City Guides
Manchester
Shopping
Manchester is the most important retail centre in the North of England. With two large malls, twenty-one local shopping centres, fifteen district shopping centres and the largest ASDA-WalMart in the UK, there are shops to suit everyone within handy reach of the city centre.
Much of Manchester city centre is now pedestrianised, making shopping a more enjoyable and convenient enterprise for those on foot. The centre of the retail area is Market Street and this is entirely inaccessible by car. Market Street is dominated by the Arndale Centre, a vast mall comprising two hundred shops and numerous restaurants and cafés. Amongst most other major department stores and high street shops, The Arndale Centre is home to Dixons, Littlewoods and Bhs. The centre’s car park has spaces for nearly two thousand cars.
The Shambles is home to a number of designer boutiques, including Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. King Street is another affluent shopping area, and location of more designer boutiques and exclusive brand stores.
Barton Arcade is a nineteenth-century, Grade II listed building, and the first property to be built on Deansgate after its redevelopment. The Arcade is cast-iron and glass building, comprising a number of up-market stores, with office units in its upper floors.
More up-market stores can be found in St Ann’s Arcade in St Ann’s Square. The Arcade is a small collection of expensive, prestigious stores, trading in jewellery, shoes and clothes, and there is also a tailor’s.
The Trafford Centre is a vast, controversial and unique shopping mall, located about fifteen minutes from the city centre, and dubbed a ‘Temple to Consumerism’. Covering an area equal to thirty football pitches, the Trafford Centre is separated into four shopping areas: Peel Avenue, Regent Crescent, The Dome and The Orient; and is the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre has 10,000 parking spaces, a range of leisure facilities and a children’s play area suitable for up to a hundred children.
All the major high street and department stores are represented in the Trafford Centre, including Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins and Bhs, as well as a vast selection of specialist and independent retailers. Free maps are distributed around the centre to aid shoppers in find their way around.
The Orient is a multi-kiosk food hall, with a mini-Chinatown, and a dome ceiling decorated and lit to represent the changes in light throughout the day. There is also a performance stage for family entertainment, in front of a large plasma screen. The Orient is also home to a twenty-screen cinema.
The Trafford Centre has been praised for its disabled- and child-friendly facilities, and also its unique layout that prevents access and congestion problems suffered by many other shopping centres. Providing entries on all floors, for example, has meant that shoppers are spread out around the centre and there are no ‘quiet’ areas in which retailers would not want to lease units.
The centre is open seven days a week, closing at 8pm Monday to Wednesday, 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, 7pm on Saturdays and 5pm on Sundays. The food court is open until midnight seven days a week.
Much of Manchester city centre is now pedestrianised, making shopping a more enjoyable and convenient enterprise for those on foot. The centre of the retail area is Market Street and this is entirely inaccessible by car. Market Street is dominated by the Arndale Centre, a vast mall comprising two hundred shops and numerous restaurants and cafés. Amongst most other major department stores and high street shops, The Arndale Centre is home to Dixons, Littlewoods and Bhs. The centre’s car park has spaces for nearly two thousand cars.
The Shambles is home to a number of designer boutiques, including Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. King Street is another affluent shopping area, and location of more designer boutiques and exclusive brand stores.
Barton Arcade is a nineteenth-century, Grade II listed building, and the first property to be built on Deansgate after its redevelopment. The Arcade is cast-iron and glass building, comprising a number of up-market stores, with office units in its upper floors.
More up-market stores can be found in St Ann’s Arcade in St Ann’s Square. The Arcade is a small collection of expensive, prestigious stores, trading in jewellery, shoes and clothes, and there is also a tailor’s.
The Trafford Centre is a vast, controversial and unique shopping mall, located about fifteen minutes from the city centre, and dubbed a ‘Temple to Consumerism’. Covering an area equal to thirty football pitches, the Trafford Centre is separated into four shopping areas: Peel Avenue, Regent Crescent, The Dome and The Orient; and is the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre has 10,000 parking spaces, a range of leisure facilities and a children’s play area suitable for up to a hundred children.
All the major high street and department stores are represented in the Trafford Centre, including Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins and Bhs, as well as a vast selection of specialist and independent retailers. Free maps are distributed around the centre to aid shoppers in find their way around.
The Orient is a multi-kiosk food hall, with a mini-Chinatown, and a dome ceiling decorated and lit to represent the changes in light throughout the day. There is also a performance stage for family entertainment, in front of a large plasma screen. The Orient is also home to a twenty-screen cinema.
The Trafford Centre has been praised for its disabled- and child-friendly facilities, and also its unique layout that prevents access and congestion problems suffered by many other shopping centres. Providing entries on all floors, for example, has meant that shoppers are spread out around the centre and there are no ‘quiet’ areas in which retailers would not want to lease units.
The centre is open seven days a week, closing at 8pm Monday to Wednesday, 9pm on Thursdays and Fridays, 7pm on Saturdays and 5pm on Sundays. The food court is open until midnight seven days a week.
Entertainment