Getting around in Manchester

...less of a risk of getting run over. It's so busy round here, but everything is pretty much within walkign distance. You have the Arndale center with it's bustling Market Street just outside, then across the road there's the big Marks and Spencers, and then the posh street with Harvey Nichols on. St Anne's Square as well, where we have lots of street acts during the summer as well as lots of other shops: Waterstones, Past Times, all within walking ...
...novel and quick way of getting into Manchester for me. Currently this system operates from Bury in North Manchester to Altringham in the South, as well as Eccles which is slightly to the side (I forget which way). These cover the more out of town busy places such as Salford Quays, Old Trafford, and Bury's World Famous Market! They even have buses arranged near one of the Trafford stops to shuttle you to the Trafford Center! Now, this method of travel ... more

Oooh, at last I have found my forte to type furiously about! Manchester! I was born here, grew up here, and well, I'm still here! Fantastic place! And if you want to know how to get to places I bet I know. So let me see, what can I tell you....

~ Manchester by foot ~

Okay, so I'm talking about the city center here, and to be to honest, there isn't any reason why you'd need to use public transport to wander around here. In fact, in recent years they have been trying very hard to pedestrianise the whole place so that people run less of a risk of getting run over. It's so busy round here, but everything is pretty much within walkign distance. You have the Arndale center with it's bustling Market Street just outside, then across the road there's the big Marks and Spencers, and then the posh street with Harvey Nichols on. St Anne's Square as well, where we have lots of street acts during the summer as well as lots of other shops: Waterstones, Past Times, all within walking distance.

On the opposite side of the Arndale there's the presence known as Debenham's, and across the road there's Primark and TK Max. Just a little further you have the now very nicely done up Piccadilly Garden's which has really cool water fountains! Just behind Debenhams, you'll find the Northen Quarter, which is my favourite place in the city center. It's the more unique part of Manchester that freely expresses artistic flare everywhere you go. Afflecks Palace and the Manchester Arts and Crafts Village are just a couple of minutes walk away! :)

In the very near future, the new part of Arndale will be completed, and a huge Next will be open! Should be a very nice place. Across the road from that you have Exchange Square with the shopping area called the Triangle - a swarve, cool newly done up shop selection. Opposite to this is Selfridges, and within view is the Printworks, home of the FilmWorks and many bars and restaurants. Just behind the Triangle, the big green URBIS is there putting on exhibitions and shows for people to see, and a permanent exhibition which is free for everyone. Manchester Cathedral and Cheethams school of Music will also be found here.

Contrary to some beliefs, the city center is actually very walkable. You can effectively walk from one side (eg, Picadilly train station) to the other side (eg, Deansgate) in about 20 minutes? You get to experience the niceness a lot more as well. But in case you don't like walking....

~ Manchester by bus ~

This clever system of little buses was devised for the Commonwealth Games 2002, but has remained since then, which really did surprise me! Basically it's a free bus system that follows two routes: the number 1 which links Piccadilly Train station to places like China Town, King Street, Deansgate and Market Street together, then it goes back to the station. The number 2 links Victoria Train Station and Oxford Road Station together, with stops all along Deansgate as well as on Market Street and Albert Square. In case you missed it before, the most brilliant thing about these buses is: IT'S FREEEEEEEEEEE! :) They are little gems! Especially when you have too much to carry! :) They come on average every 5 to 10 minutes depending on the traffic situation in town at the time. They basically cover the entirety of Manchester City center, just to make your life a lot easier!

Okay, now to the paid buses. Basically, you ask a local Mancunian and they will basically be able to point you to a bus stop to where you want to go. There are soooooooo many bus stops in town that I don't even understand myself! They are currently building a nice new huge station to house a lot of the stops that go to North Manchester, and Piccadilly Gardens is the home for all the buses going to South Manchester. Lots of the buses actually travel through the town cos they have special priorities so it's all good. And depending on which buses you get, you can buy a ticket costing about £3 that will last you the whole day unlimited travel! It's sooo brilliant!

