Manchester Town Hall

Went here for a gala dinner to celebrate the launch of Cathay Pacific’s flights from Manchester to Hong Kong. The venue is stunning for functions. At the entrance the stairs were lit up with hundreds of candles and my eyes were instantly drawn up to the ceiling. We all gathered outside the main room for drinks and canapés then we were ushered in to take our seats at very beautifully decorated tables. I had never been inside the town hall before but I know you can take a tour of the building and I’d heard great things. It’s really beautiful inside and it looked fab lit up in coloured lights.
The food was the town hall’s own catering and it was superb. The chef cooked up a fusion of Asian and British cuisine. Starter was steamed fillet of bream, rice and seaweed crackers, crab salad edame, miso and hazelnut. Main was coal roasted sirloin of kings valley beef, roasted broccoli and sesame emulsion, lightly picked mouli, fermented bean reduction, shin dumpling & aromatic mini fondants. Dessert was coconut milk pannacotta, mancha green tea sponge, papaya & lychee.

I had a day off yesterday so decided to take my camera for a walk around Manchester. And since it was Halloween, where better to go for a snoop than one of the city’s spookiest buildings, the Town Hall?
i wandered up various breathtakingly beautiful, gothic staricases and had to remind myself that I wasn’t on the set of a Harry Potter film. It was just so damn dark, eerie and magical.
I think I may have gone off the beaten track a little but I’m so glad I did. With nobody around, I crept through a narrow corridor and found myself in the Great Hall — a vast, magnifent space with a 6ft high organ at one end, walls decorated with murals by Ford Madox Brown, illustrating the history of the city and a stunning ceiling featuring the names of the cities which Manchester trading with back in the day. What a find!
I did hope to catch a glimpse of some sort of ghost or ghoul but I guess maybe they only come out at night. However, that didn’t stop me from having a frightfully good walk around one of Manchester’s most majestic works of architecture.

It’s hard for me not to give this place 5 stars as it’s where I was married a few years back — happy days! It’s also strange because when reviewing a place like the town hall, it’s such a multi functional building that it can be used for all sorts of events and is host to many a different event over the year.
We were married upstairs in one of the main function rooms which was a stunning setting and basically proved that you don’t need to have a church wedding to experience amazing architecture and a classic timeless setting. Everything from the moment our guests arrived at the entrance to the point we were popping confetti on the steps was just what we were after and the town hall has to be known as a great setting for the perfect wedding!
As well as being home to many events through the year like the MIF pavilion, Christmas markets (some are inside the town hall entrance) and the offices for the council it’s also one of the most iconic parts of the city — always first on TV shows and on media prints.
If you’re attending the town hall then lucky you and it’s also worth just popping in to check out the architecture — there’s also a nice little café downstairs!

Truely magnificant Victorian architecture.

Historical, yet, fully utilized. The building is alive.

Last night I was lucky enough to attend an event at Manchester Town Hall. It was Grant’s True Tales (
), and it was absolutely spectacular. I experienced a whisky tasting, some exceptional cocktails and personal, entertaining stories told by some very interesting people, including that lovely Alistair McGowan, one of the country’s nicest comedians.
But most of all I got to see the Town Hall, full access. We all know it’s an incredible building, but ascend the stairs, see the mosaic tiles on the floor and the bees which adorn them, go into the main hall and see what event managers can actually do with the space. We saw logos projected on walls amidst the ornate windows, heard the soft buzz of the live music from the Food and Drink festival outside, drank some beautiful whisky cocktails and got to meet a bunch of like-​minded people.
Even if you’re not someone who falls in love with buildings the way I do so quickly and willingly, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be overwhelmed by the Town Hall. It’s staggeringly big, as beautiful as any cathedral, and it’s steeped in history that’s practically tangible as you walk around. But the cherry on the icing? Even the toilets are stupendous! Adding a lovely lavvy into the mix just finishes it off now, doesn’t it…

Laut reisefuehrer ist das rathaus die wichtigste attraktion in Manchester. Ich kann das nicht bestaetigen, gibt nicht viel zu sehen. (wichtigste attraktion: old trafford, theatre of dreams)

