Top Manchester Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Whether you’re visiting Manchester for its musical heritage or its footballing legacy, this walking tour will fill you in on all the juicy secrets the city has to share. See famous streets and sets from TV and film on your way to visit places of historical importance—from women’s rights to ending slavery. If you’re into football, learn about how Manchester began the Premier League, and if you’re more of a music fan, see where live acts started out.

Manchester after dark is a city built on coal smoke and cotton money, and the things it buried did not stay buried. Your storyteller meets you in St Ann's Square and opens at the church of 1712, where Victorians walked anti-clockwise around the table tombs and pressed an ear to the stone to hear the dead answer. You are invited to try it. Across the square, an actor who died in 1995 is still seen smoking in the green room of the Royal Exchange. In a narrow alley nearby, Christmas shoppers in 1894 swore they saw the devil walk up a wall in the shape of a goat. Then the night turns to true crime: the Bolton mother who poisoned her children for the burial money, and the killer this city forgot while the Yorkshire Ripper took the headlines. We finish at the cathedral walls, where a headless black dog is said to prowl and where two people praying through a thunderstorm in 1577 were found the next morning with their throats torn out. A ghost tour told straight. You decide what to believe.

Explore Manchester and Salford with a guide to show you around some of their best spots and top attractions on this private tour. Stop for food and drink tastings at a range of local establishments, and see The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Central Train Station, Aviva Studios, and more.

See Manchester your way, your style—but with a local’s expertise—when you book this 100% personalized private custom tour. Perhaps you’re a football fan, looking to experience Old Trafford; perhaps you enjoy hip artsy hangouts such as Castlefield; or perhaps the Northern Quarter is more your speed. Whatever suits you, your guide will build the perfect itinerary for the duration you’ve chosen: pay as you go for attractions, food and transport.

Get more familiar with Manchester through exploring its foodie scene on this afternoon tasting tour. Meet up with your guide and follow their lead as you make your way through two of the city's neighborhoods: Ancoats and the Northern Quarter. Try local delicacies from independently run vendors and eateries as you gain deeper insight into Manchester's culinary heritage.

Manchester is home to one of the UK's most thriving craft beer scenes, and on this insider tasting tour, you'll discover some of the city's best breweries. A guide takes the guesswork out of choosing where to drink, so you're sure to have nothing but great beer at a selection of hand-picked, locals-loved watering holes. Enjoy plenty of samples of a wide range of beer styles and learn more about local beer history as well as the brewing process from your guide.

Go beyond the guidebooks to learn about the history, culture, and future of Manchester's Media City and The Quays on a family-friendly guided walking tour. Led by a local guide, start and end your journey at the impressive Media City Piazza, and pass by landmarks such as the Lowry Arts Centre and the Imperial War Museum. Enjoy the benefit of your guide's insight—something you'd miss if exploring independently—and stroll alongside the storied Manchester Ship Canal (which links the city to the Irish Sea). Along the way, get the lowdown on urban regeneration, and find out why the area is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the UK.

Experience a side of Manchester that the history books often miss on this small-group guided tour. Explore the streets of Angel Meadow, a former Victorian slum that used to house one of the world’s first cotton mills. Learn the story of the Mancunian families that struggled to survive in the area, while discovering the area’s evolution over the ages.

Discover the Manchester most visitors, and even many locals, walk straight past. Led by a lifelong Mancunian, this relaxed, small-group tour uses archive photographs, historic maps and on-location visuals to reveal the stories hidden in the city’s streets. From protest, music and innovation to pubs, homelessness and Manchester’s constant reinvention, this is much more than a checklist of landmarks. There’s plenty of time for questions, conversation and looking at the city in a completely different way.

Discover Manchester with a private guide and enjoy a tour that’s tailor-made to you. Pick your own departure time, meeting point, and duration, then build an itinerary with a local guide whose interests match your own. Learn about the city’s musical, sporting, and historical significance. Admission tickets to Manchester attractions are at your own expense, but these can be arranged in advance via your guide.

Find your way around the vibrant city of Manchester with a self-guided tour that’s also a fun-filled treasure hunt adventure. Using the tour app’s map, follow instructions and solve clues and puzzles to discover where to head to next. Each location is a new spot to explore, and each clue is a story about Manchester's fascinating history and an insight into the people who have lived here.

Take an adventure into the rolling green hills of Derbyshire, famously some of the most picturesque in the whole of England. See traditional farming villages and towns with their cobbled streets and plenty of dry stone walls — not to mention a generous helping of historic myths and legends courtesy of your guide. View the hills of the Peak District, and see Monsal Headstone Viaduct.

Go behind the scenes at Etihad Stadium, the home of Manchester City Football Club, on this guided tour. Interact with Pep Guardiola in the press room using state-of-the-art technology, walk out of the players' tunnel, see the home team dressing room, sit in the manager's seat in the dugouts, and other sites that are off-limits to the public. You also watch a thrilling audio-visual show to immerse yourself in the City story.

