Visit Manchester, England

Female 1: Manchester is a dramatic mix of old and new especially since its recent major facelift. Contemporary designs sit alongside the spires and gargoyles of a bygone era. Victorian architecture’s at its best at the Manchester Town Hall which has been a stand in for London’s Parliament in movies. There is a striking and bold new city escape that blends well with the streets and monuments of Manchester’s industrial face.

Female 2: Many people say that Manchester’s not the same place it was twenty years ago. Even ten years age. It’s funny the concept of how some things have to be ripped apart before they can be put back together again. But such seems to be the case with Manchester. It was the IRA bombings in 1996 that lodged a massive renovation project that’s still underway.

Female 1: A recently added ferris wheel is a popular meeting place adjacent to Majestic Cathedrals that experienced a steady flow of tourists. The charming Downtown are is also known for its spunky bars, restaurants and cafes. Nearby is the cultural Central Library inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The Palace Hotel makes its red brick with terracotta and the Modern Convention Center has helped to change the face of this industrial city.

Manchester’s mix of cultures over the generations has contributed to the city’s spirit of openness, its energy and cosmopolitan buzz. The city has seen several waves of immigration from the influx of Irish and Jewish people in the nineteenth century, then Caribbean and then Asian settlers more recently. This is a mecca for smart shopping housing designer icons and trendy boutiques along with traditional English favorites.

A fifty minute tram journey from St. Petersquare takes you to the keys waterfront destination once a busy inland port where leisure attractions and shopping are rejuvenating the city, no longer a poor cousin to London to the South, Manchester is truly coming into its own.