There are several reasons why I like the Town Hall. First of all, because it looks amazing. The architecture reminds me of old London. You know, them old buildings, in a gothic way, that look very scary in the night time, especially when it’s raining. No, it’s not from a horror movie, it’s just my imagination. Let’s move on, shall we? Whoever designed this amazing building, was an artist. Everything looks perfect. And because we live in Manchester, and it’s cloudy all the time, you will find it perfect to take photos of the Town Hall. It will look very artistic and English in a way.
The other reason why I like the Town Hall, is because reminds me of the Christmas Market. And gives me a warm, good feeling. When the square is so busy, and full of happiness. Now I miss Christmas.
And of course, I love Manchester’s Town Hall because of a personal reason. When my mother came to visit me, that was the first place she saw. When I came to Manchester and I was walking around to investigate the city, I fell in love with the building as well. You can check out its history. Everything related to that place, is wonderful.

I take this place for granted. Its a nice building but I’ve never been wowed by it. Sadly its my home from home as i work here. let me explain something about the architecture of Victorian public buildings. They start off impressively grand on the ground floor and then get less intricate and impressive the higher up you go. I work on the top floor.
However just looking at the photos on this site has made me appreciate the aesthetics of the place and see it through less jaded eyes and I recently toured the building and really enjoyed it. The council chamber, ante room, state rooms and grand hall are well worth seeing especially given the fact that entry is free. The building recently doubled for Parliament in the Sherlock Holmes film and you can see why, its a pretty good substitute!
Sadly a lot of the building such as the side corridors and clock tower are off limits to the public but the staff here are all friendly and security somewhat laissez faire so just wander off and if anyone stops you just say you’ve got lost or mutter ‘no hablo ingles’ and they’ll soon leave you alone! Also be sure to visit the Sculpture Hall tea room before you leave.

Manchester Town Hall truly is an incredible and awe-​inspiring building. It’s fantastic that this kind of stunning history and architecture can exist only a few streets away from the blandness of the Arndale Centre.
It’s Victorian, Neo-​Gothic architecture is imposing and stands tall over Albert Square. Inside, there are of course hundreds of council workers but an exclusive venue for weddings and functions too.
The Town Hall is an amazing part of Manchester’s city centre, and well worth a visit.

For all of its dingy alleyways, creepy back-​streets and sinister neighbourhoods, Manchester is also home to a great deal of beautiful buildings such as the Central Library, Opera House, and of course, the Town Hall.
Standing in the Town Square looking up at it you realise just how magnificent a structure it is, and how mammoth a task it must have been building such a place without the modern aid of complex machinery and computers to aid in design. Whether night or day, it casts an awe-​inspiring shadow over the city centre and is a gathering point for the city’s many tourists.
There’s always activities going on throughout the year, and the town square is often involved in these. The big event is the Christmas Market from November to December, and as much as I hate it, it remains a massive selling point for the city’s tourism industry.
Throughout all of this though, the town hall stands as a sign that for all of its drunken students and grumpy locals, Manchester remains an important and historical significant city.

Manchester Town Hall… not particularly exciting in itself unless you like old buildings!!! Just kidding.
I went here for my cousin’s wedding and it was lovely, it was really well organised and it was a really beautiful day. It was a bit weird having the ceremony in one room and then moving just next door for the reception but it was very nicely done.
The Town Hall’s square outside is the best part about it as it plays host to various different events throughout the year. The most popular by far have to be the Christmas Markets which run from mid-​November until Christmas. Other than that though they also hold Manchester’s very successful International Festival which was in October this year and also Manchester’s Food and Drink festival too!
Quite often you’ll see little one day/​week events taking place too and it’s nice as it’s right in the heart of the city and the events are usually good for all the family.

I went to a wedding here, & it was a great venue; they had candles up & down the staircase, & it was a really good alternative to a church as its still had lots of character but meant the bride & groom didn’t have to have a religious ceremony to get that

This is a magnificent building both inside and out and is definately worth a visit. It’s often overlooked, and I think people don’t realise that you can go inside but it is a beautiful building.
They do various tours so it’s worth enquiring.
They also have events here throughout the year and many are open to the public.
You can also get married here, and it would be a truely lovely place to do this. They can accomodate a wedding party however big or small and the prices are very good — it definately won’t be your usual town hall wedding it will be very special.
Go and look at the architecture you will be amazed.