Manchester is a city, and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England, with a population of 514,417 in 2013. It lies within the United Kingdom's second most populous urban area, with a population of 2.55 million and third-most populous metropolitan area. Manchester is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council.

Manchester is the perfect place to indulge a love of culture. Don’t miss the year-round programme of special exhibitions of art, photography and design at The Lowry or catch a play or musical. And at the magnificent Royal Exchange Theatre you’ll find live music events, free exhibitions, poetry readings as well as top-class theatre.

Manchester has a thriving theatre, opera and dance scene, and is home to a number of large performance venues, including the Manchester Opera House, which feature large-scale touring shows and West End productions; the Palace Theatre; and the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester's former cotton exchange. The Royal Exchange is the largest theatre in the round space in the UK.

For 11 million people living within 50 miles of the City of Manchester, it is the place where they come to work, or to shop or to visit the many attractions and entertainments which only a large dynamic city such as this could hope to offer.

We look forward to seeing you in Manchester!