Student Guide to Manchester

New Century

New Century is the home of dBs. Our teaching facilities are located in the basement and in the two floors above us, there is a kitchen and social space packed full of amazing independent food vendors as well as an 1,300-cap venue which will be connected to our studios to allow real-time recording, mixing and mastering of live shows. Steeped in music heritage, the regeneration of New Century will ensure it becomes a hive of creative activity for the future.

Sadler’s Yard

Just outside of New Century is Sadler’s Yard - a public square with sitting areas, rotating art exhibitions and pop-ups and the Sadler’s Cat - our very own local! It’s the perfect place to chill between lectures.

The Angel

The Angel pub is a stone’s throw away from New Century on Angel Square and known locally for it’s excellent selection of real ales, quiz nights and cozy surroundings.

Soup

One of Manchester’s best clubs, Soup often welcomes some of the best DJs in the country and abroad through its doors. It’s intimate, award-winning and prides itself on being accessible for those with disabilities.

The Castle Hotel

Located in the heart of the Northern Quarter, The Castle Hotel is a popular pub with a long history and an 80-cap live music venue. It’s become a favourite for music lovers in the city and it’s not too far from New Century either!

The Bay Horse Tavern

Like a trendy pub with good food, great beer a regular open mic night and quiz night? The Bay Horse Tavern in the Northern Quarter is a popular haunt and ideal as a location to chill out with mates after uni.

Band on The Wall

Band on The Wall has been helping shape Manchester’s vibrant live music scene for years. From DJ sets to reggae, folk and world music, the historic venue showcases it all and they have a learning centre where you can join classes and workshops in everything from filming to jazz.

Manchester Craft & Design Centre

If you enjoy craft and design as well as producing music or developing games, you can join the Manchester Craft & Design Centre community by hiring one of their studios, attending an event or setting one up yourself! Keep an eye out for their exhibitions, events and workshops if you want to delve into the design and art heritage of the city.

Afflecks

Afflecks is an eclectic indoor market that sells everything from collectible toys to clothes, jewellery and records. Bustling on a weekend, it’s one of the most popular shopping areas in the city and includes an LGBTQ+ bookshop and a tattoo parlour.

Night & Day Café

Another of the Northern Quarter’s best live venues, Night & Day Café has live music most days of the week, as well as rolling art exhibitions from local artists with paintings that are hung around the venue and rotated every few months. It’s a relaxed and interesting place to hang out and has its finger on the pulse of the local music scene.

The Lowry

Named after Laurence Stephen Lowry, the painter who was inspired by the industrial landscapes of the North West, The Lowry is one of the premier exhibition spaces, galleries and theatres in the North West. They also have a range of creative learning programmes for anyone who wants to flex their creative muscles outside of the studio!

The White Hotel

Another one of the coolest clubs in the Greater Manchester area, The White Hotel is intimate, industrial and unassuming and brings in some of the best up and coming electronic music producers and DJs in the country.

Salford Museum & Art Gallery

For a free afternoon of art and history exhibitions, the Salford Museum & Art Gallery is definitely one to check out. It’s not too far from the city - just a 30 minute walk from New Century - and has excellent exhibits on rotation across the year.

Eagle Inn

The Eagle Inn is one of the most popular watering holes for the hipsters of Manchester, but it’s also one of the most well-trodden venues in the city circuit, too! As well as being a venue and a pub, they also have rehearsal rooms that can be booked out affordably for up and coming bands and artists.

The King’s Arms

Described as “Britain’s most bohemian backstreet boozer”, The King’s Arms is just a 10-minute walk from Deasngate and has a calendar filled to the brim with eclectic live music, pub quizzes and comedy nights.

Salford Lads Club

The Salford Lads Club is one of the most iconic buildings in the city. It’s a location synonymous with The Smiths, as they posed in front of it for the inside sleeve of their record 'The Queen is Dead', and has become emblematic with the music culture of the city. The club is still open for tourists and is part of a music tour of the city.

Salford Arts Theatre

If you like more independent minded art, rather than the bigger exhibitions at national institutions, the Salford Arts Theatre is a great place to check out. From open mic nights, small-scale theatrical performances, poetry readings and much more, there’s tonnes on offer.

Worsley Woods

Located on the western edge of Salford, Worsley Woods is an area to depart from the hectic rhythm of life in the city. The perfect spot for a walk on a summer weekend!

