Having lived in Manchester for 6 years before moving to London, I certainly have a lot of affection for this city. In recent years there has been alot of development going on from new buildings to better infrastructure (trams).
Manchester is known for its music scene and also 2 of the most well known teams in the world, Manchester United and Manchester City. There are certainly lots on offer in the city to enjoy that special day.
1. Afternoon / night out in the Northern Quarter
One of my favourite parts of Manchester to go out drinking. When I go back to visit it’s even better with trendy new bars added to the already solid line up. I would say to do a mini pub crawl starting next to the bus station at the bar ‘Trof Northern Quarter’ and making your way down the kind of strip to the end with the opportunity to drink at around 20+ different venues with very slight deviation from the road you start on, max 2-3 mins off the track.
Personal favourites are:
Cane and Grain (tap room): great vibes with a good selection of beers on tap. Seems this place is where the real trendy locals go, seems to be quite busy on weekday nights too.
Trof Northern Quarter: as mentioned above as a starting it’s one of my favourite bars in Manchester having been going there for 15 years, has some decent locally brewed beers and just a very laid back atmosphere, normally not overly busy these days so can get a seat and good place to start a session and chat before dancing the night away.
The Corner Boy: you always have to have an Irish bar in the list. This place is open til 2am on Friday and Saturdays and DJ music. This place really does kick off when the music drops, so it’s the perfect place to end up if you want to hit a dance floor.
Lost in Tokyo: Who doesn’t love a Cocktail and why not in a Japanese themed bar. The decor is loud. You can order 2 for £12 on selected cocktails daily up to 10pm and 9pm Saturdays. Certainly worth checking out.
2. Enjoy a trip to Salford Quays on the water and dinner
OK so the problem with this one is it does rain a lot in Manchester, but if the weather is good then I would say you should take the opportunity to see Manchester from the water. You can travel from central Manchester to Salford Quays and back again, we choose to use it as a one way.
There are many places to eat at Salford Quays but I would recommend Turtle Bay, where you can enjoy Caribbean inspired food and a wide selection of tasty cocktails. A great offer you can take advantage of is their 2 hour bottomless brunch. You basically get one main off the menu and then as many cocktails you can drink for around £35.
3. Go to a game at Old Trafford or The Etihad
If you are into football then this would be a great way to spend a birthday even if you support one of the teams or not. Having been to both stadiums I would recommend Manchester Uniteds based on more success in history whereas Manchester City’s has only really come over the last 15 years. I would also say having been to both grounds that the Old Trafford atmosphere is much better. Now getting a ticket is normally not easy so you’ll need to research, maybe sign up to the club’s website in advance to try to get tickets.
Now we know that Premiership games aren’t everyday so if you can’t get a match ticket, the next best thing is a stadium tour. Both offer this so you just need to pick which one you’d like to do. You can book your stadium tours here.
4. Flight Club Manchester
Darts to some people can seem and be very boring but at Flight Club they have taken it and made it fun for everyone no matter your level. You have around 6 games to choose from with my personal favourite being Shanghai.
On a Saturday and Bank Holidays you’ll need a minimum of 6 players but any other time you can go with 2. You can book 1 hour for 2 people from £20. They offer some bottomless brunch options which are normally unlimited pizza along with a bottle of Prosecco between two.
5. Shopping at the Trafford Centre
One of the largest centres in the UK, The Trafford Centre offers everything a die hard shopper could want. There is also a large selection of eateries and places to entertain yourself and friends for hours on end. These include the 20 screen Odeon cinema, a laser quest arena and Paradise Island Golf Adventure.
You can also enjoy pampering experiences, one please within the Trafford Centre is Glow Day Spa, there are also other options just a short distance away from the Trafford Centre.
All in all, it’ll be easy to spend upwards of 6 hours at the Trafford Centre and come back with new clogger, a full stomach and also having done some activities or watched a blockbuster movie.
6. Bottomless Brunch
Always a classic and great way to kick off birthday celebrations where everything is taken care of no need to worry about who’s round it is at the bar.
As with any City Manchester has many options for this, below are my recommendations for the city centre:
Freight Island: street food a token to use at one of the many vendors on offer, unlimited drink for 90 mins (cocktails or Prosecco). Seating can be limited so better to get there on time or a little before for your booking.
On The Hush: voted best brunch in Manchester 2023. Lots of exciting dishes from across Europe. Then for drinks you can choose cocktails, Prosecco, soft drinks or beer. Note they only run Bottomless brunch on a Saturday.
Bougie Drag: this bottomless brunch has the 3 things you want, food, drink and entertainment, again only on Saturdays. This is a drag fest and has audience participation including dance offs, catwalk contests and many other things. They also have other themed brunches too. This brunch will last for 90 mins.
7. Coronation Street set tour
It’s probably the most well known British soap which has been running for over 60 years now. As a kid I used to watch this and remember lot’s of famous faces to grace the cobblers of Weatherfield. Enjoy a 90 min min tour, have your picture taken outside the Rovers Return.
The tour is fully guided and costs from £35. The tour is only available on Saturdays and Sundays I assume because of filming.