Manchester/The Quays

Instructions and times for reaching The Quays from anywhere in Manchester are available from the Transport for Greater Manchester website.

By car

From the North: From M60, take J12 for M602. Follow signs from the end of the M602 for Salford Quays.
From the South: From M60, take J7 onto A56 Chester Road. Follow signs from here for Salford Quays.
There is a car park in the Lowry Outlet Mall (it's free for customers.)

By tram

The Quays area is easily reached from central Manchester by the city's Metrolink tram system. Just board a tram on the dedicated Picadilly–MediaCityUK service; the Quays are best served by the terminus MediaCityUK stop, which is a short walking distance from The Imperial War Museum North, The Lowry as well as the BBC and ITV studios. There are services every 6 minutes in both directions, and a journey to Manchester Picadilly takes about 15 minutes. See the Metrolink website for more details.
For sporting events, travellers may also take the Metrolink, disembarking at Old Trafford station. This is located right next to the cricket ground, whilst the football ground is a 10-minute walk up the road. There are services every 6-12 minutes.
The Metrolink will be extended to the Trafford Centre area by 2020.

By bus

Number 69 buses will bring you to the Quays. They operate hourly between Mon-Sat 8AM-6PM. See www.tfgm.com for more details.

By train

For football fans, railway travel can be an excellent option: a dedicated station is right behind the football stadium's South stand, open only on matchdays: it is called Manchester United Football Ground station. Trains are provided by Northern Rail and there are about 5 or so services before and after the match to the mainline Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road stations. Tickets cost about £2.40 and the journey takes 10 minutes.

• Imperial War Museum North

  address: Trafford Wharf Rd, Stretford, M17 1TZ
  The Imperial War Museum in London contains tanks, guns, planes and uniforms. The Northern experience is focused on the social impacts of war, and has relatively few large items on display. The building itself is visually very striking, so combine it with a trip to the Lowry for a feel of modern architecture.

• Salford Quays lift bridgeSee the magnificent bridge across one of the pools linking Salford and Trafford.

• The award winning architectureThe Quays have been blessed with bold, contemporary yet tasteful buildings.

• Old Traffordis home to the statue of Matt Busby and other sights.

• Old Trafford Cricket Groundis a very impressive structure with a few sights and is well worth a look.

• The Lowry

  phone: +44 8432 086000
  address: Pier 8, The Quays, Salford, M50 3AZ
  This is an art gallery and very modern theatre. The gallery contains an impressive selection of works including, unsurprisingly, a large selection of works by L.S. Lowry. The building is very modern and was designed to encourage exploration (according to the architect). He made the building widen and deepen from the entrance and refused to have any signs for the toilets! It's also in Salford, but don't let that worry you. Use the tram, about fifteen minutes out from the city centre.

• Watch sport at Old Trafford, see either Manchester United Football Club, one of the most famous and successful football clubs in the world or Lancashire Country Cricket Club.

• Manchester United Football Club

  address: Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, M16 0RA
  Generally, a very high quality of football. Tickets for matches against lesser opposition are quite easy to come by (the stadium holds around 75,000 people) and can be purchased from the club's official website or the Ticketing & Memebrship Office. League matches with the top clubs, Arsenal or Chelsea, and local rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as competitive matches against any of the big European teams (Barcelona, Inter Milan etc.), will only very rarely be available on general sale.

• The Manchester United MuseumLocated in the large North Stand of Old Trafford football stadium. This museum details the history of Manchester United from the very early days when they were known as Newton Heath through the golden era in the 60s when the team was known as the Busby Babes and won the European Cup. You can also explore the United history from the second golden era in the 90s when players like Beckham, Cantona, Giggs, and Schmeichel glittered an all-conquering team up to the present day when you have stars like Rooney, Ronaldo, and Van Nistelrooy all wearing the famous red top. Well worth a visit for fan and non-fan alike. If you go on a day when United are not playing at home, you will also get to go on a free stadium tour (the highlight of any fan's trip!) which takes you into the changing rooms, the dugout, and also the directors' box.

Lancashire Country Cricket Club

address: Emirates Old Trafford, Stretford, M16 0PX

Lancashire CCC were promoted in 2019 and now play in Division One of the County Championship.

Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester

address: At the Trafford Centre

BBC Tour at MediaCityUK

phone: +44 1618 865300

address: The Greenhouse, 101-110 Broadway, Salford, M50 2EQ

The tour takes 1.5 hours.

Chill Factore

address: 7 Trafford Way, Trafford, Stretford, Manchester M41 7JA

Large indoor ski and snowboarding centre.

• Lowry Outlet Mall

  phone: +44 1618 481850
  address: The Quays, Salford, M50 3AH
  Offers low prices on brand name products all-year round.

• Trafford Centre

  phone: +44 1617 491717
  address: Trafford Blvd, Stretford, M17 8AA
  The country's third biggest shopping centre is a bit further out from the Quays.

• Manchester United Megastore

  address: Sir Matt Busby Way
  A good place to stock up on anything you could possibly want Man United wise! Just don't expect any bargains.

• Cafe Rouge. Overlooking the Lowry in the outlet mall.There is also an outside terrace.
• Pizza Express located in the base of the Lowry Outlet Mall, facing the Lowry Gallery. Your usual high quality pizzas are available here.
• Prezzo in the heart of MediaCity UK offers good Italian food.
• Arbuckles.
• Chiquito's.
• The Lowry. The restaurant is excellent with very attentive service and an outside terrace overlooking The Imperial War Museum North.
• Imperial War Museum North. The cafe has good view of The Lowry and the emerging media city.

At the match

At the football stadium, refreshments are available at half time: crisps, KitKat chunkies, pies, Pepsi, tea and coffee. A meal deal, with tea/coffee, pack of crisps and KitKat, costs £2.80 approx. The culinary delights of Rusholme's curry mile are no more than 30 mins away.

• Lime

  phone: +44 161 869-0440
  address: Lowry Outlet Mall, Quays Road, Salford Quays, Manchester M50 3AG
  On the square outside the Lowry Gallery.

At the match

Alcohol is not permitted in either the Old Trafford football or cricket grounds, and will be confiscated by stewards. There are, however, numerous bars and cafes in the district for pre- or post-match drinks.

Budget

• Holiday Inn Express Salford Quays

  phone: +44 161 868 1000
  address: Waterfront Quay, Salford Quays, Salford, M50 3XW
  Comfortable, contemporary hotel with complimentary hot breakfast, air conditioning and free public area Wi-Fi.

Mid-range

• Copthorne Hotel

  phone: +44 161 873-7321
  address: Clippers Quay, Salford Quays, M50 3SN
  Four star hotel. Good, decent sized bedrooms.

• Manchester Whitehouse HotelLiverpool Street, Salford. Three star hotel. (Rooms from £55)

• Old Trafford LodgeLancashire County Cricket Ground, (just off A56) ( Situated in Lancashire County Cricket Club's Old Trafford cricket ground. About a 10 minute walk from the Quays. (Rooms from £48)

• Trafford Hall Hotel

  address: 23 Talbot Road, Old Trafford, Manchester, M16 0PE
  This hotel is located near Old Trafford football ground and has great transport access to Salford and the city centre.

Splurge