is modern and packed full of places to eat and drink. Its a brilliant place for top-notch restaurants and fancy cocktails with the girls or if it’s a business meeting. We Headed to the pretties bar Sunset by Australasia and had a pretty pink cocktail before heading to eat The Ivy. One of the most talked about and sophisticated bars and restaurants.

The Ivy is brilliant for something a little special. It was very busy and we couldn’t get booked in on our first night, so I recommend you book in advance. It can get a bit loud in there too, but the food was delicious. The portions are small but the price is really not as much as I would have thought. It cost me £30 for a main meal and cocktail. The customer service is priceless, we had a brilliant waiter and he had a lot to live up to considering we were sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson!

During the Day

We did a lot of walking around but one of my favourite places to explore was the Central Library. That includes the buildings around it. Even the Town Hall was beautiful inside and the architecture was amazing. I could have sat there all day.

BUT, I didnt….haha. We headed back to put on our glad rags before we went to The Refuge for lunch. The Refuge is located in The Principle Hotel on Oxford Steet. This grade 2 building is just magnificent and a brilliant backdrop for any stay in Manchester City Centre. We ate in the Refuge dining area however there were lots of areas inside to eat from with different menus. One of my fave areas was the beautiful winter garden!

BUT, I didnt….haha. We headed back to put on our glad rags before we went to The Refuge for lunch. The Refuge is located in The Principle Hotel on Oxford Steet. The grade 2 building is just magnificent and a brilliant backdrop for any stay in Manchester City Centre. We ate in the Refuge dining area however there were lots of areas inside to eat from with different menus. One of my fave areas was the beautiful winter garden!

The Refuge

The Refuge by Volta offers tapas style dishes. I honestly thought it would be very expensive and I wasn’t expecting much in ways of the menu or food. But I was soooo wrong!

The service was brilliant and we were recommended some dishes. We had 6 between us including the steak and pork dishes. And of course, we couldn’t leave without trying the dessert platter too! It was such a fab meal packed full of flavours and the perfect backdrop. I have to say this was my favourite part of the trip and I would 100% recommend you go and eat there.

We stayed in a hotel in the Manchester City Centre just on Portland Street and visited a lovely cafe near it called Leaf. If your a tea lover then this is the place for you! Finally, If you wanted something fun to do with a group of people then you must head to Junkyard Golf Club. It offers fab cocktails and group experience and good for the GRAM too!

#This post is in collaboration with Hotels.com. The spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own.