Visiting Manchester this December was a strange feeling: while its most famous football team was being written off, the city was otherwise as buoyant as the giant inflatable Santa that scales the Town Hall.
As a United fan, I could imagine few holidays to beat a dream break to the spiritual home. While the Reds' success of recent years may have warmed hearts, it also meant that tickets were virtually impossible to get through legitimate channels if you weren't part of the season ticket/membership loop. Now though you can see a game via a package deal offered through Travelcare (match and accommodation), which might not cost much more than the ticket would alone if you are forced into the hands of a tout.
Beyond the football, the surprise for the visitor might be what a vibrant and attractive city Manchester now is. And while 2002 looks like being United's first year out of the top two league positions for over a decade, it could well be the year where Manchester ends all arguments as to which is Britain's second city.
Host to the Commonwealth Games this coming August, a wealth of new facilities are being built in Manchester, the centrepiece of which, the Commonwealth Stadium, has already taken shape. Imminent too are the openings of the Imperial War Museum North, a structure to rival Bilbao's Guggenheim, and the Urbis museum of the city, a glass flat-iron building to further enhance Manchester's architectural pedigree. Next year will also see the extension and renovation of the City Art gallery and the Museum and Science and Industry.
For potential visitors from abroad, and even some from the rest of Britain, the name Manchester may conjure little more than the football team or faintly grim industrial images. Yet Mancunians could well argue that, far from being some contemporary revival, its current advances are a seamless part of a radical tradition that has always seen it ahead of its time. Its history has seen it take a lead in, among other things: the Co-operative movement; vegetarianism; giving birth to (ahem) a liberal national newspaper; and supporting the Union's battle against slavery during the American civil war, despite the cost to its own industry.
The city centre, ripped apart by the biggest bomb ever to explode on the mainland just five years ago, has been rebuilt boldly and (to the displeasure of taxi drivers) with the pedestrian in mind. Where there was once drudgery and a dual carriageway, the Exchange Square makes it an easy step from the cathedral and historic buildings to swish arcades. Sculpted windmills reflect in giant expanses of glass: the local joke now is that the bomb wasn't the work of the IRA but the RIBA - the Royal Institute of British Architects.
A short step away, the Northern Quarter retains more of the character of pre-bomb Manchester: record shops and cafes dating back to the Madchester musical surge of the 80s. Again, from the plaques in the pavement to the murals on the wall of indie kid shopping haven Afflecks Palace, there's a definite feel that it's been smartened up, but there's plenty of urban charm.
You can't do more than scratch the surface of a city this size in a brief visit, but there's a definite feeling that Manchester is a city on the up: a place, indeed, confident enough to wear its unmissable and richly kitsch Christmas decorations without a hint of embarrassment.
In late afternoon, I went over to the Lowry Centre in Salford Quays, a complex that opened last year and includes two theatres as well as galleries, bars and restaurants. In addition to the permanent but changing galleries of Lowrys, there is currently a fabulous temporary exhibition of Samuel Coulthurst's photographs of Victorian Manchester, a world away from the present day.
Across the canal, dramatic in the sunset, you're led back to Old Trafford, United's stadium. The city's fabulous: did I mention United had problems? Only, tonight, we would win 5-0.
What to see
You could enjoy the Lowry purely for its architectural merits, but the galleries, both of LS Lowry's work and beyond, make the tram-ride well worth taking. Its two theatres currently run a programme skewed towards touring West End shows, ballets and musicals, but provide a full range of drama, music, children's shows and comedy. Families are well catered for in entrance prices and especially with the interactive exhibitions in ArtWorks. (The Lowry, Salford Quays, is open from 10am until late seven days a week; building and galleries are free to enter. ArtWorks costs £3.75/£3.25/£10 family, last admission 3pm or 4.30/5pm on non-school days.)
After a short walk across the new footbridge spanning the Manchester Ship Canal, a trip to Old Trafford beckons. If you can't get to a match, try at least to visit the museum in the grounds: a history of the football club, from old kit to interactive displays. (£4.50/£3; £7.50/£5 with stadium tour, not available on match days.)
Back in the city centre, you could easily walk past the John Rylands library without noticing it, but this is a place of hidden gems. Some of the oldest ecclesiastical texts (not to mention Korans) in existence are housed in the library's handcrafted stone walls; lines of statues and stained glass depictions of famous philosophers and writers frame the main room. (Deansgate, free entry; guided tours Wednesday 12 noon, £1)
The town hall (Albert Square, under the Santa, admission free, tours on Wed/Sat 2pm) and cathedral both merit visiting, as does the Pumphouse People's History Museum (Bridge Street, £1).
Where to shop
King Street, St Ann's Square and Bridge Street have the more upmarket shops (the latter are home to a number of independent men's designer outfitters). Also worth trying are the new arcades in the city centre, of which the Triangle (the old Corn Exchange) is the most attractive. If booming department stores are your thing, there's a refurbished Debenhams and Selfridges in the offing, while the world's biggest M&S has now opened in the city centre with a huge and relatively attractive glass façade. In December, you can find Christmas markets on Albert Square and St Ann's square. Record shops and more leftfield clothing can be found in the Northern Quarter, including, of course, Affleck's Palace. Perverse motorists might be tempted by the monstrous Trafford Centre on the M17.
Where to eat
Stock, the city's poshest Italian restaurant, is found in the grand setting of the old Stock Exchange building (Norflok St, 0161 839 6644). For Chinese, the enormous Yang Sing is an established favourite, rebuilt in a former cotton warehouse on Princess St (0161 236 2200). The Lowry Hotel's River Room is under the long-distance supervision of Marco Pierre White (0161 833 4545). Daytime, try the Earth Cafe, a vegetarian-only option in the Buddhist Centre (Turner St, 0161 834 1996).
Where to stay
The hip place right now is the Lowry Hotel, with its light, contemporary design: you can rub shoulders with celebs in the River Bar. It's Manchester's first five-star hotel, but you can still get a three-night weekend break for two for just £120 pp. (Chapel Wharf, 0161 827 4000)
· Gwyn Topham stayed in Manchester compliments of Travelcare. A Dream Break package, which includes hotel accommodation, match tickets, entrance to the Manchester United museum and a guided tour of the stadium, plus the chance to win a season ticket, costs from £111. Travelcare, 0870 909 5999.
· Virgin Trains operate a direct service to Manchester from many cities including Birmingham, Edinburgh and London. The journey from London takes 2h40mins and costs from £49.40; a first class return with complimentary drinks and buffet snacks costs from £110.
