Befitting a city that oozes urban cool, Manchester offers visitors great shopping experiences with the main shopping area spreading out west from Piccadilly Gardens. Mainstream shops tend to be in the area around Market Street and the Arndale Centre on Corporation Street, which was fully revamped following the devastating IRA bomb that all but destroyed it in 1999.

Heading further west towards Exchange Square and on to Deansgate are the designer shops, one-off boutiques and big department stores. For more alternative purchases, head back east towards the Northern Quarter where most of the hip and fashionable stores can be found including the incredible Afflecks Palace - a labyrinth of independent shops dedicated to the weird and wonderful.

Close by on Oak Street is the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, a series of studios and retail spaces for local craftspeople selling everything from jewellery, ceramics and textiles to furniture and clothing. Out of town there's also the Trafford Centre - a huge undercover shopping complex where most major outlets have a store.