Manchester

Manchester is England's second city in cultural, economic and sporting terms — a northern powerhouse whose music heritage (The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, The Stone Roses), football obsession (Manchester United and Manchester City) and industrial revolution legacy give it an identity more distinctive than any other English city outside London. The city's industrial past is well-preserved in the Museum of Science and Industry (in the world's first passenger railway station) and the excellent People's History Museum. The Whitworth Gallery (contemporary art) and the Manchester Art Gallery are both outstanding. The John Rylands Library, a Victorian Gothic masterpiece, is one of Britain's finest historic libraries and free to enter. The Northern Quarter is the city's independent cultural heart: record shops, vintage clothing, coffee roasters, craft beer bars and music venues. Manchester's music history is deep: the Haçienda (now apartments, but still revered), the Salford Lads Club from The Smiths' iconic photograph, the venues that launched Oasis. The Manchester International Festival (biennial, summer) produces some of the world's most ambitious new cultural work. The food scene has improved dramatically; Chinatown (the UK's second largest after London) and the Curry Mile in Rusholme are excellent for affordable eating. Day trips to the Peak District, Liverpool, Chester and Lake District are all feasible.