Money
Pounds sterling. Contactless everywhere; several places, including Mackie Mayor, take no cash at all. You can visit Manchester without touching a banknote.
Prices include VAT. What is on the label is what you pay.
Tipping is not obligatory. Around 10% in a restaurant if service is not already added; nothing at all in a pub where you order at the bar; round up a taxi fare. Service charge added automatically can be asked to be removed.
Safety
Manchester is a normal large British city. Violent crime against visitors is uncommon; opportunistic theft is not.
- Phone snatching by moped or bicycle happens in the centre. Do not stand at a kerb with a phone held out.
- Bag and pocket theft in crowded bars, on Market Street and at the Christmas markets.
- Piccadilly Gardens and the station approach have a long-standing street-drinking and drug problem. It is unpleasant rather than dangerous, and it is the thing visitors most often comment on.
- After a match or on a Friday night, the centre is busy and drunk. Behave as you would anywhere.
Emergency: 999. Non-emergency police: 101. Non-emergency medical advice: 111.
Football tickets
Reselling tickets for designated football matches is a criminal offence in England. Buy only from the club, its official exchange, or an authorised operator. A ticket bought from a tout or an unofficial site is registered to someone else and will be refused at the turnstile.
The detail is in matchday in Manchester.
Hours
Shops generally 9 or 10 to 6, later on Thursdays, shorter on Sundays. Sunday trading is legally restricted — large shops may open only six hours, usually 11 to 5.
Pubs typically to 11 on weeknights, later at weekends. The Northern Quarter and the Gay Village hold the late licences.
Kitchens close early — many stop at 9 or 9.30. This catches out visitors from cities that eat later.
Museums are usually closed one day a week, and it is not always Monday. Check.
Drinking and smoking
Legal drinking age is 18 and ID is asked for routinely under Challenge 25. A passport, a UK driving licence or a PASS-marked card works; a photocopy does not.
Smoking is banned in all enclosed public places. Vaping is treated as smoking by most venues.
Several districts have Public Spaces Protection Orders restricting street drinking.
Accessibility
Metrolink is step-free at every stop and trams are level-boarding, which makes it the most reliable option.
The centre is flat, but the Victorian streets have narrow and uneven pavements, and many listed buildings have limited access — including, notably, the Peterloo memorial.
Blue Badge parking exists in the centre; the Clean Air Zone rules have changed repeatedly and should be checked directly.
Practical odds and ends
Plugs are UK three-pin, 230V. Tap water is safe and good.
Free public toilets are scarce. Museums, libraries and department stores are the reliable answer.
Left luggage is available at Piccadilly and at several city-centre offices.
Manchester is walkable and it is wet. A hooded waterproof is more useful than anything else you will pack.