50 things to do for Mother’s Day in Manchester

Atlas Bar is known as one of the originals of Manchester’s modern cafe-bar scene. And for its extensive collection of gins – over 570 varieties and counting.

Castlefield Viaduct is the National Trust’s newest opening in the region – and it’s a bit of a departure from their usual country houses and rural landscapes.

Cool Pacific Rim fusion fare for the fashion set. Australasia combines a sense of theatre with professionalism and culinary wizardry, making any occasion feel special.

With its red velvet seats, waiter service, and ultra stylish bar and cafe, Everyman Manchester St John’s is a far cry from your local multiplex. This deluxe cinema chain is expanding across the UK and now has two venues in Greater Manchester (the other is in Altrincham). 

There’s a story behind the American and British flags that fly over the entrance to The Bells of Peover, a country dining pub in a village south of Knutsford.

The Black Friar stood empty and unloved for almost 20 years before reopening in summer 2021 after a substantial renovation project. Now a modern British restaurant and a traditional pub, it has two distinct settings with menus to match.

Ordsall Hall is a piece of Tudor history just a short walk from the contemporary comings and goings of Salford Quays. Please note: it’s closed on August Bank Holiday Monday.

Located in a Grade II Listed building from 1626, The Bridge is full of charm, whether you’re going for a weekend away or Sunday lunch. This hotel and restaurant sits on the banks of the River Bollin in the picturesque Cheshire village of Prestbury, and has been newly refurbished.

The 2021 opening of this new 154-acre garden was greeted with much excitement and long queues, and rightly so. Once a derelict and overgrown site, it’s now a major visitor attraction with plenty to offer all year round. 

Once a stall at Levy Market, then a pop-up pizzeria above Fred’s Ale House, Cibus took baby steps to get to where it is today; a fully-fledged and much-praised Italian restaurant and bar on Levenshulme high street, and the winner of The Good Food Guide’s award for Best Local Restaurant North West 2024.

Its proper title is Manchester Monastery but most people in the city know it as Gorton Monastery.

This Grade II Listed building towers over the surrounding residential streets, acting as a focal point for the eye, and in recent years, for the community too.

Exhibition is one of Manchester’s cluster of exciting multi-kitchen concepts (read: food halls) that just seem to be multiplying. In the former home of the Natural History Museum, the location makes it perfect for visitors to Manchester Central, the Radisson Blu and the Midland Hotel.

If you want a woodland walk complete with den-making, wildlife, picnic spots, and beautiful views, Etherow Country Park on the edge of Stockport ticks the boxes.

When a fish restaurant has the local fishmonger behind it, you can bet that those scallops were sitting in their shells until very recently. And when the chef has a stint at Whitstable’s award-winning The Sportsman under his apron strings, then you are in for a treat.

The Fisherman’s Table is in Marple so that fisherman must have a long commute. It’s over 40 miles to the seaside. Nevertheless, this is some of the freshest fish you’ll eat.

Founder’s Hall is a smartly-refurbished pub with an enviable position on Albert Square. It serves up comforting pub food and a vast range of beers.

Clay Studio moved to its new home in Stretford at the end of 2024, offering more space and more activities. Whether you’ve seen The Great Pottery Throwdown and thought it looks like good squidgy fun or you’re a ceramicist yourself, looking for a space and a kiln to build your collection, Clay Studio is the place for you.

Grand Pacific is the work of Living Ventures and it easily outshines its sibling venues in terms of pure glamour. Not in a big chandeliers, glass and chrome Spinningfields way, but with a decadent blend of colonial Raffles-style grandeur and some of the best of the city’s Victorian architecture.

Hakkapo is Manchester’s Izakaya – that is, a Japanese bar where people go to eat, drink and just generally hang out after a long day at work.

With more than 50 flavours of Cheshire Farm ice cream, The Ice Cream Farm is officially the biggest ice cream parlour in the world. Although ice cream is the name of the game, it’s not the top priority here. The Ice Cream Farm is a powerhouse of kid’s play, all themed around their favourite messy, melty treat with the real thing on hand to round off the day.

The MUSU Collection is a group of innovative modern dining experiences, all under one roof. With three AA rosettes, this is the cutting edge of Manchester’s restaurant scene.

So named because of Manchester University’s 25 Nobel laureates, The Laureate Restaurant is a large and luxurious space located on one of the higher floors of Manchester’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.

Kenyon Hall Farm is the perfect countryside day out all year round. From picking up a premium Fraser Fir Christmas tree and warming up with a hot chocolate, to tucking into a hearty farmhouse breakfast before going on an Easter egg hunt, it’s always a breath of fresh air.

Loom & Ladle Bistro is the restaurant in Manchester Marriott Hotel Piccadilly – and a destination in its own right.

Malmaison Manchester Piccadilly Bar & Grill isn’t just for overnight guests, its reputation for cocktails, quality beef and a buzzing atmosphere mean it’s respected as a restaurant in its own right.

Dunham Massey is one of the National Trust’s most visited properties, bringing in over half a million people in 2023. We reckon at least 80% of them were Mancunians escaping the city for their nearest bucolic country park.

