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Canal Street is the beating heart of Manchester's world-famous Gay Village. Bars, clubs and cafes with rainbow flags line up along the old Rochdale Canal, and especially during Manchester Pride, the neighbourhood turns into one big celebration.
The John Rylands Library on Deansgate looks like something out of a Harry Potter movie from the inside: a neo-Gothic reading room full of stained-glass windows, turrets and centuries-old manuscripts. Admission is free and the visit is worth it for the breathtaking architecture alone.
The neo-Gothic City Hall in Albert Square is one of the most magnificent Victorian buildings in England and a real landmark of the city. Admire the imposing façade and the clock tower, which has been featured in numerous film and series sets.
At the Science and Industry Museum in Castlefield, immerse yourself in Manchester's history as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. On the grounds of the oldest surviving railway station in the world, steam engines, historic locomotives and interactive exhibitions await you, all with free admission.
Gay sights in Manchester almost inevitably lead to Sackville Gardens, a small park on the edge of the Gay Village. There is a monument to Alan Turing, the pioneer of modern computer science, who was convicted of his homosexuality in 1952 and died two years later. The bronze figure on the bench is a quiet, much-visited place and the center of the vigils with which Pride begins every year. In the immediate vicinity, a memorial commemorates the victims of HIV and AIDS.
The Gay Village itself is more than a nightlife mile, it is living history. This is where England's modern gay pub culture emerged early on, and since 1985 Manchester Pride has been held every August, making the district famous nationwide. The television series "Queer as Folk", which took place on Canal Street at the end of the 1990s, attracted international attention. If you want to understand the queer side of the city, combine a walk through the Village with a detour to Sackville Gardens and take the time to actually read the plaques and monuments. The People's History Museum also offers a more in-depth look at the history of social movements and queer emancipation in the city.