Scatty Manchester

"Manchester, how ugly! ", is what the entirety of Spain thinks about the city after hearing Edurne's words during a broadcast of El Hormiguero on Antena 3.

I was allocated a place to go to Manchester for my Erasmus exchange, and I was not at all excited about going. So, once I arrived there, I was met with the pleasant surprise that the city is very different to how I had originally imagined it being ("uglier than the back of a fridge"... ).

Urban development

Look, the streets of Manchester are not like the wide Spanish ones, the buildings are not like beautiful Parisian ones, nor does it have the colouring of beautiful Italy... In fact, almost all of them are quite dirty and the grey, overcast sky gives the city quite an industrial feel.

Nevertheless, walking around Manchester is like walking through a city that has been stuck in a time machine and doesn't know if it is living in the past or is heading towards the future. And I say this because there is a mixture of really old buildings (neoclassical and tudor) and modern-style buildings, situated next to one another. The reason for this is due to the bombing that took place in the city centre twenty years ago, and, to this day, is still full of construction works.

Being a small city, everything is just a stone's throw away, so those who want to save some money can get everywhere on foot.

Terracotta and dark coloured buildings, glass walls, white lights on store fronts, little LED lights decorating hipster cafes, plants in almost all the restaurants, //

Architecturally, there are some really bizarre buildings, that you could consider to be ugly, yes, but it's that characteristic that grabs your attention in a way that the majority of apartment blocks in Spain don't. They give the city an identity, a personality, and an image.

Besides, Manchester has several extremely different neighbourhoods, which I will go into more detail about below.

I recommend visiting:

• The Hilton Hotel on windy days - its structure echoes... "uuuuu".
• Walk through the city centre to see the constant change in architecture and sizes of the buildings.
• Chinatown to walk through the Paifang.
• Any big park, like Heaton Park.
• Northern Quarter.

City Centre

The newest part of the city, with minimalist and neoclassical buildings all around. It's blighted by people at all hours of the day because that's what Manchester is like: there is always life in the city irrespective of what day of the week it may be.

It has a shopping centre (Manchester Arndale), where there is a countless number of shops, and, if you're lucky, you can walk across Market Street without being stopped to donate money (in the documentary, 'Españoles por Manchester', it's the street where they interview Juan).

It's also the area where there are daily protests, people handing out advertising leaflets, or musicians playing.

Piccadilly Gardens

Piccadilly Gardens is an area with quite nice grassy areas, and is where the majority of bus routes start and finish.

Here, you can find:

• McDonald's
• Burger King
• Nando's
• Primark (with three absolutely huge floors)
• Manchester Arndale
• Market Street

Market Street

This is the main shopping street in Manchester city centre. If you need something, Market Street is always the answer.

On one side of the street is occupied by Manchester Arndale, which is, as I mentioned earlier, the shopping centre.

On the other side, there is another luxury department store, for those who want to spend a bit more money.

Close-by, there is Sinclairs pub. You will always find Spanish people drinking pints there, as it is one of the cheapest pubs in Manchester.

Also, close to Sinclairs is the cathedral, which is 100% worth visiting.

Albert Square

This is the public square home to Manchester Town Hall, and it's here where all the celebrations are take place and little markets are set up at different times throughout the year.

Close to the square, you will find Central Library: a library with a renovated interior, but the study room is very British and, in classic style, is always in complete silence. The building has a dome and there are typical English telephone boxes close-by.

I recommend:

• Visiting the inside of the Town Hall to admire its architecture - it's very Harry Potter.
• Go to 'Switch On' (the Christmas lights switch on), which takes place at the beginning of November.
• Christmas Markets (in December).
• Visit it in February for Chinese New Year.
• During St. Patrick's Day celebrations, they set up a traditional Irish bar.

John Rylands Library

A library that feels like Hogwarts when you walk in. Free entry and is open from 10am to 5pm. It's 100% worth visiting.

Chinatown

Yes, Manchester has a Chinatown consisting of just four streets. But, it has a Paifang that is really worth seeing. There is a really small Asian garden, but, next to it, there is a car park five times the size of it, so it doesn't make for the most romantic spot. Here, it's good to come and eat at a Chinese restaurant.

Oxford Road

An area full of bars and pubs. Lots of students come here at night, irrespective of what day of the week it is. Remember that, in the United Kingdom, all the pubs have a Happy Hour and the pints are very cheap. Each pub has its own version of Happy Hour and what these include will vary from establishment to establishment.

This area is very alternative: there is lots of street art, and the atmosphere amongst the bars is really varied... tiki bars, heavy metal, hipster, traditional English pubs, etc.

University of Manchester

You have to visit the campus just to see it for yourself: the gardens, the Harry Potter style building (again), and the sheer amount of students that come from all over the world to study there. It's considered to be one of the five best universities in England, and I'll leave it at that.

Manchester Museum

Have you seen the film, Night at the Museum? Well, this is like it.

The display cases and exhibitions are designed in a way that...

