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Manchester Tour: Discover City's Rich History
4.9
58 Ratings
Greater Manchester
Explore Manchester’s rich history and vibrant culture on a guided walking tour. Discover hidden gems, iconic landmarks, and the stories that shaped the city.
Explore Manchester’s rich history and vibrant culture on a guided walking tour. Discover hidden gems, iconic landmarks, and the stories that shaped the city.
Duration:
1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- St Peter’s Square - Begin your journey with a guide in St Peter’s Square and delve into the rich history of this remarkable Northern city!
- Chinatown - Explore the UK’s second-largest Chinatown, capture a photo by the paifang, and discover the multicultural essence that defines Manchester.
- Sackville Gardens - Experience the vibrant Gay…
- St Peter’s Square - Begin your journey with a guide in St Peter’s Square and delve into the rich history of this remarkable Northern city!
- Chinatown - Explore the UK’s second-largest Chinatown, capture a photo by the paifang, and discover the multicultural essence that defines Manchester.
- Sackville Gardens - Experience the vibrant Gay Village and learn about Manchester’s commitment to pride and equality for all, while spotting a statue of the man who saved Britain.
- Piccadilly Gardens - Form your own opinion on this modern interpretation of Piccadilly Gardens—love it or hate it!
- Northern Quarter - Enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of this trendy Manchester area, brimming with stylish eateries and hints of its past as the textile industry capital.
- Printworks - Uncover the intriguing history behind the iconic Printworks.
- National Football Museum - Dive into Manchester’s thriving football culture and learn about the history of the city’s two rival teams.
- Glade of Light - Pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the tragic Manchester Arena bombing at this serene memorial garden.
- Manchester Cathedral - Appreciate the mysterious origins and nineteenth-century beauty of this stunning cathedral.
- Shambles Square - Discover the fascinating efforts made to preserve some of Manchester’s oldest buildings, surrounded by popular dining spots.
- Mahatma Gandhi Statue - Conclude the tour at the Mahatma Gandhi statue, honoring a significant visitor to the North West who profoundly influenced the region’s industry.
What's Included
- Local guide
- Local guide
Additional Information
Experience the sights and sounds of the city as you journey through time to uncover our rich history, and see how it has transformed Manchester into the lively city it is today.
From its Roman origins to the industrial revolution, from the struggle for women’s rights to today’s dynamic music and LGBTQ+ scenes — Manchester is a city in constant motion. On…
Experience the sights and sounds of the city as you journey through time to uncover our rich history, and see how it has transformed Manchester into the lively city it is today.
From its Roman origins to the industrial revolution, from the struggle for women’s rights to today’s dynamic music and LGBTQ+ scenes — Manchester is a city in constant motion. On this guided tour with a local expert, follow in the footsteps of suffragettes, innovative merchants, renowned street artists, and football legends. Discover the city’s most iconic landmarks and find hidden gems along the way.
The tour includes:
- St Peter’s Square
- Royal Exchange Theatre
- Medieval Quarter
- Street Art
- Gay Village
- Northern Quarter
- Plus many hidden treasures!
Location
Manchester Central Library
Please meet your guide outside the Manchester Central Library in St Peter's Square. Your guide will be wearing a bright orange jacket and/or lanyard.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(58 Ratings)
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Shoshana
Jul 29, 2025
The tour guide was knowledgeable, kind, and entertaining. I would highly recommend Gordon! - It was a great tour led by Gordon. We learned a lot about the history of Manchester. And there are a lot of great things to see.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
E3262yxjackiew
Jul 21, 2025
Fabulous experience! - This tour with our guide, David , was absolutely perfect. The city was particularly busy but David managed to keep the group together. He was knowledgeable and added a lot of humour to the tour. It lasted just the right amount of time to hold our attention and we learned loads about the city. Fabulous value for money!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travel11768327086
Jul 19, 2025
- Gordon is our guide, he is literally a walking encyclopaedia, telling us a lots of interesting fun facts about Manchester. My family and I enjoyed so much for this walking tour
If u r looking for a local tourist guide, u never go wrong with joining his group
Review provided by Tripadvisor
976isobelh
Jul 18, 2025
Great informative tour - Great informative tour. David was a superb guide. Saw some really interesting parts of Manchester and learnt some new historical facts and tales.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anoushka
Jul 16, 2025
Interesting and engaging walking tour with a local - An hour and a half was perfect timing to get a feel for the city and learn a few interesting facts about the history. David was knowledgeable, interested and engaging. The tour really helped us understand what Manchester is all about and gave us an idea of what we want to look into in more depth. Thank you..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
272fionad
Jul 12, 2025
A great way to see Manchester - A brilliant tour - David was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the city
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_b
Jul 11, 2025
This was a great tour for... - This was a great tour for anyone new to Manchester and well worth the time and money! Sam was a great tour guide!
Review provided by Viator
Stevebo2431pv
Jul 7, 2025
Manchester walking tour - Very informative great way of seeing the different areas of the city centre so you know where to go after and spend more time
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Somany
Jul 4, 2025
A must when coming to this vibrant city - Nothing was too much for our fantastic kind, knowledgeable and helpful guide Gordon. Our small group of five learnt all about the most interesting areas of this historical city. Loved how well he was prepared with his personal photos to show us how Manchester used to look over the years and prior the bombings. Would definitely recommend as a fun introduction to help any newcomer to Manchester with starting exploring further and anything other than the apparent plethora of shopping malls and eateries.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maggie
Jul 21, 2025
Saw little and learnt nothing. - Our guide was very well meaning, friendly and enthusiastic but lacked any real depth of knowledge about Manchester its history or its highlights.
We had booked for a 90 minutes walking tour and after an hour and a half had barely scratched the surface of what I had expected to see.
I was told nothing that I did not already know from basic reading and prior searching on Wikipedia and it became obvious that our Guide‘s main source of information was Google. He was unable to answer any questions about details that we noticed or were interested in and indeed on one occasion turned to Google on his phone to try and find the answer. And failed.
His description of Canal Street and the background of Gay culture was simplistic and dated. He was unable to explain to a client visiting from another country what LGBTQ+ stood for. His description of Emiline Pankhurst and her fight for “equality and what not” was insultingly basic.
Having paid for this tour I expected an experienced and well informed guide. I have had much better tours for free in other cities.
I received an email directly from ‘Walking Tours in England’ asking for feedback but neither of the provided links worked. I responded to the email asking for a working link to allow me to give feedback directly- and would have preferred to do so privately - but have had no reply. I am wondering if this advertised tour is legitimate or a scam. If it is legitimate, there needs to be a huge improvement.
We eventually left the tour as we were having to wait for people who had peeled off to use the toilet. Having given the guide 90 minutes to give us any particularly interesting information, we decided that it was unlikely to improve and decided to do our own thing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
