Globalti
Legendary Member
I'm not born and bred here but I think Manchester is an excellent city. It escaped the 60s building mania that wrecked cities like Leeds and Newcastle, probably because at that time following the death of textile manufacturing Manchester really was a depressed city where nobody wanted to invest. Then in 1996 the IRA detonated a 1500 kg bomb, the biggest in Britain since WW11, in the centre, wrecking the horrible old 60s M&S building and damaging the Corn exchange, thus dealing with a sleazy corner of the city that had a drugs problem the city hadn't been able to resolve. Government, insurance and investors stepped in and rebuilt Manchester city centre and the effect has been so beneficial that the current conspiracy theory is that the bomb was actually financed by the Irish construction companies who have so benefited from the rebuilding.
Happily the solid Victorian cotton city buildings survived the bomb more or less unscathed and have now been beautifully restored, such as the Royal Exchange, where you can still see the old boards showing the last prices for cotton traded there. The city is a mass of tower cranes and every time I go there I find a new building and a different traffic layout, which has its frustrations when I'm trying to collect overseas business visitors from their hotels. On the whole the new architecture is interesting and sympathetic to the character of the city and blends well with the stunning old gothic Victorian architecture. Miracles have been worked in re-configuring the historic city centre squares and war memorials around the extended metro stations
A few years ago half the BBC decamped from that London to Salford Quays, which has accelerated the pace of change in both cities although Salford itself is still a bit of a dump. Road access is easy and with the exception of the embarrassment that is Northern Rail aka "Northern Fail", who have now deservedly lost the franchise, rail access is good with the Metrolink, which has recently been improved and extended and major engineering works are going on right now to link bits of the old Victorian rail network in new ways.
Manchester has a superb sports and music venue in the Manchester Arena and a stunning classical music venue in the Bridgewater Hall, home of the Hallé Orchestra. There's a ski slope and Trashy Park if you want to shop. There is also the G-Mex Centre, used mostly for exhibitions and shows, which is the former Midland Railway terminus and has the extravagant Midland Railway hotel attached. There are canals and the amazing Ship Canal and the Salford docks, a couple of footy arenas, the Velodrome, the Museum of Science and Industry, a good airport, two or three universities, stacks of great restaurants, a gay village, some first class breweries (Joseph Holts being the best known) and vibrant Chinese, Indian and Jewish communities. There is an over-supply of new apartments and plenty of metro supermarkets in the city ventre, a good sign that people actually live in the city. The Town Hall is a Victorian extravagance that must be seen and the City Art Gallery contains some world famous art, most notably some of the greatest Pre-Raphaelite paintings which the city bought at a time when this art was being shunned by late Victorian collectors in London as too modern and not serious.
I always lodge my overseas business visitors in the Novotel in Dickinson Street off Portland Street, which is easy to reach, has good access to the airport and railway station, is in Chinatown and close to the Curry Mile and the Universities and has parking right underneath. A room should cost you £125 if you book far enough ahead on a quiet weekend. You can cross the city centre on foot in 15-20 minutes.
So yes, I like Manchester a lot!
Happily the solid Victorian cotton city buildings survived the bomb more or less unscathed and have now been beautifully restored, such as the Royal Exchange, where you can still see the old boards showing the last prices for cotton traded there. The city is a mass of tower cranes and every time I go there I find a new building and a different traffic layout, which has its frustrations when I'm trying to collect overseas business visitors from their hotels. On the whole the new architecture is interesting and sympathetic to the character of the city and blends well with the stunning old gothic Victorian architecture. Miracles have been worked in re-configuring the historic city centre squares and war memorials around the extended metro stations
A few years ago half the BBC decamped from that London to Salford Quays, which has accelerated the pace of change in both cities although Salford itself is still a bit of a dump. Road access is easy and with the exception of the embarrassment that is Northern Rail aka "Northern Fail", who have now deservedly lost the franchise, rail access is good with the Metrolink, which has recently been improved and extended and major engineering works are going on right now to link bits of the old Victorian rail network in new ways.
Manchester has a superb sports and music venue in the Manchester Arena and a stunning classical music venue in the Bridgewater Hall, home of the Hallé Orchestra. There's a ski slope and Trashy Park if you want to shop. There is also the G-Mex Centre, used mostly for exhibitions and shows, which is the former Midland Railway terminus and has the extravagant Midland Railway hotel attached. There are canals and the amazing Ship Canal and the Salford docks, a couple of footy arenas, the Velodrome, the Museum of Science and Industry, a good airport, two or three universities, stacks of great restaurants, a gay village, some first class breweries (Joseph Holts being the best known) and vibrant Chinese, Indian and Jewish communities. There is an over-supply of new apartments and plenty of metro supermarkets in the city ventre, a good sign that people actually live in the city. The Town Hall is a Victorian extravagance that must be seen and the City Art Gallery contains some world famous art, most notably some of the greatest Pre-Raphaelite paintings which the city bought at a time when this art was being shunned by late Victorian collectors in London as too modern and not serious.
I always lodge my overseas business visitors in the Novotel in Dickinson Street off Portland Street, which is easy to reach, has good access to the airport and railway station, is in Chinatown and close to the Curry Mile and the Universities and has parking right underneath. A room should cost you £125 if you book far enough ahead on a quiet weekend. You can cross the city centre on foot in 15-20 minutes.
So yes, I like Manchester a lot!
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