Information for people new to Manchester
Sports & Leisure

We have included a few ideas about sports and leisure facilities in this section but there are more, and there are always new events coming up. The Manchester Visitor Information Centre, next door to the central library in St Peter's Square can give information and maps for seasonal events: you can also look at the "Local Information" section. http://www.mcc/leisure/index.htm

Swimming pools and Leisure Centres

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Football

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Refugee Action in Manchester organises a football team for refugees and asylum seekers, with training sessions given by a professional coach and a match in a local football league every week during the football season. Call Refugee Action for more information.

Gardening

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If you enjoy growing things but you don't have a garden in the place where you're living, you may be able to get an allotment (small plot of land) in one of the city council's allotment gardens. They are inexpensive to rent, you may be able to get help with the costs and you can grow fresh fruit and vegetables for your own use. Contact the City Allotments Manager on 0161 226 3322 for more information.

Leisure Activities

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  Galleries and Museums

There are a number of interesting museums and galleries in Manchester, and you can spend a few hours there when you want to do something different: especially if it's raining! These include the Imperial War Museum North, Urbis (a museum of urban life), Manchester Art Gallery and many more. See the list below for opening times.

Cinema

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There are cinemas across the Greater Manchester area: the cost of a ticket varies between £3.00 and £6.00, and it is usually cheaper to go and watch a film during the daytime than in the evening (you can see a new release film for as little as £2, if you go at a quiet time  such as a weekday before 6pm).

Some cinemas have loyalty schemes, for example if you go to see a film at that cinema 5 times, the sixth time will be free: ask at the ticket office in each cinema. If you are a student and have a National Union of Students (NUS) card, you can get a discount of up to 50% of the ticket price, depending on the cinema.

You can find out which films are playing at the cinemas either by looking at the local papers, especially on a Thursday or Friday evening (the film list changes every Thursday), or by looking on the internet: you can find the details of films, cinemas and their programmes at www.scoot.co.uk/cinemafinder/, which also has a free weekly email service.

A number of foreign, original-language films can be seen in Manchester: the best place for these is the Cornerhouse cinema. The Alliance Française also shows French-language films. Watch out for the summer Commonwealth film festival, a new event showing films from around the world.

If you have access to a DVD or video player, you can join a video shop and rent videos on a daily or weekly basis. You can also rent videos and DVDs from your locl library.

Theatre

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Manchester's main theatres include the Royal Exchange, the Palace and the Contact theatre. Going to the theatre is usually quite expensive in the UK. However, it is possible to get cheaper tickets if you are prepared to go to an afternoon (called matinee) performance, or on an evening at the beginning of the week (Monday to Wednesday), or you are prepared to queue on the day and see what you can get at the box office. There are also regular theatre performances put on by university students, which are cheap and often good - look out for advertisements around Oxford Road and the university campuses.

Music

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Manchester is famous for both its classical and pop music, and there are a large number of music performances every day. For classical music the best-known venue is the Bridgewater Hall: tickets can be expensive but see suggestions above for finding cheaper tickets. The Royal Northern College of Music and Chetham's School of Music also give concerts: check for information of forthcoming events at the Manchester Visitor Information Centre.

Manchester attracts many famous popstars who give concerts at places such as the MEN Arena, and tickets for these are very expensive. However, there are dozens of smaller concerts and music events going on across the city. Again, ask at the Manchester Visitor Information Centre for information, or check the listing in the free Metro paper that you can get on the bus or the tram, and look for posters, particularly around Oxford Road, which advertise student concerts (gigs).

Pubs

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The traditional gathering place for British people is the pub (public house). You can sit and enjoy alcohol or soft drinks, have something to eat and often play pool, snooker or darts and watch TV: if you don't have a television at home, this can be a good way to see football matches and other sporting events.

Please note that it is illegal for pubs (and any other shops or supermarkets) to sell alcoholic drinks to people under the age of 18, so if you look young, you may be asked for identity to prove your age, and the staff may just refuse to serve you if you cannot do so.

Pubs get especially busy - and the customers very drunk - on Friday and Saturday nights, so if you prefer to avoid noisy busy places it is best not to go on these nights.

Parks

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There are many parks in Manchester and the access is free. Ask your landlord for the nearest park in your area: the list includes

and many more. Some of these parks hold free festivals or other events, especially in the summer: see the section on "Local Information" for more details of these. Many parks also have children's play areas with activities such as swings and climbing frames so can be a good place to take your children for some fresh air and exercise.

Contact details

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