Instituto Cervantes

The Instituto Cervantes is a wonderful place to learn Spanish with enthusiastic native speakers and excellent teaching.

Even the building is inspiring – a Grade II listed Victorian gem. It’s all Romanesque Revival outside with arches and sandstone friezes whilst inside, it is light, airy and modern with plenty of glass and an open feel.

You can learn Spanish at all levels here; from beginner right up to formal DELE qualifications. They also teach Catalan and Basque – watch out for all those Ks, Zs and Xs.

The building used to house the Deansgate Free Library so it’s fitting that the ground floor is now home to the library at the Instituto Cervantes. Students can register for a free library card which gives access 25,000 books and learning resources covering topics from Spanish and American Literature to the Spanish Civil War. Magazines, newspapers and audiobooks are also available.

If practising your verb endings seems too much like going back to school, there are also flamenco classes, concerts, a book club and film screenings here.

This is a lovely place. You need to experience it in person – especially as the website can be a bit impenetrable and booking online is more complex than it needs to be.