Ditch the hustle and bustle of busy Manchester for the day and discover the culture, history, and tranquility of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. From the Brontë sisters to filming locations for the TV show ’All Creatures Great and Small’ to the impressive Victorian Ribblehead Viaduct, there’s plenty to see and learn about that you’d easily miss if you tried traversing the Dales yourself.

Step into the shoes of a record label owner and walk the streets that gave the world Joy Division, The Smiths, and Oasis. This self-guided puzzle walk visits 15 legendary Manchester music spots, from the Hacienda to the Free Trade Hall. Start at the shop where The Smiths bought their gear. Stand where the Hacienda's dancefloor once shook, visit Tony Wilson's flat that doubled as Factory Records HQ, and find where "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was filmed. Solve puzzles at the Free Trade Hall, where one Sex Pistols gig in 1976 sparked a music revolution. Discover the pub-in-a-toilet where Elbow wrote songs, and end at Afflecks Palace where Oasis bought their trainers. Across 2 hours through the city centre and Northern Quarter, this is Manchester's most complete music walk, mixing puzzles with tales of kidnap, bankruptcy, and a city that changed music forever. Download the Questo app, start whenever you like, and discover why Manchester is legendary.

Swap predictable walking tours for this fun-filled and lively alternative—a silent disco adventure in Manchester. After receiving your radio headset, set off on a journey down Downsgate and Shudehill with theme songs and party anthems to keep energy levels high. This all-singing, all-dancing tour is the perfect way to have fun, explore the city, and enjoy the combination of a silent disco and a flash mob.

Stately homes and rugged scenery are almost as key to “Pride and Prejudice” as Keira Knightley’s beauty. Save yourself the hassle of researching locations and renting cars; instead, enjoy the ease of a small-group tour led by a guide who knows and loves the movie. Visit: the real-life Pemberley and Lambton Inn; Bakewell, where Jane Austen may have stayed; and, of course, the rock where Knightley stands on Stanage Edge.

Explore the rich legacy of Manchester, where revolutionary ideas and innovations shaped the modern world. This walking tour takes you through the historic streets where inventors and thinkers left their mark, showcasing the city’s evolution from the Industrial Revolution to today’s digital age. Discover the key figures and moments that define Manchester’s identity and witness how its past continues to inspire progress. - Discover the influential figures behind Manchester's advancements - Walk through historic streets rich in industrial heritage - Learn about Manchester's evolution from the Industrial Revolution to modern innovations - Ideal for history buffs and those interested in technological progress

Manchester was the birthplace of the industrial revolution, not to mention the Madchester dance revolution. Get to know this thriving modern city through another British icon—the classic black cab—on this private tour led by a born and bred Mancunian who’s been driving his taxi for more than 20 years. Expect plenty of personalized insights, plus tips to help you enjoy the rest of your stay. Hotel pickup is included for added convenience.

Led by an architect who’s passionate about Manchester’s past and future, this walking tour explores the city through the lens of its buildings, streets and hidden stories. Unlike standard sightseeing tours, we look at why Manchester looks the way it does… how post-war planning, industrial heritage and modern regeneration have shaped the city you see today. Expect original photos, architectural insights and thoughtful discussion rather than a rehearsed script. Each tour is relaxed, conversational and designed for anyone curious about design, place-making and how cities evolve.

Turning the Streets of Manchester Into an Adventure Playground! Get a unique perspective of the city on this self-guided, interactive treasure hunt. It's the best way to see Manchester! On your adventure, unlock a hidden trail finding clues, solving puzzles, and completing challenges, earning points along the way. Discover the city's highlights, explore hidden gems, learn some fun facts and see things that most people just pass by. As the activity is all self-guided through the app, you can start your Quest when you want (must be played during daylight hours), there is no set starting/ending times. No groups to follow. You can go at your own pace, stopping for longer in one location, taking a break, or having a snack in one of the many cafes and pubs along the trail OR you can make it a race and try to get to the top of the city leaderboard! Add up to 5 people to your Quest for one price. Instant access with nothing to print from home. Will you conquer the Quest?

Explore the scenery and the history of Yorkshire even if you’re based in Manchester over the border in Lancashire. See the wild Yorkshire Moors and the rolling Yorkshire Dales—both national parks with their own charms. Learn about the story of Ribblehead Viaduct, a true feat of engineering with a dark history. Stop for photo opportunities and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the countryside.

A unique cruise aboard the Princess Katherine with two sets of music from the king of rock'n'roll Elvis Presley tribute act.

Stockport is an amazing food destination just waiting to be uncovered. It is the home to one of the most exciting, young and up and coming food neighborhoods in the country. During the tour, we visited 6 local businesses. and enjoy a dish that each is famous for. We'll meet the vendors and hear their stories as well as learning how Stockport is transforming from a sleepy satellite town to one of the most talked about areas in the North. Full of amazing street art and weird and wonderful history, the Stockport food tour is a great way to explore a new town and be introduced to award winning flavors and tastes.