Manchester
#manchesterdaytrips
The Portico Library
Highlights: This one feels like a secret hideaway above the busy city. We found it tucked just off Mosley Street, you head up an unassuming staircase and suddenly you’re in this peaceful 19th-century reading room with domed ceilings, art exhibitions, and walls lined with old books. It’s still a working library, but they welcome visitors, and there’s often quiet exhibitions or small events going on. We had tea and cake in their little café space, surrounded by books and history. Felt like a proper escape from the city noise.
Manchester Craft & Design Centre (Northern Quarter)
Highlights: We ducked into this place on a rainy afternoon and ended up staying way longer than planned. It used to be an old Victorian fish market, but now it’s filled with small studios and shops run by local artists and makers. We wandered between ceramics, handmade jewelry, quirky prints, and all kinds of cool design pieces and actually got to chat with the artists themselves. There’s a little café in the middle too, so we grabbed coffee and people-watched while surrounded by creativity.
John Rylands Library (Deansgate)
Highlights: Okay, this one’s slightly better known, but still feels niche because it’s so unexpectedly dramatic inside. From the outside it looks like a gothic church, and when we walked in high ceilings, stained glass, stone arches it genuinely took our breath away. We explored the reading rooms (which are still in use), wandered through rare book collections, and just soaked in the atmosphere. It’s part library, part cathedral, part museum. We loved how peaceful it was a perfect rainy-day spot.