Friday, September 5th, 2008 We're sorry- there are no hotel specials for Manchester today. Please check Manchester hotels (on the left) for our great, everyday internet rates. Check back from time to time as we update frequently.
Manchester is a major city within Greater Manchester in North West England, historically notable for being the world's first industrialised city, and its subsequent central role in the Industrial Revolution. The city, heralded as the "capital of the North", is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and commerce, and is considered by many of its citizens to be England's second city.
Manchester city centre is on a "tentative list" of UNESCO World Heritage Sites—mainly based around its network of canals and mills, which facilitated its development during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.
Manchester has a wide variety of buildings mainly from Victorian architecture through to modern. Much of the architecture in the city harks back to its former days as a global centre for the cotton trade. Many warehouses have now been converted for other uses but the external appearance remains mostly unchanged so the city keeps much of its original character. An interesting facet of the architecture of Manchester and several other cities which underwent a construction boom during the industrial revolution is that inspiration was taken from Venice.
Within Manchester there are monuments to numerous people and events that have helped to shape the city and influence the wider community. Two large squares, Albert Square, in front of Manchester Town Hall, and Piccadilly Gardens hold many of Manchester’s public monuments. Manchester has a number of busy squares, plazas and shopping streets. Many of Manchester city centre's streets are now pedestrianised with numerous other streets having Metrolink or Bus priority, this makes driving around Manchester city Centre complicated.
Other notable places in Manchester include: Great Northern Square , Spring Gardens , Cathedral Gardens, New Cathedral Street, The Gay Village and Chinatown — the largest Chinatown in the UK and the second largest in Europe.
