Whether you’ve just moved to a city or you’ve been living there for years, it’s always worth making the effort to see your city from a new perspective and to discover – or rediscover – its charms.
Today we’re taking a look at Manchester. Whether you’ve lived there all your life, or just moved to this, one of the UK’s most vibrant and exciting cities, let’s find some new ways to see the sights, find new places to love and get a new perspective on the city you call home.
Treasure Trails and Scavenger Hunts
One way to see a new side of your city is to turn it into a grid of clues and puzzles! There are lots of companies now providing puzzle experiences that help you explore a city – a combination of walking tour and pub quiz that helps you see your city through new eyes and learn about it too. These experiences are delivered in various ways: in some cases you’ll get clues texted to your phone, in others you’ll be given puzzles by people in participating businesses, the most straightforward and easy to handle are print outs you can simply take with you on your adventure!
If you’re interested in treasure trails Manchester certainly has the history, culture and architecture to support lots of fun family explorations of the city, so you can get started today!
Walk
It’s amazing how many of us only experience our cities in bubbles around key points – public transport stops and car parks. It means we don’t learn how those different bubbles link up – or what you could be missing in between.
A great way to get a new perspective on your city is to ditch the car or the Metrolink and walk. Whether it’s going into town for a shopping trip, or breaking up your commute home with a stretch of walking, you’ll learn more about the geography and culture of the streets you call home and find new places to enjoy, whether they’re pubs or pocket parks.
Learn the History
One important perspective on Manchester is the historical one! You’ll appreciate your home more if you learn about its history – and that will point the way towards more and different things to do with your weekends and free time.
Manchester has a rich history, from it’s settlement by the Romans to it’s explosion of growth and prosperity in the industrial revolution (leading to both the characteristic rows of red brick terraced houses to fit factory workers into in the city, and a ring of large historic homes around the city, now mostly in the hands of the national trust. Manchester has been an important site for feminism, as it was a home for the Pankhursts as they began organising. It’s also been a site of pilgrimage for pop fans since the 60s as with every decade the scene has reinvented itself to inspire more new bands and venues. When you start learning the history of the city you’ll see how it affects every brick and paving stone, and you’ll have a whole new perspective on Manchester.
