Renowned for its two major football clubs, United and City, the city is also the capital of British cycling. Home to British Cycling and a national high-performance centre, its famous velodrome that’s renowned for its ultra-fast track was where Chris Boardman (49.441km in 2000) and, a quarter of a century later, Alex Dowsett (52.937km) broke the Hour Record. The track also hosted the 1996, 2000 and 2008 World Championships, as well as the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
- Main city in the county of Greater Manchester (Great Britain)
- Population: 580,000; 2,800,000 within Greater Manchester; 7,700,000 within the North West England region
- manchester.gov.uk
Manchester and cycling
The second or third largest city in Great Britain with a population of 2.5 million (it vies for this position with the Birmingham conurbation), Manchester is nonetheless the undisputed cycling capital of the United Kingdom. It is home to the British National Cycling Centre and the headquarters of British Cycling, the governing body which, over the past quarter of a century, has made cycling one of the country’s flagship sports. The National Cycling Centre is centred around the Manchester Velodrome, which opened in 1994 and where 15 world records have been broken, including Chris Boardman’s hour record in 1996 (56.376 km before the new bicycle regulations came into force) and Alex Dowsett’s in 2015 (52.937 km). The velodrome was also the headquarters of Team Sky (now Netcompany-Ineos) until 2019, during the period of their victories in the Tour de France.
The National Cycling Centre also includes a BMX complex and mountain bike trails.
Manchester has hosted the Tour of Britain 14 times, most recently in 2023, when Olav Kooij won a bunch sprint finish ahead of Wout Van Aert and Sam Bennett. Among active riders, Mathieu van der Poel also claimed victory there in 2019.
The most recent city finish saw Ruby Roseman-Gannon claim victory in the Women’s Tour of Britain in 2024.
Manchester is also a stronghold of women’s cycling thanks to Mandy Jones, the 1982 road world champion in Greenwood, where she held off a late charge from the peloton to win by a clear margin. She had already finished third two years earlier in Sallanches. A two-time national road champion (1981 and 1983), as well as national time trial champion (1982) and national pursuit champion (1980, 1981 and 1982), she ran a cycle shop in Oldham for many years. She was succeeded by another Manchester-based rider, Marie Purvis, a five-time British road champion between 1991 and 1995. Purvis was also the first British woman to win a stage of the Women’s Tour de France in Vaujany in 1993. She repeated the feat in 1995. We should also mention Monica Greenwood, who resumed her professional career in her thirties after coaching the national track team.
Among the men, the Yates brothers hail from Bury, one of the boroughs of Greater Manchester, situated 15 km from the city of Manchester. Finally, Graham Jones, who competed in five Tours de France in the 1980s (finishing 20th in 1981) before becoming one of the race’s most prolific consultant for the British media, is also from Greater Manchester.
Sights
National Cycling Centre
See cycling.
Town Hall
Built: 19th century.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
Features: this is the headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses various local government bodies. To the north of the Town Hall lies Albert Square and to the south St Peter’s Square, where the Manchester Cenotaph stands, facing the building’s southern entrance. Completed by architect Alfred Waterhouse in 1877, the building features imposing murals by artist Ford Madox Brown depicting significant events in the city’s history. The entrance and the Sculpture Hall contain busts and statues of notable figures such as Dalton, Joule and Barbirolli. The exterior of the building is dominated by the clock tower, which stands 85 metres tall and houses a bell known as Great Abel. In 1938, an extension was built, connected to the original building by two covered walkways.
Note: the building and Albert Square have been closed for renovation since 2018 and were due to reopen completely in spring 2027.
Listing: Grade I since 1952.
Manchester Cenotaph
Date built: 1924.
History: this is a war memorial situated in St Peter’s Square, opposite the Town Hall. The project, launched in 1922, was entrusted to Sir Edwin Lutyens, who produced a variation on his design for the London Cenotaph. The memorial consists of a central cenotaph and a Stone of Remembrance flanked by two twin obelisks, characteristic of Lutyens’s work. It is crowned by the effigy of a soldier who fell in battle and adorned with reliefs depicting the Imperial Crown, the coat of arms of Manchester and inscriptions commemorating the dead. The memorial was unveiled on 12 July 1924 by the Earl of Derby, assisted by Mrs Bingle, a local resident whose three sons had perished during the war. In 2014, Manchester City Council dismantled the memorial and rebuilt it on the north-east corner of St Peter’s Square, next to Manchester Town Hall.
Listed: Grade II in 1952.
Old Trafford
Built: 1909. Architect: Archibald Leitch.
Capacity: 74,310 spectators.
History: built in 1909, it has been the home of Manchester United since 1910. During the Second World War, the stadium was destroyed by German bombing raids. Manchester United were then forced to share Manchester City’s former ground, Maine Road, with their rivals. Nicknamed the “Theatre of Dreams” by Sir Bobby Charlton, it is England’s third-largest stadium in terms of seating capacity, behind Wembley and Twickenham, with a capacity of 74,000 spectators. International matches, including those from the 1966 FIFA World Cup – which England won on home soil – and the 1996 UEFA European Championship, have been held at Old Trafford. The stadium also hosts rugby league matches and concerts.
