Manchester/Piccadilly-East Centre

By bus

As Manchester's main bus station (Piccadilly Gardens) is in Piccadilly Gardens, nearly every bus in central Manchester heading into town terminates here.

By car

Piccadilly Gardens is bounded on two sides by Portland Street and Piccadilly.

By tram

Piccadilly Gardens is the penultimate stop on all services heading to Manchester Piccadilly. To the north of the square there is the Market Street station on the line to Bury.

By train

Manchester Picadilly is the main station in the city and is served by services from all over the country. This area is also served by Manchester Oxford Road railway station.

• Chinese Arts Centre

  phone: +44 161 832-7271
  address: Market Building, Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester
  Small, alternative Chinese art gallery.

• The Portico Library and Gallery

  phone: +44 161 236-6785
  address: Charlotte Street
  The Portico has been an exclusive members-only library since the early 19th Century and many of Manchester's luminaries have been patrons of the Portico over the years. Now hosting its own public gallery and providing admission to some parts for non-members, it is a slice of Manchester history that has remained almost unchanged since its inception. Call for latest information.

• Imperial Chinese Archway

  address: Faulkner Street, Chinatown
  The Chinese arch in the central square of Chinatown was a gift to Manchester from the Chinese people in 1987 and is the only one of its kind in Europe. It is a beautiful and elaborate piece of artwork, reflecting the designs of Ming Dynasty China and is not to be missed.

• Whitworth Gardens

  address: Sackville Street
  This small park in the heart of The Village is notable for its memorial to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, whose homosexuality in an age of intolerance led to his suicide. The bronze statue on a park bench bears the legend 'Father of computer science, mathematician, logician, wartime codebreaker, victim of prejudice'. Also in the park is "The Beacon of Hope", an illuminated memorial to those who have died of HIV/AIDS worldwide.
• The Village hosts a major Pride festival every year, when the whole region of town is closed to the public for an expensive and exclusive weekend for gay and gay-friendly people from all over the UK.

• Piccadilly GardensRelax and watch the world go by in Piccadilly Gardens - the lung at the centre of the city. The Gardens are also home to the controversial concrete 'Berlin Wall', that houses cafés and seating.

Market Street and the Arndale Centre are just off the northern part of Manchester Piccadilly Gardens. Here you will find the usual High Street stores.

• Bar Burrito

  phone: +44 161 228-6479
  address: 1 Piccadilly Gardens
  Excellent Mexican style fast food, specialising in Burritos but also serving salads, nachos and tacos. Licensed.

• Tepanyaki

  address: China town
  Impressive and expensive Tepanyaki restaurant. Really good food, but pricey.

• Bar de Reve

  address: 57 Hilton Street
  A quiet, chilled, chic gem of Manchester. Serves fresh and fine cuisine to order. A new establishment and worth the walk and the money!

• Tropeiro

  address: Brazil St
  True Brazilian barbeque that serves eleven cuts of meat from chicken, pork, lamb and beef and a range of salads and side-dishes. Also tasty caiprinha cocktails.

• Number 1's

  address: 48 Whitworth St
  A really cheap Chinese buffet.

• New Samsi

  address: 36 Whitworth St
  City centre. A great sushi restaurant that also caters well for those that don't like raw fish. With a well-stocked, but small Japanese supermarket below (accessed from inside the restaurant) .

• Yang Sing

  address: 17 George Street
  By Princess Street at the south-western edge of Chinatown, Yang Sing has long been considered the best Cantonese restaurant in the country (and perhaps in Europe).

• Bouzuki By Night

  phone: +44 161 236-9282
  address: 88 Princess St, M1 6NG
  Greek restaurant with live music.

• Red Chilli

  address: Portland St
  is of a very good standard and is unusual in Manchester in specializing in Beijing and the very spicy Szechuan cooking. It has a large Chinese following, which is always a good sign.

• Wasabi

  phone: +44 161 228-7288
  address: 63 Faulkner St, M1 4FF
  Great sushi from the conveyor belt in a fun atmosphere. Needless to say, you will be full!

• Tokyo Season

  address: Portland St
  Serves traditional Japanese dishes at reasonable prices, with a full menu of drinks also available including Asian and world beers, spirits and wines.

