City Essentials: First Day • 2 hours 5.0 (29)

Kickstart your trip to Manchester

Kick off your first day in Manchester on this tour. You will get orientated with the city and gain some insider tips to make your trip a memorable one

You may expect to hear English when visiting Manchester but there is a distinct Mancunian dialect that can baffle first time visitors!

What makes this experience special

Key highlights

  • Choose your pace - a casual stroll, a canal cruise or on public transport
  • Visit some of Manchester's iconic spots, neighbourhoods and buildings
  • Take the experience at whatever pace suits you - a leisurely stroll, pausing at a pub for a pint or squeezing in as much as possible
  • Get a taste of Manchester through an inspiring lens and acquaint yourself with the briefest of histories, some general city info, how to get around and where you should visit
  • Your host will reveal recommendations for things to do during the rest of your trip, and feel free to ask anything you’d love the inside scoop on!

What to know before you go

Here’s everything you need to know before your day unfolds.

2 hours
Fully tailored to your preferences
English Other languages may be requested

What’s included

Meet your host at a location of your choosing- within a reasonable distance.
A private and personalised experience
2 hours with your host
Walking experience (if required, your host can suggest public transport or private taxi options)
Hotel meet-up (available on request for central location)

What’s not included

Food and drink
Tickets to any attractions
Transportation costs
Gratuities (optional)

Meeting point

Your hotel/apartment or any other central location

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience

What to bring

  • We recommend wearing comfortable shoes and carrying a light bag for your essentials.
  • Public transport may be used during the experience - please bring a travel card or small amount of cash for fares.

How your day could unfold

A flexible, unscripted experience designed entirely around your interests. Your host will adapt the day based on what excites you most

What you’ll do

In a city so down to earth and friendly as Manchester, we guarantee it wouldn’t take more than a minute or two for someone to stop and help you out if you were looking a little lost.

But you’ll skip that completely when you explore MCR with one of our Manchester hosts by your side - you’ll feel like a local in no time, we promise.

Your host would love to share with you their favorite places to eat, hang out and explore, make recommendations for the rest of your trip, and feel free to ask as many questions as you like along the way.

Get to know the best ways to move around - we reckon the best way to figure out the buses is to use them! So why not start in the city center, then take the bus to the revitalized Salford Quays Docklands, where you’ll find trendy bars for a cheeky cocktail or pint, The Lowry art complex, and plenty of other cultural gems.

Don’t forget to ask your host for a few northern expressions too - they’ll make you feel even more at home!

1. Select a date
2. Select start time
3. Tailor your experience
Answer a few quick questions to help your host craft the perfect day tailored to you.
1. What’s your preferred hosting style?
2. How would you like the pace of your day?
3. What’s your walking comfort level?
4. Are you celebrating something special?

Real Stories, Real Connections

See our hosts and guests creating memories

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What travelers think of this experience

Nicola, Mar 2025

Manchester is such a cool City and my tour guide Darren was perfect. He has lots of interesting local knowledge about the town’s history and culture. He was fascinating on the music scene in particular. It was fun and I would highly recommend.

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Nicola, Mar 2025

Manchester is such a fantastic City. There is so much to see but it is all very walkable. Darren was interesting and funny and passed on his love for the area. He knows a great deal about the history of the City and the music scene in particular. It was a fab morning tour! I would highly recommend.

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Rick, Mar 2025

Did you know that the “insert item” was invented in Manchester? We learned so much on our two hour tour including the incredible listing of invented/created in Manchester tidbits that we have a new found affinity for the city that has nothing to do with its football teams. Jutta was always communicating prior to the tour and even gave us a great pub suggestion for the day before our scheduled tour - she gave us a great 2 hour tour covering everything we asked for in the lead up to the tour. We wanted to know about the history of the city with some emphasis on the music scene in particular the late 70’s and early 80’s punk and new wave music makers. We ended the tour with another great suggestion for a quiet coffee and scone location. Jutta can easily be hired for a longer tour should one have the time or inclination. I’m sure we missed so much. However, it was what we asked for and she delivered in spades. A great tour!

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Jane, Jan 2025

Thank you Roy, a great 2 hour history walking tour of Manchester - full of interesting facts about the city.

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Jane, Jan 2025

Thank you Roy, a great 2 hour walking tour of Manchester we really enjoyed learning more about the city. Thank you

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Michael, Jan 2025

Darren was our first introduction to Manchester. Perfect balance of history, dining, pubs, points of interest. Great start to our mini-vacation.

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