Manchester during Christmas Week

RMS Oceanic

My younger sister is currently studying for her Masters Degree in Manchester (the English one). To make ends meet she got a part time job as a care assisstant. However her employers are only letting her have Christmas Day off, so if she wants to continue spending Christmas Day with the Family, she'll have to fly in on Christmas Eve afternoon and back to Manchester on Boxing Day morning.

To make up for this abruptness, my parents were thinking of flying over with her on Boxing Day to spend a little more of the Christmas Holidays with her, and possibly taking me and my youngest sister along, as neither of us have ever been to Manchester. My other three siblings aren't going because they have other plans.

So the situation now fully explained, what is there to see and do in Manchester that would be open during the Christmas Holidays?

Conroy Bumpas

boxing day is shorter opening but shops will be open etc..

dispatch.o

At some point the holiday just isn't worth it, why not use the time off and money at a point later on where she can arrange to have actual time off?

Mojo_Jojo

Manchester is a pretty cool place, and it should be open as usual from the 27th (Boxing day will be more iffy, with only the places getting a headstart on the sales opening up and the various attractions not bothering).

Specifically, I recommend the Manchester Eye (it's not called that, but nobody knows the actual name. It's the big wheel between Selfridge's and The Triangle - You get a really good view, and there's audio commentary while you sit in the pods).

There's lots of theatre stuff, but around Christmas you might struggle to find anything other than Panto with tickets going spare. It's worth checking out the Exchange though.

The Science museum had gone downhill last time I was in town, which is a damn shame, as it used to be incredible (perhaps they have finished redevelopment though now).

The various Christmas markets will have vanished by then (they get taken down sometime in the week before Christmas).

Apparently a brand new area, the name of which I have entirely forgotten (but it's off Deansgate) has been built since I was last there. I think it's mainly bars and restaurants.

What specifically are you looking to do? I'm awful at thinking of exciting things to do in places.

RMS Oceanic

Sightseeing, basically. We'll only be there for maybe three days.

Mojo_Jojo

The main sight in Manchester is that it's no longer an ugly industrial city since the IRA kindly demolished a large part of it. And they did it for free!

LewieP's Mummy

One thing you could all do is come for tea/dinner with me, LewieP and LewieP's Daddy if you'd like to - we're about 20 minutes out from the centre of Manchester, and we'd love to invite you with your family for a meal!

http://www.visitmanchester.com/ is http://www.manchester.com/ http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/ http://www.manchestergalleries.org/whats-on/, http://www.thelowry.com/ and http://www.visitmanchester.com/articles/thismonth/manchester-museums.aspx?gclid=CI2PoYafvqwCFc8Z4Qod61mDCQ, as well as a large shopping centre in the middle of the city, and the http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/ Centre about 20 minutes by car from the city centre (we live near it), there's http://www.rusholmecurry.co.uk/ in Rusholme that's just fantastic, and that's just what I can think of in a few minutes.

I'll keep thinking, but seriously mean the offer of tea/dinner!