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Manchester has some of the finest museums in the country. Which is quite handy, really, because while it isn’t the wettest city in Britain (that’s Cardiff) it does get more rainy days than most.
You can see rare fossils, cotton mills and football trophies when you visit the city and discover more about its rich industrial, sporting and musical heritage.
The National Football Museum in the middle of Manchester. Image via Visit Manchester
1. National Football Museum
The museum was “transferred” from Preston to its Manchester home in 2001. You’ll find more than 140,000 exclusive football artifacts inside, including programmes, boots, balls and paintings.
It’s free to visit the main exhibition and you can purchase credits to try out some of the interactive skill games in Football+.
Maybe master the art of the one-two or have a go at football commentary.
DID YOU KNOW? The museum’s president is Sir Bobby Charlton, England World Cup Winner in 1966 and Manchester United’s most famous player. He’s just had a stand named after him at Old Trafford.
Check out their First IX of football treasures for the must-see memorabilia, like Diego Maradona’s Argentina shirt from the 1986 World Cup and George Best’s Ballon D’Or award (1968).
2. Old Trafford Museum & Tour Centre
If you’re a Red Devils fan, find out more about your team at Manchester United’s own museum.
Charting the highs and lows of one of the most successful football teams in the world, they’ve got 130 years of history to show you.
You can also book a tour of the stadium at the same time.
3. The Stadium and Club Tour
Manchester City also has memorabilia on show at a series of exhibitions and interactive displays around the stadium.
Again, you can combine a visit with a tour of the stadium, including hosting your own press conference and sitting in the dugout.
Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City. Image via VisitManchester
If you’re a cricket fan, take note: Lancashire County Cricket Club will be opening a cricket museum in 2016.
4. Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI)
The buildings that house this free museum are historic in their own right. Five are listed (two Grade II) and one of these is the site of the oldest surviving passenger railway station in Manchester.
Manchester’s industrial past can be seen via live demonstrations of original weaving machines and steam engines in the Power Hall of the Textile Mill. In the Air and Space Hall, they’ve got planes, bikes and automobiles on show.
DID YOU KNOW? The museum set a Guinness World Record in August 2007, for the largest-ever gathering of Daleks – part of a Doctor Who: Up-Close special exhibition.
Entrance is free, and they have plenty of activities going on for families, all-year-round. Visit the “what’s on” section of the website for the latest news.
5. Manchester Museum
If you love Ancient Egypt, then the University of Manchester’s collection is one of the best in the UK.
It’s where you’ll find the mummies, and they’ve actually got three galleries devoted to Egyptology. The museum was founded in the 1880s their collection focuses on archaeology (dinosaurs) and anthropology.
Don’t miss Maude – a famous Tigon (a tiger / lion cross). After being in storage for 65 years, she’s the first Tigon to go on display in a UK museum for a century.
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
6. Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester
Find out more about a century of public transport, and see more than 7o buses and trams on display.
The museum is in one of the city’s earliest bus garages, now a listed building – and many of the vehicles have been borrowed for use in period TV shows and films.
If you time it right, you might be able to see some of the vehicles in action – the working museum has regular event days and shows.
7. Imperial War Museum North
This striking building in Trafford Park is designed to leave visitors slightly uneasy and help them process the feelings that war and conflicts can evoke (it’s actually built on a former bombsite).
The main permanent exhibition charts wars that Britain has been involved in since the First World War.
Don’t miss the Big Picture Show, which is blend of photographs and film and broadcast across the 27ft high walls in the main exhibition space.
There are seven different films looking at issues such as the “Home Front” and “Children at War”, running one an hour while the museum is open.
Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays
8. People’s History Museum
It’s free to visit this museum, where the motto is “ideas have always been worth fighting for”.
Using political objects to show the struggle for equality in Britain over the last 200 years, anyone interested in politics will find plenty of posters, cartoons and slogans depicting the radical fight for freedom.
DID YOU KNOW: You’ll find the largest number of trade union items and political banners in the world here. They’ve got more than 400, with the oldest dating back to 1821.
9. Pankhurst Centre
No 62 Nelson Street was once the family home of the Suffragette leader, Emmeline Pankhurst.
She hosted the first ever meeting of the Women’s Social and Political Union here in 1903, and now the house has been transformed into a museum and community centre aimed at promoting equality for women.
It’s free to visit but only open on Thursdays (10am to 4pm).
Website and Twitter
10. Greater Manchester Police Museum
Another museum which is free to visit and has limited opening hours (Tuesdays only, but you can pre-book other days) is this small museum devoted to the city’s police force.
From the early police prototypes, the Peelers, up to the force in the present day, they’ve got a collection of uniforms and other memorabilia to see in its base in an old Victorian police station.
11. Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
You can visit the restored home of the Victorian novelist, Elizabeth Gaskell at 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester.
Her famous works include Cranford and North and South, which have also been adapted for television, and you can visit the Regency villa, which is now Grade II listed.
You can learn more about the writer, and her family circle, as well as visit the pretty gardens and take afternoon tea in what was originally the kitchen.
‘We’ve got a house…it certainly is a beauty…I must try and make the house give as much pleasure to others as I can.’ – Excerpt from a letter from Elizabeth Gaskell to her friend, Eliza Fox (1850)
12. Manchester Jewish Museum
This is the only Jewish museum outside of London. The Grade II listed Victorian building has stood since 1874, making it the oldest surviving synagogue in Manchester.
The Jewish community originally settled in the city around 1788, with 15 traders and their families setting up shop.
The community was bolstered in the 1840s and 1930s by immigrants fleeing persecution, before the Holocaust survivors arrived in the late 1940s.
This museum tells their story.
Website
13. Clayton Hall Living History Museum
Dating back to the 15th century, you won’t see many moated medieval buildings in the world (and this one is Grade II listed).
Restored back to its Victorian heyday by volunteers, it’s now open to the public on selected Saturdays twice a month.
Manchester City skyline, at dusk
Staying there
Here’s our list of 25 things to do in Manchester if you’re thinking of staying for a little bit longer.
We’ve also got plenty of cool hotels in Manchester to get you started, should you be thinking of taking more than a day trip.
It would be rude not to make a night of it, so try out these bars, or perhaps you want to meet some of the local characters – in which case Manchester’s pub dogs should give you a warm welcome.
And remember to check the weather forecast before you head out. Spring is the driest time for Manchester and October the wettest.
Hotel Football next to Old Trafford
Which one would you recommend?
We’d love to know if you’ve visited any of these museums in Manchester – and if so any tips?
Tell us all about your visit by leaving a comment below.
 it does get more rainy days than most.You can see rare fossils, cotton mills… "Pin It")
Source: lastminute.com