The Quay to Corrie & more

A 20-minute tram ride from central Manchester, fans of the world’s longest-run TV soap opera can enjoy the nostalgia-inducing The Coronation Street Experience, with a close-up look at the show’s sets.

Amble on the famous “Corrie” cobbles and pop into the Rovers Return Inn.

In the rejuvenated dockland district of Salford Quays, with the Imperial War Museum North among a cluster of diversions, visitors can cross a cable-stayed footbridge into MediaCityUK, home to more TV studios, including the ones where much-loved BBC programs like Match Of The Day, Blue Peter and University Challenge are filmed.

You may find yourself eating and drinking beside presenters and contestants at the neighbourhood’s watering holes and restaurants, which include locally run Irish bar Salmon of Knowledge and New York-style pizzeria Nell’s.

In summer, there are pop-up vans and food stalls, deck chairs, and TV screens showing live sport.

You’ll feel the quays getting busier when Manchester United are playing at home. Old Trafford is a 15-minute walk away, along the Wharfside waterfront promenade, then up a pair of streets named after revered former United managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby.

If you’re at the so-called “Theatre of Dreams” on a non-match-day, you may be tempted to buy a ticket for the stadium museum and tour.

A 10-minute stroll south of the football stadium brings you past murals of United stars of yesteryear George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton, and to the “other” Old Trafford where, between April and September, one or two Australians usually turn out for Lancashire Cricket Club (last year it was Perth duo Marcus Harris and Ashton Turner; former Australia captain Meg Lanning will play for the women’s team in 2026).

As well as county cricket, this ground — Emirates Old Trafford — also occasionally hosts England internationals and shorter-form franchise clubs like the Manchester Super Giants in The Hundred, a national 100-ball competition launched in 2021.

There are pubs and takeaways near the sporting venues, plus Hotel Football, which has former United players Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs among its owners.

Part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio brand, the hotel has 99 rooms, a soccer pitch on the roof, and a cafe-restaurant.

You can loop back to the quays from here and cross the Millennium Bridge, a lift bridge that can rise 18m to allow larger vessels to pass.

Don’t miss Lowry, a theatre and cultural hub named after the feted local 20th century artist L.S. Lowry. Dozens of his paintings are free to peruse here, and last year a new 360-degree immersive show was launched, bringing to life his 1953 piece, Going To The Match.

Do check Lowry’s theatre listings, as it’s an acclaimed stage for drama and comedy, with Operation Mincemeat and Dear England among recent award-winning productions.

Next door is Central Bay, a new food and drink hall with diverse options. You can order British classics like fish and chips and ales from Seven Bro7hers, a craft brewery established by seven Salford brothers, and spirits from Four Sis4ers Distillery, run by their four sisters.

You will also find a raft of flavours from India, the Caribbean, Palestine, Thailand, Vietnam and other regions. The cosmopolitan offerings are fitting as Central Bay overlooks the Manchester Ship Canal, an engineering marvel that opened in 1894 and brought ocean-going liners — and their exotic cargo — directly into Salford and Manchester, neighbouring cities that are almost 60km from the Irish Sea, a portal to the Atlantic.

If you’re here in the northern summer, and the weather is playing ball, you can sit out on the sun-kissed terraces of Central Bay with your curry and beer (or slow-roasted pomegranate lamb and wine), watching swans and rowers glide by and spying the “Theatre of Dreams” across the water.

fact file + To plan an outing to Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, see mediacityuk.co.uk.

+ Other useful websites: coronationstreetexperience.co.uk and iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-north