The Hippest City in England, According to Lonely Planet

Manchester, UK, earned a spot on Lonely Planet’s list of top ten cities you have to visit in 2016. (Photo: ThinkStock / SAKhanPhotography)

By Adam Groffman / Travels of Adam

Lonely Planet just released its annual Best in Travel awards, and its Top 10 list of must-visit cities for 2016 was full of surprises. Kotor, Montenegro, earned the No. 1 ranking on a roundup that included Quito, Dublin, Mumbai…and Manchester? Slotted at a respectable No. 8, the northern English city outranked Nashville and even Rome.

I first “discovered” Manchester when I started binge-watching Queer as Folk. It felt like a rite of passage after coming out, a way to learn about the new queer life I soon found myself actively engaged in. When watching the British version of the popular TV series (which originally aired 1999–2000), I was often more interested in Aidan Gillen’s shenanigans (and butt) than the city scenery, but I guess the idea of Canal Street, the center of the city’s gay village, always stuck with me. When the producer and screenwriter of Queer as Folk, Russell T. Davies, launched a trio of new LGBT series earlier this year (Cucumber, Banana, and Tofu), Manchester popped back up on my radar.

Over the course of my weekend trips to Manchester this summer, I finally did get to discover the city. And it wasn’t just cool like I expected it to be — it exceeded every expectation. The clubs were crazier than I imagined, the people friendlier, the food tastier, and the sheer amount of cool, hip places was honestly overwhelming. Manchester’s Northern Quarter, clearly the “\hipster neighborhood of the Northern English city, wasn’t just another attempt at being cool — it was legitimately interesting.

Sure, gentrification is likely an issue, but Manchester still has that independence and authenticity so valued by locals, and by tourists. The shops and restaurants aren’t just there to make a buck, and many of the local businesses are actually contributing back to the society. Even Manchester’s annual LGBT Pride operates as a charity, having donated £146,000 this year alone to LGBT organizations, and more than £1 million in the past decade.

Manchester is an exciting, vibrant city with an eclectic variety of things to see and do — enough to fill an entire Hipster City Guide. But here are the coolest hot spots to start your perfect weekend getaway:

For Alternative Theater: Contact Theatre

The Contact Theatre supports new and emerging artists through a number of different events and festivals throughout the year. (Photo: Adam Groffman / Travels of Adam)

The thing that attracted me most to Contact Theatre is the fact that it purposefully looks to feature young artists and new creative talent. But then when I discovered that it also host sa number of queer and LGBT artists for various performances, art shows, and other events, I was instantly sold. The website lists and categorizes performances and plays by a number of different tags, making it easy to find everything from dance shows to discussions, from comedy to cabaret.

When I visited Contact earlier this summer, I had the chance to meet Kate O’Donnell who was performing in Big Girl’s Blouse (commissioned by Contact). In the performance, Kate used humor, music and costume to tell her story growing up transgender (see the video below).

In addition to the wide roster of events and performances that take place at Contact throughout the year, the organization puts on the annual Queer Contact festival each February during LGBT History Month in the UK. The 2016 Queer Contact festival takes place from February 4–13 2016.

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For cool movies, art and events: HOME

The new HOME cultural center hosts a wide variety of events and performances.(Photo: Adam Groffman / Travels of Adam)

Two local arts organization, the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre, came together and opened HOME earlier this year. It’s a culture venue that bills itself “for curiosity seekers, for lovers of the dramatic, the digital and the deeply engaging; for radicals and reciprocators.” HOME features two theaters, five screening rooms, and art exhibitions throughout the building. It also has a restaurant, café, bar, and a bookshop. It’s a place that welcomes creatives, educators, young people, and families, all of whom are encouraged to get involved by attending screenings, workshops, and study sessions.

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The new space, located near the Manchester Oxford Road train station, makes art easily accessible, no matter the format. It’s one of those creative spaces that’s meant to be multi-purpose, and actually achieves it.

For any kind of shopping: Afflecks

Inside shopping warehouse Afflecks you’ll find vintage clothes, wigs and more. (Photo: Adam Groffman / Travels of Adam)

This alternative and rather eclectic department store in the Northern Quarter sells everything: club and fetish wear, clothing from new designers, accessories (like top hats!), henna tattoos, piercings, and oddly enough, surfwear. It’s certainly the best place in the city to buy clothes for fun and wild nights out on the town!

Back in 2014, Lady Gaga made headlines when she dropped £8,000 in a frenzied shopping spree there one afternoon. The store also offers a creative space for you to paint, write, act, or even recite poetry.

For the best hotel bed ever: Hotel Gotham

All rooms and suites at Hotel Gotham come with faux-fur throws and intricately styled rooms. My favorites were the Inner Sanctum suites — no windows, but lots of style. (Photo: Hotel Gotham)

Situated in a former bank building, Hotel Gotham is an opulent, art deco–styled boutique hotel on King Street in the city’s business district, a short walk away from the Northern Quarter. The hotel’s design takes inspiration from 1920s Manhattan and even Batman (hence the Gotham name), and its 60 rooms offer bright and bold retro furniture and large king-sized beds with furry throws. It’s truly a fun place to stay, with Batman-themed “do not disturb” signs on the room doors and binoculars to gaze out the windows.

Opt for an Inner Sanctum suite. These five special rooms have no windows but are tricked out with giant wall screens showing the Manchester skyline. The rest of the decor recalls the golden age of travel, with touches like steamer trunks and hat boxes, and buckled suitcases artfully placed around the room. While some might find this “over-designed” or snobby, the Hotel Gotham maintains a sense of calm and coolness without feeling pretentious.

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The sixth-floor Honey Restaurant provides an unexpected dining experience no matter what time of day, with appetizers like a prawn cocktail that’s served in a one-foot-high glass and the same champagne served at the Academy Awards. The restaurant’s arched windows offer sweeping city views, which get even better when you ascend to the rooftop bar, Club Brass (open only to guests and members), where you can spy on the city from the balcony’s telescopes.

For the best country cooking: Home Sweet Home

Fish tacos at Manchester’s hip restaurant Home Sweet Home, where you’ll find American food classics — even milkshakes. (Photo: Adam Groffman / Travels of Adam)

This American-themed restaurant serves breakfast, brunch and dinner, seven days a week. Think pancakes, milkshakes, pulled pork sandwiches and loaded nachos. It’s all about the comfort food here, especially when it comes to cake, as Home Sweet Home calls itself the “bestest little cake shop on the planet.”

For more Manchester travel tips, read Adam’s full Manchester Hipster Guide.

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