Manchester Shopping

In recent years, central Manchester has been converted into one large shopping precinct with many pedestrian streets and galleries. At the heart of the centre lies the building complex which, when completed in 1972, became Europe's largest shopping centre under one roof. The Arndale Centre - thirty hectares with more than 200 shops and 750,000 visitors every week.

You will find international premium brands such as DKNY and Armani in the area round Deansgate, King Street and St. Ann's Square. Here, as in Bridge Street and Market Street, there are also shops which sell clothes by well-known English designers. If you are looking for the very latest street fashion, you should head for Oldham Street, the main street in Northern Quarter. This contains shops like Arc Gallery Store, where many young designers and artists exhibit their wares. Northern Quarter also has many small record shops and interior design shops for people who have an eye for trends. Artisans work at the Manchester Craft Centre in Oak Street. Affleck's Palace on Church Street is also worth a visit if you are interested in design.

Many of the leading young names in Manchester are brought together in this four-storey building. If the Arndale Centre was the largest in the 1970's, a worthy successor was the Trafford Centre which opened in the district of Dumplington outside Trafford Park in 1998. Generally speaking, the enormous shopping centre contains all the well-known clothes shops and is the largest of its kind in Europe. A tip for those interested in football: visit Manchester United's shop in the Old Trafford Stadium.