If you're feeling especially lazy, a lot of the buses in the area - certainly the ones that go to North Manchester - offer a scheme where you only pay 50p for a really short journey. That's like 2 or three stops I think, and it's monitored by the bus driver! Quite a useful little thing although if you make a few trips like this, you may as well get a day saver.

Haha, as prompted by fellow ciaoster Champ666, Manchester has a very good night bus system. This takes place in the form of buses that run every twenty minutes til about 4 in the morning to the suburbs of Manchester. It's very handy after a night out, and - if you ask nicely, they may sometimes stray off the normal bus route and take you slightly nearer your home. I was told once that a particular 135 nightbus (huge bendy type bus) took someone practically home, but then had to navigate a very very small roundabout and inevitably got stuck for several minutes. It finally untangled itself and went back to it's normal bus route! :) Genius! :)

~ Manchester by tram ~

Now this is another useful device, the Metrolink, or the tram as we call it. I still remember when it was installed about 9 years ago - wow, didn't know it was so long ago! But yeah, it's been a novel and quick way of getting into Manchester for me. Currently this system operates from Bury in North Manchester to Altringham in the South, as well as Eccles which is slightly to the side (I forget which way). These cover the more out of town busy places such as Salford Quays, Old Trafford, and Bury's World Famous Market! They even have buses arranged near one of the Trafford stops to shuttle you to the Trafford Center! Now, this method of travel is slightly more pricey at £3.50 for a MetroMax, but this is an unlimited travel ticket that guarantee's a quick, clean and safe journey! And if anything, it's just a nice way of travelling through Manchester!

The Met also offers a similar scheme to the buses with the 50p offer. This only works with the stops in the city center zone ie Victoria Station, Market Street, Mosley Street, Piccadilly Gardens, Picadilly Station, St Peter's Square and that new stop...argh! Forgotten the name! Shudehill!!!! That's it! :) That's quite a few stops, and they basically get you to the busiest bits of Manchester without much of a walk. I was watching the news today and found out that Victoria Beckham got the tram? It really confused me, but it was a one off, and the tram is very very convenient! :)

~ Manchester by other means ~

I am so getting carried away, but there's loads to say! The train system, as mentioned before is fantastic! With three stations within the city center, it's easy to access if you live out of town. Each station has links to other methods of transport, and the tram even has it's own station in Victoria and Piccadilly! If that isn't desired, then the taxi ranks are just outside all of these stations, and do do a good deal, but I wouldn't travel too far with them unless you are REALLY desperate.

Okay, maybe I should mention the not-so-recommended way of getting into Manchester - by car. Now, I'm not saying this as an environmentalist or anything, but I seriously don't recommend driving in unless you want to have a taster for road rage! As a fellow driver, if you plan to drive into town, make sure you planned out your route and and worked out where you're parking. the MEN arena does a really good deal for something like £4 a day, which is fantastic, but is a bit of a hike into town. Other than that car park you have the Arndale carpark which always seems really really busy. I've not been there for a while, but mum came home fuming the other day cos she paid £2 for half an hour of parking. So, yeah. There are other parking lots that are slightly out of town but at reasonable prices. NCP carparks are quite plentiful as well, but can also be quite pricey.

A brilliant system that's currently still being developed is the cycle lanes! For those of us who are avid cyclists (or are poor students like me) will find Manchester very accessible by bike. There are cycle lanes in all sorts of weird places, but especially in the high student populated areas like Fallowfield and Oxford Road. When the taxis and buses don't drive in them, the cycle lanes offer another method of travelling around Manchester city center.

Ha, the last but very fun way of getting to Manchester would be with the airport....if that's your kettle of fish....

Okay, so that was getting around Manchester the Suzanna way. As you can see, it's really easy to get to and around Manchester - it's a great city and I love it sooooooo much! Hope it was useful to you! :) Go on the free bus, IT'S FREEEEEEEEE! :) 

...less