• GoFalafel

  address: 3 Newton Street, M1 1HW
  A 100% vegan take-away just outside of Picadilly Gardens. Serves freshly prepared falafel wraps, hummous and a choice of fruit juices, smoothies and salads. Most items priced between £3-£5. Receives great reviews and can get quite popular during weekends, but is worth the wait.

• ZOUK

  phone: +44 161 233 1090
  address: 5, The Quadrangle, Chester Street, M1 5QS
  Indian restaurant specialized in traditional south asian cuisine and finger food.

In Piccadilly Gardens:

• Manna Manchester

  address: 1 Piccadilly Gardens
  Nice little café with friendly staff located on the edge of the landscaped garden. Serves good coffee, sandwiches, drinks, and sweet things. Everything here is both Fair trade and organic, so feel good when you go there!

In the Gay Village:

• Tribeca

  .

• Poptastic

• Taurus

  address: 1 Canal Street

• Velvet

  address: 2 Canal Street

• Queer

  address: 4 Canal Street

• Churchills

  address: 37 Chorlton Street

• View

  address: 40 Chorlton Street

• Via

  address: 28-30 Canal Street

• Vanilla

  address: 39-41 Richmond Street - for lesbians and male friends

• Eden

• Arora International Manchester

  phone: +44 161 236-8999
  address: 18-24 Princess Street, M1 4LY
  A modern hotel inside a fine old building with restored façade. Rooms are reasonably spacious for the UK, bathrooms modern and there is air conditioning. The beds are comfortable and the rooms have irons, safes, fridges and heated bathroom mirrors. It is very centrally located in the Manchester city centre, being just across the road from the Manchester Art Gallery, close to China Town and a wide variety of entertainment venues and restaurants. Even reluctant walkers will not need wheeled transport to get around. The staff are friendly and helpful. Residential floors are secured; access requires your room key card. Breakfast has a good selection and may be included in the room rate. It is eaten in the hotel's own Obsidian Restaurant and Bar located in the basement and accessible by lift if you don't want to leave the hotel. The Obsidian also has its own separate street entrance. In room broadband internet is available for a fee. The reception area is modest. Parking is a few hundred metres away in a multi-storey public park; the hotel has none of its own.

• Britannia Hotel Manchester

  address: 35 Portland Street
  An attractive hotel, converted from an ostentatious warehouse, in central Manchester.

• The Gardens Hotel

  address: 55 Piccadilly

• Malmaison

  address: Gore St

• SACO Apartments

  address: 5 Piccadilly Place, M1 3BP
  Serviced apartments set over the top of the new piazza in Piccadilly Place. The apartments are very conveniently located, with Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Art Gallery, Chinatown and The Palace Theatre only a stones throw away. Rooms are well-equipped with necessities like wireless Internet, a direct dial phone, separate showers, digital TV and CD/DVD player and more. The lobby includes a lift, off-site gym and car parking.

• Roomzzz Manchester City

  address: 36 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 4JY
  Roomzzz Manchester City is part of the fabric of the city. It's housed in a Grade II listed cotton warehouse, boasting high ceilings, long windows, soaring interior spaces and grand Victorian character. The concept of award winning Roomzzz is to combine all the best features of a boutique hotel with all the best things about a luxury apartment. Each room has a Luxury pocket-sprung memory foam bed, an Apple Mac Computer, Widescreen LCD TV with Freeview and free wi-fi, local and national calls. Easily reached from Manchester Piccadilly railway station, and with Piccadilly Gardens just a few blocks away, the Northern Quarter beyond, G-Mex and Deansgate's shopping to the north-west, you're never far from the heartbeat of Manchester's vibrant city centre.

• Stay Manchester

  phone: +44 161 236-7330
  address: 40 Laystall Street, M1 2JZ
  Serviced apartments in Manchester City Centre. A great selection of 28 one bedroom (sleeps 3), 55 two bedroom (sleeps 5 or 6) and 1 three bedroom (sleeps 8) self-catering apartments, which come fully furnished with bed linen and towels also provided. All apartments also come with fully-equipped kitchens, washer/dryer, microwave oven, TV/DVD players and lounge/dining area.

• The Thistle Hotel

  address: 3-5 Portland St

• The Place Apartment Hotel

  phone: +44 161 778-7500
  address: Ducie Street - Piccadilly
  Luxury spacious loft style apartment hotel accommodations in the heart of Manchester City Centre within walking distance to shopping, business, eating and drinking districts.