The Warehouse Project

The Warehouse Project is, without question, one of the best clubs in the country - arguably even Europe and the world! The curation of nights there is second to none and the calendar isn’t saturated - there isn’t something on every weekend which only adds to the excitement. This place is a must if you love electronic music.

Factory 251

Set in the old building of the infamous Factory Records, Factory 251 is another one of the city’s best clubs. There are nights for everyone, from straight-laced commercial dance music to more eclectic electronic music.

Joshua Brooks

Owned by event specialists JBM Music, Joshua Brooks is part bar & kitchen and part underground club, with some of the best DJs in the country heading down into the intimate basement for extended sets. During the day, the beer is cold and the food is delicious and it doubles up as a sophisticated place to have lunch.

YES

Set across four floors, YES is a cultural centre with everything from club nights, to live music and a relaxed bar. It’s one of the many old warehouses that have been repurposed into important cultural institutions for the city.

Peveril Of The Peak

This pub is a cult classic in the city. It’s a no-nonsense pub in a Grade II listed building and known as one of the most beautiful boozers in the city.

Hatch

Much like Boxpark in Shoreditch and Cargo in Bristol, Hatch is a shipping container village in Manchester that has some excellent independent food vendors, cafes, bars as well as a packed events schedule.

Gorilla

Many of the venues in Manchester make use of the old industrial buildings that were so important during the Industrial Revolution and Gorilla does it as well as any other. Located under the railway arches, the bar, club, live music venue and restaurant has embedded itself, quite literally, into the brickwork of the city.

The Loft

The Loft isn’t technically in Ancoats, it’s further up the Oldham Road in an industrial estate. However, it’s still well-worth a visit. It’s an intimate nightclub that’s off the beaten track, but feels raw and takes DJ bookings from across the spectrum of electronic dance music.

Ancoats General Store

A corner shop isn’t usually the kind of place we’d usually be recommending as a place to hang out, but the Ancoats General Store is a corner shop with a difference. As well as all the basics, the shop is packed full of craft beer and items you won’t see at your local Tesco. As well as that, they sometimes even host impromptu events!

Hip Hop Chip Shops

Hip hop and chips. Need we say anymore?

Hope Mill Theatre

The Hope Mill Theatre is another of the city’s smaller, independent-minded theatres with small-scale productions from local actors. It aims to bring new and exciting performances to the city and is located in the perfect neighbourhood to do so!

New Islington Tram Stop

The New Islington tram stop isn’t an official location per-se, but its become a hugely popular place for people to chill out, have a picnic and a couple of beers in the sun. Perfect for one of the (rare) days when the sun is shining in Manchester!

The Molly House

The Molly House on Richmond St is the least-well-kept secret in the Gay Village. It’s a well-trodden bar and restaurant in the area, but it remains popular for a reason! The tapas is great and it’s a welcoming spot for everyone.

G-A-Y Manchester

G-A-Y Manchester is arguably the epicentre of the Gay Village when it comes to bars and clubs. It’s open until the early hours and is almost always filled to the rafters!

Vanilla

Vanilla has been described as the ‘lesbian Mecca of the North’ and is easily the premier lesbian bar in Manchester. The award-winning bar has a calendar stacked full of events and club nights.

Canal Street

Canal Street is the main artery that runs through the Gay Village. As the name suggests, it runs alongside the Rochdale Canal and is peppered with some of the best bars, clubs and cafes in the city.

Hidden

Manchester is one of the best cities in the world when it comes to reusing and regenerating buildings to serve a purpose completely differently to the one they were built for. Hidden is another of the city’s industrial night clubs that does just that with a packed calendar of techno, electro and the full spectrum of electronic music.

The Yard

The Yard is a creative hub in Manchester; a space for some of the most creative minds in the city to work, collaborate and hang out in. As well as acting as a work space, it also hosts events including fashion fairs, club nights and more.

Rebellion

Rebellion is the city’s best alternative music venue, showcasing the best in hardcore, punk as well as electronic music at their regular club nights. During the day, it’s also one of the most popular bars in the area!

Castlefield Gallery

The Castlefield Gallery is one of the best contemporary art galleries in Manchester. Located just outside Deansgate station, it’s within walking distance of the Canal Basin and has a wealth of rotating exhibitions, workshops and talking events from international artists.

Canal Basin

Perfect for a summer afternoon, the Canal Basin is a thriving area of Castlefield that’s peppered with pubs, cafes and water-side restaurants. The warehouses that used to line the water here have now been converted into swanky flats and bars, but they have managed to retain the industrial heritage of the area.