• Mummies
• Dissected animals
• Live reptiles
• Minerals
• Astronomy
• T-Rex
• Prehistoric animals
• Antiques
• Study and de-stress area where you can colour mandalas

Curry Mile

It's not a mile long, but it's true that it's a very long street full of supermarkets, Indian restaurants, Indian clothes shops, and typical Indian bazaars. It's all Indian.

Castlefield

This area is considered the coolest in the city. Here, there are canals that you can go along in little boats. There is also Catalan Square and Barca bar. It's a very small area, so you won't need more than an hour to see it.

Northern Quarter

My favourite area in Manchester. It's the most alternative area that you can find, the streets are full of graffiti, and all of the cafes and shops there have their own unique and original style. Hipster, gothic, vintage... it has it all. You could consider it to be the Camden Town of Manchester, but just a bit smaller. It's situated next to Piccadilly Gardens.

It's quite expensive, but it's worth coming to have dinner at a pizzeria with its own bookstore, going to Affleck's, buying yourself a CD, or eating fish and chips in Leo Fish Bar (costs £5. 50 with a canned drink) or Afternoon Tea in a hipster cafe.

On Mondays, you have a 50% discount at the restaurants!

Clubs

In the UK, they call discos, 'clubs', and Manchester is full of them! All of them are very different, with really varied music genres.

The only place where they play reggaeton music is in La Tasca (a Spanish bar, of course). Indie and English rock music dominate the nightlife scene in Manchester. There are some clubs that play chart music, others that play house music, and others that play hip hop.

The best thing about it all is the variety. You can go out in whatever makes you feel good, be it with trainers, or dressed up, there is sure to be a club for you.

You can go to The Antwerp Mansions, which is an abandoned, destroyed house full of graffiti. You can go to Factory, which has 3 floors. You can go to 42s, the favoured nightclub among university freshers. I recommend Fifth for people who like chart music, Sankeys for drug addicts, and The Venue for last century pop and English rock lovers (even Pink Floyd! ). There are tons of places that you could go to on a night out in Manchester, a city that has more nightclubs per person than London: "With 7 music venues per 100, 000 people, we're dominating".

And the best thing? The price! Paying £5 for club entry seems expensive to me, given that you can get into the majority of places for free with guest lists or with a student card, or for £1 or £3 if it's after midnight. Mind you, the drinks in clubs tend to be quite costly.

Climate

It doesn't rain all the time, and its intensity often varies.

• If it is spitting, it usually lasts for quite a while and you end up drenched a short while after.
• If it rains, it lasts between five and thirty minutes.
• If it chucks it down, it could mean that it's raining for half a day, but, in all honesty, there aren't many days like this.

I don't recommend buying an umbrella, with the wind being as strong as it is, it'll just blow inside out. Everyone gets soaked in Manchester - it's inevitable.

It's hardly ever sunny. Only in September and October, and from March onwards, there starts being days like these... so, you will miss the sun.

During winter, it's just as cold in Manchester as it is in the north of Spain - 1 point to Manchester. But, in spring and summer, the weather is only as good as it is in spring or autumn in Spain, so say goodbye to that point, Manchester.

People

The best thing about Manchester. Being in the north of England, the majority are extroverted, noisy, and are always asking how you are doing. If Manchester had to be highlighted for something, it would be its strong international nature. Besides, there, there is style for all tastes. What's more, everyone does what they really want - there are no rules.

If you ask someone for help, they will answer you with no questions asked. When you have a problem, they will do whatever they can to help you.

Mind you, at the end of the day, they are English and are reserved by nature. There is a barrier between the English youth and international students that I haven't been able to work out for myself, but it seems difficult to break.

Music culture

Manchester is the birthplace of musicians, and you can tell. In Spotify, there is a playlist called "Made in Manchester" for those who want to listen to music by Manc artists.

Every day, there is usually live music played in bars across the Northern Quarter, and the University of Salford is one of the best universities to study music at in the United Kingdom.

If you like rock and indie music, this is your city.

Economy

Manchester has decent prices, or at least it will seem that way if you are from there. Us, on the other hand, with the Pound-Euro exchange rate, end up losing out and is more expensive to live there. But anyway, Manchester isn't one of the most expensive cities in England, so it's alright.

Time

There, they are used to using the 12-hour clock.

• Public places open at 10am and close at 5pm.
• High street shops are open until 8pm and some supermarkets are open until 10pm.

When going out at night, you'll want to eat dinner early as the clubs close at 3am. In reality, you will want to be queuing to get in between 11:30pm and 12am.

They eat lunch at around 12:30pm and have dinner at 6pm. So, if you are going out for dinner, don't go any later than 7pm because it's likely that the kitchen will close at 8pm.

Internet

There are a million and one blogs and reviews about it all, so it's worth browsing the web a little bit.

Public transport

You have both buses and trams at your disposition to travel across the city. In reality, Manchester is big, but, when you think about the housing developments being situated outside the city centre, the city itself is quite small (all the places that I've mentioned thus far are considered to be in the city centre).

There are day-long, week-long, monthly, and termly travel passes available for purchase.

Stagecoach is a cheaper bus company than First, which is the other one that services the city's transport routes.