travelrob

I won a free trip to Manchester through Virgin Vacations and Visit Manchester.They really were wonderful.I also have looked at Virgin Vacation's prices and they are good even if I had to pay.Visit Manchester has been great and really does a good job of promoting their city. It's good to see people proud of their city and welcoming.
I really was impressed with Manchester on our recent trip.Not only does the city have some world class attractions but most are free and there is even a free local bus to take you around. It is also close to cities for various daytrips.

Two libraries are really magnificent. John Rylands and Chetham Library, in the School of Music, are really unique.The Manchester Art Gallery and the Museum of Science and Industry are well done and free.

The Manchester Catheral is great and I was really impressed with the stained glass.Although the windows were destroyed in an air raid in 1940, the modern ones are well done and have some awesome colors.

Manchester has an area of town,the Northern Quarter,that has independant stores and cafes with no chains allowed ,which was neat.
The Visitors Information center there is really informative and gave us some excellent suggestions. We also saw Chester and Liverpool in daytrips.

Liverpool has a great airport that is full of the budget airlines that go around Europe. One of the best budget hub airports in Europe.It takes about 40 minutes to the Liverpool Airport by bus from cenral Manchester and costs 12 pounds for a round trip ticket.

The only things I disliked about Manchester was the security at the airport coming home to the US and the weather,but I'll save that for another post.

annhig

glad you enjoyed the trip here, travelrob.

where did you stay?

travelrob

annhig-I stayed at The Portland by Thistle on Portland Street, Piccadilly Gardens.It was a good central location and had a good buffet breakfast.It was even near the airport shuttle to Liverpool's John Lennon Airport.We extended our trip to Europe by taking a budget airline flight to Belgium and back from Paris.

I really was impressed at the area.Liverpool also had great free Museums and the prices in that part of England are about half that of the London Area.

And I think they are opening a Tune Hotel in Liverpool, so there should be a lot of options for the budget traveler

farrermog

TR - you might find interesting <i>Building Jerusalem; The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City</i>, by historian and now Labour Party member of parliament Tristram Hunt.

travelrob

farrermog-Thanks for the recommendation.It really does sound interesting from the reviews.

tjhome1

Great to see Manchester on the board and glad you enjoyed it - keep spreading the word.

travelrob

tjhome1-You live in a great city.I'm just glad that Disneyworld is so popular, so us living in Florida have those non-stop flights to the UK.

I'll definetly be back and like I said the John Lennon Airport makes that area a great spot for budget travelers to go to the rest of Europe.

Alec

And Ryanair is opening a new hub at Manchester Airport for budget flights too. It already has Jet2 and EasyJet, and often full-service airlines lower their fares to compete.

nona1

A bunch of us from had to go to Manchester for a couple of days for work in September, from softy down south, and we were all impressed as well. We too were on Portland Street and it's a good location. We didn't get too much time to go exploring but in the few hours we grabbed, just shopping and eating really, we liked what we saw. Interesting buildings, canals, good shopps, and a really nice 'buzzy but safe' evening atmosphere.

nona1

Having said this, when we mentioned our impressions to our local hosts there we got a lot of rolled eyes and cryptic comments, so like any city, I imagine it also has its bad side.

travelrob

It really is a good area to base yourself in for a stay in England.Liverpool,Chester,York are all easy daytrips

stevelyon

Did you not get to Bury's world famous market and black pudding stalls - maybe you are saving that for a special occasion.

travelrob

stevelyon-No I missed that.Thank you for the tip.Next trip.

Bgale

travelrob. You indicated you disliked the security at the airport for the trip back to the US. Could you provide more details about that statement?

In April I fly into London for a 2-week trip but we will fly out of Manchester on the return trip so your input would be appreciated.

janisj

Bgale: Security is <i>very</i> thorough at all UK airports (well at just about every European airport for US bound flights)

Bgale

janisj, I'm aware of increased security coming back to US and know to allow extra time for that security but I was wondering if there was something special/different about travelrob's experience in Manchester.

bilboburgler

The walking snake (all stainless steel and glass) at Manchester is relativley new at the moment and the staff are still getting used to it but other than that I've never had problems at MAN

travelrob

Bgale- My son asked if they had an opt out pat down when selected for the body scanner.Not only were they rude in saying no, they sent him through the scanner twice.Then at our gate they said he was randomly picked for a pat down.And we got the feeling their attitude was ,next time don't ask questions.

I normally have had good experiences at European airports so I was disappointed in the Manchester airport.

However Liverpool's John Lennon Airport was wonderful.Quick polite,old fashioned. Night and day between the two

Bgale

Thanks for the additional infomation. I've never been through the Manchester airport so I was very interested in your experience since I will be using that airport in May. I have artifical joints so I always set the alarm off and always have to go thru the pat down process but I will elect the body scanner if they have one just because it is faster. thanks again

bilboburgler

I think they are still learning the new ropes at MAN, I saw others getting mucked about in the summer, hopefully it will calm down as they get confidence