But it seems like the titles just won’t stop coming, as now, renowned media company Time Out has released its fifth annual list of the best cities in the world to visit right now – and Manchester has made the cut.
Every year, more than 20,000 people in cities around the world are surveyed for the Time Out Index to identify the best places to visit right now, and this year, the company has also decided to tap into the expertise of Time Out’s global network of local editors and city experts to compile the annual ranking.
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Last year, the list focused on how cities pulled together through the COVID-19 pandemic through community spirit and resilience, but for the 2022 ranking, Time Out says its has added extra weight to the things that make cities great places to visit as well as to live.
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for 2022 / Credit: Unsplash (Josh Taylor | Chris Curry)
This means that the top cities this year are places that excel at going out, including eating and drinking, art, culture and museums, and nightlife, and they are places that locals rate highly for fun, for beauty, and basically, aren’t boring, overly expensive or overrated.
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To make for an even more enjoyable break, the top picks also score well for practical factors like walkability, good public transport, safety, and sustainability.
And Manchester has taken the overall 11th spot on the list.
According to Time Out, us Mancs have voted our city as the second friendliest, with 74% of locals’ votes, and it also came second for its resilience (67% of residents), and the third best for progressiveness (65%) – however, out of all of the global cities surveyed, Manchester received the least votes for its beauty, with only 11% of residents surveyed rating its looks.
The city has taken the overall 11th spot on the annual Time Out Index 2022 / Credit: Visit Manchester
Also, after topping the list for nightlife last year, Manchester doesn’t even feature in the top three this time around, but Time Out pointed to there being “great things to do on the horizon”, with the upcoming opening of arts venue The Factory, and the Castlefield Viaduct highline-style park.
Edinburgh has taken the top spot on the 2022 list, followed by Chicago, Medellín, Glasgow, and Amsterdam rounding out the top five, and other UK cities like Birmingham and the capital of London also making an appearance on the longlist.
“The Time Out Index 2022 combines the experiences and opinions of more than 20,000 people in hundreds of cities around the world,” explained Dave Calhoun – Chief Content Officer North America & UK at Time Out.
“This year, we are showcasing the cities that locals, and our editors, not only love living in, but that we think everyone should be visiting.
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“Our list of the Best Cities in the World provides the ultimate travel bucket list.”
Featured Image – Flickr
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New interactive map shows where to find 500+ Manchester venues with air conditioning
Emily Sergeant
Do you feel that? Yeah… it’s getting warmer outside.
After all, it is only early July, so we can’t be expecting that the only heatwave (or so to speak) we’re going to get this year has already been and gone, can we? It stands to reason that the sun would grace Greater Manchester with its presence once again before this season’s out – and according to the Met Office, that time has come.
The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising for the next couple of weeks, but if that’s not really your bag, then luckily someone has made a new interactive map that shows where all of the bars and restaurants that have air conditioning are in the city.
There are more than 280,000 pubs, cafes, restaurants, and bars in England and Wales, but only around 8,000 (3%) of them are confirmed to have air conditioning.
The good news, though, is that around 500 of them are in Manchester, and thanks to Where’s Cool, we now know where they are.
A new interactive map shows where to find the 500+ Manchester venues with air conditioning / Credit: Where’s Cool | MCC
Founded by Thomas Chivers, Where’s Cool has been created by a combination of thorough research of Food Standards Agency and public MHCLG Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) data, as well as public contributions.
So, where a venue’s EPC says it has ‘cooling’, it gets marked as confirmed on the map, and then it’s up to the public to fill in the gaps by simply telling Where’s Cool whether a place has AC or not, and eventually, once a few people agree, the map updates.
“I created this Map in May in the middle of the first heatwave,” explained creator Thomas Chivers.
“I’m really glad I did, because we’re now somehow on our third and it’s only July. I needed to find somewhere cool to work because my flat was far too hot to work in.
“For those of us, like me, who work from home without aircon, it’s become a necessity to know where we can go with our laptops when the temperature starts to creep above the 30 degree mark. Hopefully the Where’s Cool map can be useful in helping others find a place to go and cool off, as well as helping out the hospitality venues who can always do with the customers.”
You can see which Manchester venues have air conditioning on Where’s Cool here.
Featured Image – Eric Anderson (via Unsplash)
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Road to Victory is all set to turn Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl into the latest World Cup fan zone
Danny Jones
Manchester’s smash-hit Road to Victory is hoping to bring its first-ever open-air World Cup fan zone to the city, as the event is set to take over Castlefield Bowl – on one condition.
It’s just the simple matter of if/when* we make it through.
The famous amphitheatre might be in the middle of their 2026 edition of the annual Sounds of the City festival, but given that England have advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2026 tournament, they’ve naturally decided to make some changes.
It might not be in time for this next game against Norway, but should we make it past the Scandinavian side, Castlefield Bowl will be welcoming roughly 9,000 fans for the semis and (touch wood) the final.
Announced this week, the Road to Victory (RtV) team – backed by production company and promoters AIX Live, who specialise in multi-sensory, immersive fan experiences – is pledging to move into their latest Manc venue for the upcoming fixture at the very least.
Having started over at Depot Mayfield before moving to the likes of Diecast and most recently AO Arena, they’re planning to make the most of the ongoing heatwave by securing the beloved Bowl.
With the Manchester Storm ice hockey team returning to the Arena, they’ve had to vacate ahead of preparations, but it could mean that we’re now looking at one of the biggest outdoor supporter parks in the country, let alone the North West.
Once again, we’ve already had The K’s, Wet Leg and Johnny Marr play the multi-date music series this year, and there are more concerts booked, but some understandable exceptions are now being made.
Obviously, how many Road to Victory dates we get here all depends on whether or not Thomas Tuchel’s side make it past Haaland and co., but it’s sure to be a memorable night nonetheless.
Should the boys make it to the semi-final, tickets for the supporter park right after the match and, unsurprisingly, the demand is expected to be huge. For context, more than 40,000 joined the party for the 2022 World Cup, and the previous Euros final in 2024 sold out the AO Arena. Wow.
With that in mind, we’d say be quick on the draw and get down early with doors from 5pm, as the Road to Victory pre-show will kick things off pronto, alongside live DJs, entertainment and bars – all of which promise to deliver an unparalleled festival-like matchday atmosphere.
You can get ready to register your interest and grab yours as soon as they go on sale right HERE; in the meantime, if you’re still wondering where the best places to watch England vs Norway in Manchester are, look no further:
Emily Sergeant -
12th July 2022 
