A Wonderful Christmas Experience in Manchester

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We visited Manchester, England during the Christmas season. As we pulled into Manchester, it felt like a mixture of Dublin and London combined. The old brick buildings reminded me of Dublin and of course the English accents and food reminded me of London.

Where should we stay in Manchester, England during the Christmas season?

Mid-Range: We stayed at the Gotham Hotel, which is a mid-range priced hotel that feels like a luxury stay. A jolly man came outside to greet us as we pulled in from the airport. As we checked in, they poured us two petite cocktails! This is for sure a boutique hotel with a lot of style. I should also mention that it is an old bank converted into a hotel.

Luxury: My husband has visited Manchester a few times and suggests the Lowry Hotel as a luxury stay.

Don’t forget your travel insurance! We recommend World Nomads. Make sure to have coverage that includes medical expenses, trip cancellations, and coverage for your belongings from theft or damage. If needed, you may also want to include car rental insurance as well.

Markets and Live Music in Manchester, England during the Christmas Season

We visited Manchester in November. The Christmas markets were already set up, so we started our day with shopping and visiting the markets. They definitely helped bring the city to life even though it was a cold and rainy day.

The markets were quite impressive. I really can only compare them to the markets in France, but they were a lot of fun. The markets closest to the hotel had a vegan BBQ jackfruit wrap for £8 pounds. Just look for the Greek booth.

There is another section of Christmas markets on Market Street, where there are tons of shops and tons of people on this street. The markets in this area had more items for sale versus food and drinks.

After visiting the markets, we had to go see this Iconic Afflecks Mall. Every travel blogger and local talks about it. It’s an eclectic mall with 60+ stores. There is also a vegan cafe inside the mall that would be another vegan option if you haven’t eaten yet.

After all of that walking, I would suggest stopping in Sam’s Chop House for a beverage. It’s a traditional English pub that is by right by the Gotham Hotel. Another famous bar in town is The Circus Tavern, which is known to be the tiniest bar in Europe.

If you have a bit more time in your day, check out Josh for a free walking tour. He has grand reviews online. Unfortunately, we didn’t schedule it for this short trip.

More Vegan Options:

For a heartier vegan dinner, I would suggest going to The Sawyer’s Arms aka Nicholson’s Pie House for the vegan pie. Or for lighter bites, go to the Refuge Bar, which is located inside of the Principal Hotel. They had all types of bar snacks that were vegan and the building alone was incredible to see.

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Live Music

Manchester is full of black cars, pubs, mushy peas, and a colorful history in music. The Smiths, the Buzzcocks, and New Order are just a few of the many famous bands from this town. It seemed to be the perfect place to visit to see live music.

Make sure to take advantage of the hotel’s rooftop bar for a nightcap if you are staying at Gotham Hotel. It has a nice view of the city and it’s reserved for private members and hotel guests only.

Historical Sites and More Vegan Food:

We accidentally found a place called Albert Schloss. It ended up being my favorite spot for a hot morning beverage. Make sure to book ahead of time if you want to sit and eat there. (I’m not sure if there are vegan options, but it’s definitely a great spot for a morning winter beverage.)

Next we headed to John Ryland’s Library. There is a pub, called The Lost Dene , which is directly beside of the library. It surprisingly had some great vegan options! My husband lived in England as a child and really wanted a traditional English breakfast. P.S. He’s not vegan so a classic breakfast was on his wishlist. The pub had “fishless” fish and chips, which I have never seen anywhere . They also had a few other vegetarian and vegan options that were clearly labeled on the menu. They had vegan sausages and mash, vegan nachos, vegan pie, and even a vegan apple custard pie. Cheers to that!

John Ryland Library

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The John Ryland Library is definitely worth a stop. It’s free to enter and a pretty amazing building. It opens at noon on Sunday afternoon. As we walked into the library, there was a Pizza Truck with yet another vegan option!The John Ryland Library is definitely worth a stop. It’s free to enter and a pretty amazing building. It opens at noon on Sunday afternoon.

Christmas Markets

Next we headed to the Christmas markets that were right by the Town-hall on Princess Street. There were a lot of people out at the markets on this Sunday. Everyone was enjoying all of the market shopping and really just enjoying coming together to relax and to have a few beverages. I personally like the hot ciders the best!

Next Visit:

Seed and Cherry is a restaurant that we want to visit on our next trip. It has vegan brunch options and its about a .5 mile from the Gotham Hotel.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Manchester, England during the Christmas season. Let us know in the comments if you have been here or have found other vegan spots in this city. Cheers!

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