Manchester has been a city since 1853 and has a population of almost half a million people. It is the centre of Greater Manchester, which is the third largest conurbation in the UK. The city is regularly on the itinerary of many tourists and is in the top three most places in Britain. It rose to fame during the Industrial Revolution when it was responsible for processing the cotton that had been spun in neighbouring towns. At one time, Manchester was the largest marketplace in the world for cotton goods. The Manchester Ship Canal helped with the city's commercial prominence. This thirty six mile long canal opened in 1894 and is still in use today and helped Manchester to become a port despite its distance from the sea. Surprisingly, it is only slightly shorter than the Panama Canal.

Manchester was home to the 2002 Commonwealth Games and they were responsible for much of the city's redevelopment and regeneration. The subsequent growth means that the city vies with Birmingham for the title of Britain's second city.

Football fans across the world will have heard of Manchester through its two Premiership football clubs, Manchester City and the even more famous Manchester United who play their home matches in the largest football stadium in the UK at Old Trafford.

There is a wide variety of buildings in Manchester ranging from Victorian to modern architecture. Many of the older buildings are made from the traditional red bricks used in the area and there are still a number of cotton mills in existence, although nowadays these have generally been converted to offices and apartments. Manchester Town Hall was completed in 1877 and due to its similarity with the Palace of Westminster it is often used as a substitute for its more famous counterpart in television shows and movies.