Namaste Nepal on West Didsbury’s Burton Road is a relaxed Nepalese spot that is the definition of a much-loved neighbourhood restaurant.

The Pen and Pencil is the Northern Quarter’s cool all-day hangout, modelled on the New York bar of the same name popular with the city’s journalists and ad men in the 1950s and 1960s. It has a reputation for great cocktails, quality food and an atmosphere that makes it stand out from nearby imitators.

Catch the Hope Valley line train from Piccadilly to this picturesque Peak District village for a dip in Hathersage Swimming Pool, a heated lido built in the 1930s.

With its large alfresco terrace, complete with a fully retractable roof, Piccolino Didsbury is perfectly located for an Aperol Spritz in the sun or a full three-course meal inspired by the diverse cuisine from all of Italy’s regions.

The Northern Quarter has never been short of Instagrammable spots with its litany of graffitied walls and shop fronts but bar and cafe, On the Hush, has taken the style inside its doors, bringing a mix of pretty floral drapery and inner-city spray-painted style to its interior.

Fletcher Moss has four outdoor, floodlit clay tennis courts which are open to everyone and accessibly priced.

Rigatoni’s is a bustling 25-seater Southern Italian pasta kitchen at the top of Shaws Road in Altrincham. Their rotating blackboard menu combines both their deep-rooted southern Italian heritage and their own creativity. They say that their simple pledge is to put their hearts and minds into every plate they serve.

Located in the Northern Quarter, this friendly neighbourhood bistro and bar is the place to avanti if it’s a taste of traditional Sicily you fancy – from authentic street food snacks through to big plates of pasta to desserts and holiday memory gelato, eat in or take away.

Visitors to Elizabeth Gaskell’s House can explore the author’s home where she wrote most of her novels such as North and South and Cranford.

Sora Manchester is a rooftop bar and restaurant serving up sushi, Pan Asian small plates and views across the city’s impressive Victorian neo-Gothic architecture.

A popular option for a good-value spa break, The Spa at Manchester Marriott Hotel Piccadilly is known for its relaxation room, thermal suite, and six treatment rooms.

Three Little Words is housed under the arches at the lesser-visited end of Watson Street, near Beetham Tower. Inside you’ll find the Spirit of Manchester gin distillery, a cocktail bar, and a kitchen serving small plates with thoroughly decent cooking. It’s certainly a place worth knowing about.

Lincoln Square’s traditional Cantonese restaurant Wing’s has been an institution in the city centre since 2004, when it first found fame through the patronage of Premier League footballers.

It takes more than famous names to keep a restaurant thriving though – and it’s testament to the consistency and quality of the upmarket British-Cantonese food that Wing’s is still going strong 20 years later.

This is wellness at its most luxurious. Hale Country Club & Spa is set in verdant Cheshire countryside and has some of the best facilities around. It’s exclusive, and they’re coy about how much it costs to become a member, but if you want to splash out on a five-star spa day, it could be for you.

Think of it as a wellbeing destination with a holistic approach that involves nutrition, fitness and serenity.

Zen Sushiya is a delightful Japanese restaurant specialising in sushi. It’s a charming place, with helpful staff dressed in traditional kimonos and the sushi is exquisite.

With five cinemas, two theatres, a bookshop, and over 500 sqm of gallery space, HOME is one of Manchester’s biggest and most dynamic arts venues. 

The King Street Townhouse Gym & Spa opened at this boutique luxury hotel in 2022, making it one of Manchester city centre’s newest spas.

Manchester Museum reopened in February 2023 following a £15m transformation to make it more inclusive and more imaginative in how it tells its stories.

Two things that are guaranteed to release endorphins: puppies and yoga. Paws Yoga combines the two, and was the first yoga class of this kind to touch down in Manchester.

Pennington Flash is Greater Manchester’s only National Nature Reserve. This wetland habitat, formed by flash flooding of former coal mining sites, is home to all sorts of wildlife. With a number of bird hides dotted around, you might even be lucky enough to spot a kingfisher or a willow tit.

After an initial stint tucked away in an archway near Piccadilly, this airy bakery and cafe moved to a spot overlooking New Islington’s marina. Since then Pollen Bakery has bagged Best Food and Drink Retailer at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards, and been listed in the Sunday Times top 20 UK bakeries.

If this isn’t an excuse to pop on your best frock (or bib’n’tucker), we don’t know what is. An award-winning Alice In Wonderland-themed dining experience is just asking for a bit of dress-up, especially when there’s finger food and afternoon tea for the taking.

Bathed in a neutral and warm aesthetic, Townhouse is a salon that welcomes everyone.

Any art lover’s trip to Manchester would not be complete without a morning or afternoon spent gazing at the walls (and wallpaper collections) of The Whitworth.

Head to Walton Hall & Gardens for landscaped grounds, woodland walks, a grand house, and a whole host of fun things to do. The manicured lawns and historical features make it a popular choice for weddings, whilst the alpacas and mini golf make it a good bet for days out with the kids.

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre is an exciting clash of modernity and history and the same can be said of its programming.

Electric Shuffle is a fresh take on shuffleboard. Usually associated with the pubbier end of the bar spectrum or the subterranean neon of a gaming venue, this is something new.