As in previous years, many people are coming from outside of Manchester, I thought it appropriate to write a blog post about things in and around Manchester. If you are going to be in Manchester for a short while after the conference and would like some inspiration of what to do, here is a little overview of some of the things to see around Manchester.

Manchester Food & Drink Festival

Every year this happens in Manchester where restaurants and food producers put up stalls around Albert Square & St Anne’s Square. These stalls often contain local produce which you can buy to take home, speciality cooked food (including kangaroo) and real ale and cider. The stalls are always changing throughout the festival so check the website for more information

Art Gallery

For those looking for something cultural, just down the road from the Mercure Hotel is Manchester Art Gallery with a large collection of art, particularly Pre-Raphaelite works. It is open Tuesday to Sunday between 10am and 5pm.

Museums

The Manchester Museum is housed in the University of Manchester which is not particularly central (a long walk or short bus ride away). They have 15 galleries including dinosaurs and Egyptian mummies. There is also The Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) which includes a history of computing (including a working replica of the Baby computer created by Alan Turing), aerospace gallery and steam engines.

For more museums which are in Manchester and Greater Manchester visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Greater_Manchester

Everything Else

These are just a few of the recommended places to visit in Manchester, however if you want more, a friend of mine has produced a map called “Manchester… for the cultured“, which contains a vast amount of places to eat, drink and visit.

@RickOgden