The Windy City Mama’s UK Travel Guide
During our last trip to England, my husband and I finally got our first night away together since having Isla. We took the train from Scarborough to Manchester and had the best 24 hours in the city! We went the day before New Years, so the city was still adorned with all of it’s beautiful, festive Christmas decor. Here’s an itinerary of what we did in case you’re looking for ideas while visiting Manchester.
DAY ONE
- After arriving, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo, just a few steps away from the Manchester Victoria station and Manchester City Centre. It was the ideal spot for exploring!
- From there, we decided to check out the City Centre a bit more. We did some shopping at the Manchester Arndale— I picked up myself a little souvenir at Gucci and we checked out some local football shops before heading to dinner.
- We went for an early dinner at Gino D’Acampo’s Pizza & Procecco Bar. We had the most delicious pasta there— Tom had a lasagna and I had a carbonara, along with some amazing cocktails. There were so many dinner options, it was hard to choose!
- After dinner, we popped on a tram and headed out to Old Trafford for my first Manchester United game! HIGHLY reccomend doing this if you are visiting Manchester during football season. The atmosphere at Old Trafford is like none other— my husband is a lifelong Man Utd fan, so it was such a special experience. Plus, I got to have my first football match meat pie— and THEY WON!
- After the game, we headed back to back to the hotel for a relaxing night after our full day!
In the morning, we went to explore the city more. There are so many little shops and historical sites to see!
DAY TWO
- We went to see Manchester Cathedral first thing— this beautiful cathedral was originally built in 1421 and is a stunning example of the gothic architecture of that time. We also passed the historic Sinclair’s Oyster Bar in the picturesque Shambles Square— also on our list to visit next time. It is known as one of the toughest buildings in England as it survived a bombing in the 90s and was moved brick-by-brick 300 meters during the area’s redevelopment.
- After the cathedral, we decided to stop for brunch! We were just aimlessly wondering and happened to stumble upon High Street Tavern and had a wonderful mimosa brunch featuring a full English breakfast. Tom was in HEAVEN. It was the perfect, quintessential English pub.
- Then we walked over to Piccadilly Gardens and saw the Queen Victoria Statue. We didn’t have time to make it over to Albert Square, but that is definitely on our list for next time.
- Finally, we did a little more shopping and then grabbed a drink at one of Tom’s old haunts, The Trof, before grabbing a Starbucks and heading back to the train station for our journey back to Scarborough.
Hopefully, next time we visit Manchester we will get a little more time there, but this was the perfect amount of time for a little getaway! In October, we are headed to London for our next getaway, so stay tuned for that blog!
Xx,
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