Deansgate – Celebs, Cocktails and a True Shopping Bonanza

Isn’t it fascinating how each city has a street that you identify the whole place with? Paris has its Champs-Élysées, New York Broadway and for Manchester, it’s Deansgate.

I have read somewhere that you could spend the whole day on Deansgate, starting off at the Hilton and work your way up to the Manchester Cathedral and you wouldn’t get bored even for a second. It’s true, from wallet draining shopping spots, great bars and restaurants, celebs passing you by all the time to breathtaking landmarks, it’s all there.

If you are coming to the city and are looking for one place to spend your city break in, here’s a short guide to Deansgate, the one street you have to visit in Manchester.

Deansgate begins in Castlefield, right beside the Deansgate Railway Station and runs up to the Victoria Street, a mile away north from its starting point, ending right beside one of the finest landmarks of the city, the Manchester Cathedral.

Deansgate is primarily associated with shopping, fact. One of the things that strikes you once you get there is the abundance of big brands everywhere. House of Fraser, Waterstones and many others have their main retail outlets there.

But, shopping is not all, many of other finest city’s enterprises can be found on the famous on the street. Manchester Evening News have their offices right on Deansgate. Grenada TV is just around the corner, and as a result, you can spot many TV personalities strolling by on the street. It’s not uncommon to have a drink in a bar sitting beside Coronation Street stars or pass by Wayne Rooney on the sidewalk.

The Old Grapes, a pub owned by Liz Dawn, actress that plays Vera Duckworth is right off the Deansgate too. Another must visit club there is The Moon Under Water. This 820 square metres big, welcoming 1700 guests club has been featured in the Guiness Book of Records as the largest public house in Britain.

Shops and clubs aside, other notable landmarks you might want to have a peak at include The Great Northern Warehouse, a former railway goods warehouse, an impressive construction now redeveloped into a leisure complex, a cinema, casino and a set of bars.

John Rylands Library, an early 1900′s library that also stands as a monument to the city’s first multi-millionaire is on Deansgate also. Amongst the library’s vast collections are unique medieval manuscripts, the original Gutenberg Bible as well as the first edition of James Joyce’s Ulyses.

While on Deansgate, it’s hard to miss the Beetham Tower. It’s the tallest building in Manchester, eight tallest in the UK and, the highest residential building in the country.

Designed in a modern, glass and metal style, the building is 47 storeys tall, with first 23 occupied by a Hilton hotel and the rest used for private apartments. A triplex penthouse at the very top is occupied by the very architect that had designed the Beetham Tower, Ian Simpson.

And, if you want to reside close to the street, there are lots of various serviced apartments in the vicinity of the Deansgate.

Deansgate is not a place to miss if you are coming to Manchester. So, if you are coming to the city, make sure that you plan for a day on this famous street.