Manchester flights and travel guide

Lots of travellers book cheap flights to Manchester Airport to take connecting flights to other parts of the United Kingdom (London or Edinburgh for example), but the city has plenty of game of its own.

Soccer fans will know Manchester as the home of Manchester United, the world's most popular football club. Music fans will know it as the city that spawned The Smiths, Oasis and more. And history buffs will know it as the world's first industrialised city. Britain's first canal was dug here. It has the oldest orchestra in Britain (although this is disputed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and its streets are like an open-air museum of regal Victorian buildings.

Regeneration projects in recent years have added some stunning new architecture to Manchester's skyscape. These include the Urbis, an exhibition centre, and the Imperial War Museum North. The redeveloped Salford Docks are now known as Salford Quays, home to the Lowry Centre, where the "matchstick" paintings by Laurence Stephen Lowry are displayed.

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Manchester climate

Manchester has a reputation as a rainy city, but it gets the same amount of rain as Venice in Italy. In common with the rest of the UK, Manchester has a maritime climate. The summers are cool and the winters are generally mild. Average summer temps are about 16 degrees and winter temperatures hover between 3 and 6 degrees. There is some snow in winter.

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When to fly to Manchester

Peak Season: 

September to May are peak season as far as the soccer season goes. In general, the summer months are high season. 

Off Season: 

Winter months are low season especially November, early December, and the weeks following Christmas and New Years. 

Shoulder Season: 

The spring and autumn months are "shoulder" months when there are fewer tourists and the attractions are not as crowded.

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Getting around Manchester

Taxi ranks are located at all three terminals of Manchester Airport. There are several car-rental desks at MAN including Avis, Budget and Hertz. 

The Station is MAN's transport interchange. It is used by rail, bus and coach companies. Northern Rail and TransPennine Express link the airport to Manchester Piccadilly Station and other railway stations around the North of England. Bus services include Skyline, a 24-hour service that runs to Manchester city centre. It operates every 30 minutes. National Express coach services operate to various destinations.

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Manchester insider information

• Manchester is one of the UK's most musical cities and the roster of bands to hail from the city is long. They include Joy Division, New Order, Buzzcocks, The Smiths, the Stone Roses, Oasis and the Ting Tings. 
• If you're taking cheap flights to Manchester to catch a soccer game, take a tour of Old Trafford (also known as the Theatre of Dreams). Manchester United's glorious history and unrivalled collection of silverware is on display. You could also take a tour of Manchester Stadium. That ground belongs to Manchester's other team, Manchester City. 
• Painter LS Lowry took his inspiration from the streets of industrial Manchester. His style of drawing - the "matchstick" men - has been criticised as naive, but his paintings capture the ordinary men, women and children as they went around their business or played in the streets. The Lowry Galleries in Salford display his work in regularly changing exhibitions. 
• Shopping is a passion among Mancunians. The Old Trafford Centre has more than 200 shops, from high-end to High Street. 
• China Town is great for Chinese food and the Curry Mile is the only place to go for a decent curry. Other, renowned, eateries include the Lowry Hotel, Harvey Nicholls, Market Restaurant and Soup Kitchen. 
• Galleries: the Whitworth boasts a wonderful collection of British watercolours and textiles. The Manchester Art Gallery houses works by Turner, Gainsborough and Stubbs.

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Manchester airports

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