With kids · Manchester · United Kingdom
Manchester with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Imperial_War_Museum_2008.jpg : pit-yacker from UK derivative work: IxK85 ( talk ), CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answer
Manchester works well with children because so many good museums are free and hands-on, and trams make moving around easy with a buggy. Football-loving families can add a stadium tour, and Heaton Park and the Peak District are within easy reach for outdoor days. Top picks: Science and Industry Museum, Manchester Museum and National Football Museum. Families usually base themselves in Salford Quays and MediaCityUK.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 6
- Best area for families
- Salford Quays and MediaCityUK
- Rainy-day options
- 6
Best things to do with kids
Museum · Castlefield
1.Science and Industry Museum
Spread across the buildings of Liverpool Road station, the terminus of the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the oldest surviving passenger railway station in the world, the museum tells the story of the city's textile mills, engineering and computing, including working cotton machinery demonstrations. Parts of the site have been under long-running restoration, so which galleries are open varies.
Check which buildings are open before you go, and time your visit for one of the cotton machinery demonstrations.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Museum · University
2.Manchester Museum
The University of Manchester's museum reopened in 2023 after a major expansion. Its collections range from a cast of the Tyrannosaurus rex known as Stan and ancient Egyptian mummies to a vivarium of frogs and lizards, and new galleries include a South Asia Gallery and a Chinese culture gallery.
Combine it with the Whitworth, a 10-minute walk south along Oxford Road.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Nature
Museum · City Centre
3.National Football Museum
Inside the sloping glass Urbis building beside Cathedral Gardens, England's national football museum covers the game's history from medieval village matches to the modern Premier League, with shirts, trophies and interactive penalty and skills challenges.
Allow time for the interactive Football Plus zone if you have children with you.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
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Experience · Trafford
4.Old Trafford stadium tour
Manchester United's stadium, nicknamed the Theatre of Dreams, holds about 74,000 fans. The museum and stadium tour takes in the dressing rooms, the players' tunnel and pitch-side dugouts, and the trophy displays. The stadium is a short walk from the Old Trafford and Exchange Quay tram stops.
Tours are not available on match days and are limited the day before, so check the fixture list first.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Book stadium tours online in advance, especially during school holidays.
- Iconic
- Kids
- Rainy day
Park · North Manchester
5.Heaton Park
One of the largest municipal parks in Europe, Heaton Park covers about 240 hectares north of the centre, with the Georgian Heaton Hall, a boating lake, an animal centre, woodland walks and a hilltop temple viewpoint over the city. It also hosts large summer concerts.
Take the Metrolink to Heaton Park stop and bring a picnic on a fine day.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
Gallery · City Centre
6.Manchester Art Gallery
Behind a Greek Revival portico on Mosley Street, the city gallery is known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Rossetti, Holman Hunt and Ford Madox Brown, along with decorative arts and changing contemporary exhibitions. It has a family-friendly Clore Art Studio for young children.
Look for Ford Madox Brown's Work, one of the most famous Victorian paintings of everyday labour.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Rainy-day ideas
- Science and Industry Museum — Check which buildings are open before you go, and time your visit for one of the cotton machinery demonstrations.
- Manchester Museum — Combine it with the Whitworth, a 10-minute walk south along Oxford Road.
- Manchester Art Gallery — Look for Ford Madox Brown's Work, one of the most famous Victorian paintings of everyday labour.
- Old Trafford stadium tour — Tours are not available on match days and are limited the day before, so check the fixture list first.
- Etihad Stadium tour — Take the Metrolink to Etihad Campus; the stop is right beside the stadium.
- National Football Museum — Allow time for the interactive Football Plus zone if you have children with you.
Where families should stay
$$ · Best for families, culture and quiet stays
Salford Quays and MediaCityUK
The old Manchester Ship Canal docks about 3 km west of the centre were rebuilt as Salford Quays, home to The Lowry arts centre, Imperial War Museum North across the water and the BBC and ITV studios at MediaCityUK. Waterside hotels here are well placed for Old Trafford, which is a walk across the canal, and trams run to the centre in about 20 minutes.
- Good
- Walking distance of Old Trafford; Waterside setting and free museums; Good-value hotels outside match days
- Watch out
- Quiet in the evenings; Tram ride to the city-centre bars
- Nearby
- The Lowry, IWM North, MediaCityUK, Old Trafford
Family travel tips
- Children under 5 travel free on Metrolink, and reduced child fares apply for older children.
- Free museums make it easy to pop in for an hour without committing to a full ticket price.
- Stadium tours are popular with children; book online and avoid match days.
- Salford Quays has wide, traffic-free waterside paths for scooters and buggies.
- Pack waterproofs and keep a museum in reserve; showers can arrive at any time of year.
Day trips for families
- Peak District: Edale and Castleton (About 45 minutes–1 hour by train) — The Hope Valley line runs straight into the Peak District National Park.
- Chester (About 1 hour by train) — A walled Roman city with the most complete circuit of city walls in Britain, the two-tier timber-framed shopping galleries called the Rows, a Gothic cathedral and Chester Zoo just north of town.
- York (About 1 hour 20–30 minutes by train) — The medieval walled city of York has York Minster, the timber-framed Shambles, the free National Railway Museum and the JORVIK Viking Centre, all within a walk of the station.
- Quarry Bank (About 30–40 minutes by train and walk) — A National Trust cotton mill of 1784 in the Bollin valley near the airport, with working machinery, the mill workers' village and the Apprentice House where child workers lived, plus riverside gardens and woods.
- Lake District: Windermere (About 1 hour 45 minutes–2 hours by train) — England's largest lake is surrounded by fells, with lake cruises from Bowness and Ambleside and lakeside walks.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–September. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Manchester good for kids?
Manchester works well with children because so many good museums are free and hands-on, and trams make moving around easy with a buggy. Football-loving families can add a stadium tour, and Heaton Park and the Peak District are within easy reach for outdoor days.
+What can kids do in Manchester?
Science and Industry Museum, Manchester Museum, National Football Museum, Old Trafford stadium tour and Heaton Park.
+Where should families stay in Manchester?
Salford Quays and MediaCityUK: Former docks with the BBC, IWM North and The Lowry.