There has been a lot of investment poured into Manchester and the cityscape has vastly changed from what it was 10 years ago. The grand architecture from when the city was a successful cotton industry sits comfortably alongside the latest additions to the city.   Beetham Tower is a landmark 47-storey skyscraper containing the Hilton Hotel and apartments with a penthouse on the top floor. On the 23rd floor is the only skybar in Manchester, Cloud 23 has spectacular views down to street level.

The Urbis Centre near to Victoria Station is an amazing glass building in direct contrast to the historical 1897 built Corn Exchange next door. The centre features city life with exhibitions of contemporary art and design, the city environment and culture, and the people who live there. There are some great exhibits of architecture, graffiti, music and the urban environment.

The Printworks opposite was previously a newspaper printing complex, and is now a popular place to hang out with bars, restaurants, a cinema and nightclub inside. The industrial revolution was a successful time for Manchester as the cotton manufacturers made their fortune, and the cotton mills and majestic buildings  from this era can still be seen all over the city. Check out The Palace Hotel, St Ann’s Church and The Royal Exchange, and the oldest complete structure in the city is Chetham’s School and Library, dating back to the early 1400s.

The Northern Quarter is the creative center of the city and was the base for the textile district. Its small streets and back alleys are now trendy boutiques and stores selling unique and original items, and vintage clothes stores located next to funky bars. The eateries here are vegetarian, healthy foods and cheap curry cafes.

Manchester has a large and vivacious Gay and Lesbian community that is out to be seen. Canal Street, also known as the gay village, is where you will find a whole area of pavement cafés and bars, clubs and restaurants, often so busy at weekends that everyone socializes out on the canalside streets.  In the warmer weather the atmosphere in this area has a continental mood that attracts people from all walks of life whether they are gay or gay friendly.

The great thing about Manchester is that you can just hop onto the tram and it will take you to some of the most popular areas in and around the city in a matter of minutes. They regularly run from Piccadilly Station and pass by the main shopping areas, or a few minutes more will bring you to St Peter’s Square and the stylishly designed circular Central Library, motivated by the Pantheon in Rome. Round the corner from here is the neo-Gothic architecture of the Town Hall.

Once a busy inland port, the redeveloped Salford Quays main feature is the award winning Lowry building, an eccentric structure designed to reflect the surrounding landscapes and waterways in its metal and glass surface. Its purpose is to bring the performing and visual arts to the community. There is also a constantly changing display of original paintings by LS Lowry, the Manchester artist famous for his matchstick men paintings.

Take the footbridge over the ship canal and visit the Daniel Libeskind Imperial War Museum North. The building is the interlocking of three shards said to represent earth, air, and water and deals with the conflicts that have shaped the 20th century and ones to come in the future.
Manchester City Council is leading the regeneration and rejuvenation of waterways citywide by cleaning them up and marketing them as tourist attractions, they are slowly becoming popular places for a canal trip and waterside cafes.  Castlefield is a great place to spend your Sunday, sitting next to the Bridgewater Canal at a pavement café watching the tourists and locals go by. It’s even possible to take a trip along the Manchester Ship Canal, which runs from Salford Quays to Liverpool, through locks and bridges that still look as they did 100 years ago.

The people of Manchester are known as Mancunians or Mancs and there are innumerable famous people who were born here, studied at the universities or lived in the city that have made valuable contributions in their various fields. Some of the most famous people born here include Charlotte Bronte, the famous author of Jane Eyre, Emmeline Pankhurst, the  leader of the British women's rights movement, Robert Donat, the stage and film actor whose most well-known movies include The Thirty-Nine Steps’ and Goodbye, Mr. Chips', the Bee Gees, the Gallagher brothers, Bernard Manning, Bill Oddie, and LS Lowry.

The music scene in Manchester has always featured large too, although the days of the revolutionary Hacienda are long gone (it was closed down in 1997) it will always remain a familiar name connected to the city. From out of this time we have to be thankful for the great sounds of bands like Joy Division, The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Later on Manchester helped launch Oasis, Radiohead and Coldplay.