Manchester

Famous for music and football Manchester is a great northern city proud of its industrial roots, and a progressive force in the arts. Short breaks to Manchester are a chance to dive into a unique and throbbing cultural hotpot without even leaving the country.

Even if you've taken city breaks to Manchester before, it could well be time for a refresher course. In recent years, the city has changed beyond recognition due to massive regeneration and investment. It received a new face-lift after an IRA bomb destroyed a good chunk of its heart in 1996, and hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

The city centre is compact and walkable, and you're likely to find something of interest in almost any direction you take.

At the very core are Albert Square and the resplendent Gothic Town Hall. St Paul's Library and state-of-the-art Bridgewater Hall, home to the Hallé Orchestra, are also only a short walk from here.

Further out, the ultra-modern Lowry Centre contains a huge collection of works by the city's favourite artist. Fascinated by industrial life in the north, JS Lowry spent 50 years capturing Manchester on canvas and the atmospheric results on display shouldn't be missed.

Culture aside, short breaks to Manchester can easily develop into a blow-out shopping bonanza, with everything from bargain retro to designer chic on offer. The main retail areas fan out north from Albert Square ¿ Deansgate for café culture, boutiques clustered around King's Street and the Arndale Centre.

The bohemian Northern Quarter, developed from derelict warehouses, has become a haven of music shops, quirky cafés, bars and clubs. If you plan to return from short breaks to Manchester even shorter on sleep, this is the place to start.

Manchester has always nurtured its own creative talent and besides being a hotbed of new bands, there's classical music, opera, ballet, theatre, galleries and avant-garde cinema on tap all over town.

For dining, drinking and dancing, you could devote yourself ardently to one area all evening or rove around, sampling hip bars in Castlefield, upmarket venues in Didsbury, hedonism in the Gay Village, student drinking dens at Oxford Road, or clubbing in the city centre. City breaks to Manchester are anything but tame.