A small craft studio located inside Manchester Craft & Design Centre, &made sells a range of handmade gifts and goodies, including some very distinctive knitted cacti – honestly, you’ll love them (not least when you find out that their maker, Andrea Lord, was a former Chorlton & The Wheelies animator at Cosgrove Hall).
Every Monday night upstairs at Fierce Bar, The Comedy Vault hosts an outrageously funny open-mic night. Come and try your hand or just to watch and laugh.
free entry
Rock-informed, techno-adjacent musical collagists Moin perform at Band on the Wall this spring.
from £16.50
Band on the Wall bring people together to make, as well as watch, music. Join them to learn folk tunes from all over the world.
In support of The Weather Station’s new album, Humanhood, Tamara Lindeman and her band perform at Band on the Wall.
from £19
‘Shadow and Void: Buddha10’ combines historic Buddhist sculptures with contemporary, multisensory artworks that offer a space for reflection
free entry
An insanely committed seven-nights-a-week, Creatures of the Night Comedy Club opens its doors (20.30-22.30 typically, though please check) for evening after evening of side-splitting comedy.
from £5.00
Beat the Frog is a legendary amateur comedy night, taking place each and every Monday. Many famous names prove it’s the real deal.
free entry
Try your hand at stand up comedy with an eight week intensive course with Dave Williams in the Frog and Bucket’s School of Comedy.
from £300.00
Housed in a former Victorian fish market, Manchester Craft and Design Centre has for 30 years been home to an array of artist-run studios.
Oak Street Café at Manchester Craft & Design Centre does fresh, healthy salads, soups, sandwiches, quiches and, best of all, cakes.
Boutique charity shop in the heart of the Northern Quarter.
Northern Quarter stalwart Common Bar in Manchester serves excellent pub food, fine cocktails and decent coffee. It’s a firm Creative Tourist team favourite.
Home Sweet Home in Manchester’s Northern Quarter is a cafe and milk bar that does a mean line in cake, puddings and all things sweet – but its savoury menu isn’t half bad either.
This small shop has a well-curated range of stock that focuses on vintage homeware and gifts. From Japanese hemp socks to botanical paperweights and HAWS plant misters, each object is beautiful, practical and well made.
Ziferblat is a pay as you stay café in the northern quarter, where everything is free – except the time you spend.
Gordon Ramsay-approved Northern Quarter restaurant run by three sisters, featuring some of the city’s finest Chinese cuisine.
Essentially three bars under one roof, Cane & Grain encompasses a rib joint and tap room, hidden speakeasy, and Tiki-themed Liar’s Lounge.
The sister store to NOTE’s original Tib Street branch, here you’ll find footware, clothes and brands inspired by the skateboard scene. If it’s a new board you’re after, head to Tib Street.
Highly-rated bar based in Manchester’s bustling Northern Quarter, seconds away from Common.
57 Thomas Street is the third outlet belonging to Manchester’s best-known microbrewery, Marble Beers. Unlike the lavish decoration of the Grade II-listed Marble Arch (which also doubles up as a brewery) or the traditional pub layout of the Marble Beer House in Chorlton, this tiny Thomas Street digs has room for just two things: beer and food.
We’re championing all things underground this month, with a selection of gigs and festivals that embrace the strange.
Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.
Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.
Not long now, spring is on its way but wave goodbye to winter with some of the North's best food and drink.
Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.
Cinematic sets, 90s nightclub photography and even new gallery - we have a great mix of exhibitions for you this month.
As we edge towards spring we take a look at the best events and activities for families, from theatre to festivals, dinosaur adventures to family raves.
Some of our favourite leftfield live literature regulars are back with their first events of the year – we’ve picked a weird and wonderful heap we think you’ll love.
