Manchester half-term things to do

Dunham Massey is one of the National Trust’s top 10 most visited properties, bringing in 439,000 people in 2020/21. We reckon at least 80% of them were Mancunians escaping the city for their nearest bucolic country park.

The ultimate rainy day activity (and Manchester certainly has its wealth of those), Escape Hunt at the Corn Exchange places you in a locked room for 60 minutes for fun.

If you’re craving greenery but don’t want to stray too far out of the city, Heaton Park, on the Manchester-Bury border, is one of your best options.

Legoland Discovery Centre is Manchester’s ultimate Lego playground. If your children like building and creating with those brightly coloured blocks, then they will love it. There are evening sessions for adults available too so serious Lego architects can geek out undisturbed, otherwise adults (15+) must be accompanied by a child to visit.

Mosey down Mosley Street between Piccadilly Gardens and St Peter’s Square, and you can’t miss the Greek columns that flank the front of Manchester Art Gallery. It’s one of Manchester’s most visited cultural attractions thanks to its central location and extensive collection of historical and contemporary art.

Manchester boat tours from £9pp.
Want to fall in love with your city all over again? Take a boat tour from Manchester River Cruises, and you’ll see its iconic views from a new and surprising perspective.

It’s no secret that Manchester city centre is short on decent parks. The opening of Mayfield Park in September 2022 goes some way to fixing that with its 6.5 acres of lawns, playgrounds, pathways and live events area.

Play Factore is like a super-sized version of the traditional indoor play centre.

It’s enormous; crawling through tunnels, clambering through spider nets and zipping down slides is only the start of it. One of the highlights of the huge play frame is the big red slide – the biggest indoor slide in the UK. There is also a toddler area with mini slides, soft play and sensory lights for age-fives and under.

Much like the once mighty industrial power of the North, Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum has shrunk noticeably over the years. But it’s still well worth a visit.

Sea Life Manchester is the city’s only aquarium. It isn’t enormous – for something bigger you’d have to travel to Blue Planet in Ellesmere Port – but there is plenty to keep the kids entertained for an afternoon.