Distinguishing features: a statue of former manager Sir Matt Busby stands above the department store. There is also a plaque in memory of the victims of the Munich air disaster on the southern edge of the East Stand. In 2008, a statue known as The United Trinity, depicting George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, was unveiled to mark the fortieth anniversary of Manchester United’s first European Cup victory. On 23 November 2012, a statue of Sir Alex Ferguson, Man Utd’s legendary manager, was erected near the entrance to the stand named after him.
Manchester Cathedral
Construction: 15th to 20th centuries.
History: Manchester Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester, the seat of the Bishop of Manchester and the city’s parish church. It is situated on Victoria Street in Manchester city centre. The former parish church was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style in the years following the foundation of the collegiate chapter in 1421. Then, at the end of the 15th century, James Stanley II (prior from 1485 to 1506, then Bishop of Ely from 1506 to 1515) oversaw the reconstruction of the nave and the collegiate choir, which were fitted with tall windows. He also commissioned the late medieval wooden interior furnishings, notably the lectern, the choir stalls and the nave vaulting supported by angels holding gilded instruments. The collegiate church became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Manchester in 1847. It was extensively renovated, restored and extended during the Victorian era, and again following damage caused by bombing during the Second World War.
Listing: Grade I listed.
Manchester Art Galleries
Opened: 1824.
History and features: the museum occupies three buildings, the oldest of which is listed. It was originally the Royal Manchester Institution, whose building was designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1824. The museum was extended in 2002 to incorporate the former Manchester Athenaeum building, in the Palladian style, also designed by Barry in 1826. It houses many works specifically linked to Manchester, particularly in the eponymous gallery.
Collections: the combined collection of the Manchester Art Gallery and the Gallery of Costume comprises over 14,000 objects from the fine arts, decorative arts and costume. The fine arts collection contains 14,000 works of art, including 2,000 paintings, 350 sculptures, drawings, watercolours, prints and photographs. It notably includes works by Constable, Gainsborough, Hogarth, Gauguin, Renoir and 17th-century Flemish masters. The decorative arts are represented by 13,000 objects in ceramics, glass and other materials. Finally, the Gallery of Costume holds 21,000 items of clothing and accessories.
Listing: Grade I listed since 1952.
Whitworth Building
Built: 1902.
Style: Neo-Gothic.
History: the building was constructed between 1895 and 1902 by architect Paul Waterhouse in the Neo-Gothic style. It was opened in 1902 by the future King George V and his wife, the future Queen Mary. It forms part of the University of Manchester and is named after industrialist Joseph Whitworth, who bequeathed part of his fortune for the construction of public facilities in Manchester. This money was also used to build the adjacent Christie Library. The main hall of Whitworth Hall can accommodate nearly 700 people for public meetings.
Listing: Grade II listed since 1963.
Manchester Museum
Opened: 1835.
The Manchester Museum is part of the University of Manchester. Situated on Oxford Road (A34) in the heart of the campus’s neo-Gothic buildings, it houses around 6 million objects from all over the world and is a key resource for teaching and research, as well as being a public museum.
Collections: its natural history collections include 900,000 beetle specimens, a T. Rex skeleton, American frogs, Indian butterflies, Pacific birds, European plants and minerals, and armour and artefacts from ancient civilisations of the Mediterranean, the Americas and Oceania.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Midland Hotel
Opened: 1903.
Style: Edwardian Baroque.
History: this grand hotel was completed in 1903 on behalf of the Midland Railway, the railway company that operated services to Manchester Central Station from St Pancras Station in London. It overlooks St Peter’s Square. The hotel was designed by architect Charles Trubshaw in the Edwardian Baroque style. In the year it opened, the hotel is said to have welcomed 70,000 guests. It housed a 1,000-seat theatre, and a chamber orchestra used to play on its open-air roof terrace.
Trivia: legend has it that Adolf Hitler, an architecture enthusiast, dreamt of making the Midland Hotel the headquarters of the Nazi Party in England. This is said to be the reason why the hotel and its surroundings were spared from German bombing raids during the Second World War. It was also at the Midland that Charles Rolls and Henry Royce are said to have decided to join forces to create a car-making company. Finally, the Beatles were refused entry to the hotel’s famous French restaurant for “inappropriate attire”. The hotel has been bought and restored several times in the 21st century.
Features: famous for its red brick, terracotta and granite structure, materials chosen for their resistance to pollution. The hotel comprises 312 rooms and 14 suites, a fitness centre and two restaurants: The French, one of the UK’s first Michelin-starred restaurants, and the Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Listing: Grade II.
The Triangle or Corn Exchange
Construction: 1903, 2000 and 2015.
Style: originally Baroque.
Features: the Corn Exchange is a former covered market and shopping centre that has been converted into a food court. Originally, the building served as a grain exchange and was formerly known as the Corn & Produce Exchange, then The Triangle. Following an IRA bomb attack in Manchester city centre in 1996, it was renovated and converted into a shopping centre until 2014. The building was sold to investors and refurbished to house a number of restaurants and cafés.
Listing: Grade II listed.
Beetham Tower
Construction: 21st century.
Features: Beetham Tower is a skyscraper in Manchester. Built between 2004 and 2006, it is 168 metres tall and has 48 storeys. The building is named after its developers, the Beetham Organisation. It was designed by architect Ian Simpson and built by Carillion. It is also known as the Hilton Manchester, after the hotel which occupies the first 23 floors.
Distinguishing feature: this tower is notable for producing a loud noise in strong winds – an effect not anticipated by the architect during the design phase.