It’s official… Manchester Christmas Markets have been named the best in the UK, according to a new analysis for 2023.
Of course, us Mancs already knew this, but it’s always nice to have it confirmed, right?
In case you hadn’t heard, Manchester‘s flagship festive event has officially returned to spread some cheer right across the city centre for another year, as the annual Christmas Markets opened to the public on Friday 10 November.
The iconic annual event is an absolute staple in Manchester’s festive events calendar, and always draws in thousands of visitors from all across the globe each year.
More than 225 stalls have now popped up across nine sites throughout the city centre, with iconic ski chalet-style market stalls having taken over Piccadilly Gardens – which has once again been transformed into the ‘Winter Gardens’ – as well as Market Street, Cathedral Gardens, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Square, The Corn Exchange, and King Street.
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The little wooden huts lining our streets give visitors the chance to tuck into a wide range of festive foods and drinks, and shop for Christmas gifts from countless independent traders.
Manchester Christmas Markets have been named the best in the UK for 2023 / Credit: Flickr
It’s not uncommon for Manchester Christmas Markets to regular feature among the conversation when it comes to naming the country’s best Christmas markets, but this year, a new analysis by online car-buying platform, cinch, has seen our city’s annual festive event come out on top as the absolute best the UK has to offer.
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The team over at cinch looked at looked at TikTok popularity, average hotel costs, predicted days of snowfall, and the duration of 35 different market events to come up with a top 10 list that determines the best Christmas markets to visit for a festive road trip this year.
Manchester has taken the top spot on the list, and is closely followed by the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, and fellow North West neighbours Liverpool.
It’s according to a new analysis by cinch of 35 Christmas Markets nationwide / Credit: Manchester City Council
#ManchesterChristmasMarket is the most viewed hashtag on TikTok, with a whopping 13.3 million views, while the analysis found that the average cost of an overnight weekend stay is £246.84 during December.
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Due to Manchester’s average of 1.3 days of snowfall in December, there’s only a 0.042% chance of snowfall at the markets.
Manchester markets last 42 days, making it the 13th longest of the markets in the study.
Top 10 best Christmas Markets in the UK for 2023
Manchester
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Glasgow
Aberdeen
Birmingham
Hyde Park (Winter Wonderland)
Leicester
Belfast
Canterbury
Glasgow, Birmingham, Belfast, Canterbury, and London’s iconic ‘Winter Wonderland’ in Hyde Park are some of the other cities to claim top 10 spots.
Speaking on the findings of the new analysis, Sam Sheehan – who is the Motoring Editor at cinch – said Manchester is “the place to be” for anyone looking for “the ultimate Christmas market experience” in the country this year.
He explained: “According to our findings, Manchester is home to the best Christmas market in the UK.
“Receiving a whopping 13,300,000 views on TikTok, as well as offering festive food and fun for 42 days, it’s no surprise that Manchester’s Christmas market stands at the top of our merry list.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Microdot exhibit for BRITs 2026: the artwork of Oasis, Verve and more up in Manchester Piccadilly
Danny Jones
If you’ve passed through Manchester Piccadilly of late, you might have noticed two things: one, it’s really quiet, and two, there’s loads of cool Britpop merch and memorabilia on display, including original Oasis, The Verve, Inspiral Carpets art and more – all courtesy of Microdot.
Set up as part of the city’s own BRITs celebrations, along with a raft of other nationwide festivities, as the annual music award ceremony prepares to make its Manc debut at the Co-op Live this month, the showcase features special edition frames and more, all pride of place in the middle of the train station.
This collection, simply entitled ‘A Microdot Design’, is all done by the legendary Brian Cannon, the graphic designer and art director behind so much recognisable visual material within the genre.
We recently had the honour of speaking to the man himself in person ahead of Piccadilly’s temporary closure; you can see our interview with him right here:
The Wigan-born artist and visionary didn’t just make promotional materials for some of the biggest bands in the 1990s; he’s responsible for what has gone on to become some of the most familiar iconography in British music history.
With this pop-up exhibit available for a limited time only, we strongly urge you to go along and, for once, take your time rather than rushing around the station as you peruse the boards placed right near the main entrance.
Charting his work from circa 1990 up until now, it’s crazy to see just how many of Brian and Microdot’s fingerprints are all over so many different bands and artists.
From native names like Oasis, The Verve and the Inspirals, as mentioned, as well as the likes of Cast, Super Furry Animals, Suede and Ash, plus so many more, this guy has been nothing short of prolific over the past few decades.
Audio North took a little tour of the King Street South unit last year in the lead-up to Oasis Live ’25 reunion world tour, and we felt like kids in a Britpop sweetshop.
While this site has sadly since closed, shutting up shop back in July, Brian’s mini, modest, but nevertheless magic Microdot Boutique up in the Lake District is still standing.
Located in the popular North West town and tourist attraction, Kendal, it’s worth a trip there to see more of his portfolio alone.
Currently on display at Manchester Piccadilly ahead of the full 2026 BRITs Week and shindig at Co-op Live, it’s one of the best completely free things you can do in town at the moment – but the exhibition finishes on Sunday, 1 March, so make sure you don’t miss it.
Speaking of the BRIT Awards, if you’re wondering what else is on as 0161 gets ready welcome them for their two-year stint (at least), look no further…
Two brothers from Oldham are beating out the likes of Taylor Swift in the iTunes charts
Danny Jones
A pair of brothers from Oldham who simply go by Two Connors are now holding on to the top spot in one of the biggest iTunes charts, and they’re beating the likes of Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny and many more.
Stuff your global music stars, we’ll back a duo from Greater Manchester all day long.
Danny and Callum Connor, a couple of blokes from Oldham in their mid-30s, are currently number one in the iTunes singles charts with their latest song, ‘Familiar Faces’, but this isn’t the first time they’ve gone big with a release online.
Carving out their own little corner not only in the old Lancashire borough but a small pocket in the UK’s wider grime, drill, rap and hip-hop scene, they’ve only gotten bigger over the last 18 months or so.
After releasing their first two tracks back in 2024, Callum and Danny have been on a very gradual rise, but they quickly gained a cult local following in and around Oldham.
Writing about life and around the area, with high personal and anecdotal lyrics that feel like niche references and in-jokes specifically for‘Roughyed’ residents – it’s not just music by them but FOR them.
In addition to recording their own unique cover of ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran, they also went fairly viral for releasing a music video featuring crowds of local children.
Putting their own chant-based chorus slant on ‘Hi Ho, Hi Ho, “It’s off to Work We Go”‘, written by Mitch Miller and The Sandpipers (yes, as in the main theme from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), it was a fairly radio-friendly tune that was easy for kids and more to sing along with.
With various other natives getting involved in the music video, joining them on the town centre streets and lip-syncing the lyrics, it was circulated online all over Britain and beyond.
You can watch it in full down below.
Fast forward to February 2026, and not only have they grown their following across the region, but even further afield now, as it turns out; currently sitting ahead of ‘Opalite’ from worldwide smash-hit album, The Life of a Showgirl, who needs big label backing, eh?
Bringing smiles to even more Greater Mancs by quite literally shining the spotlight on ‘Familiar Faces’ and punters from nearby pubs such as The Up Stepps Inn and former nightclub Sruples, it is a real tribute to their homeland.
Only time will tell how long they’ll cling to that iTunes top spot, but with nearly 73,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and counting, they might be one of the biggest music names to come out of OL in some time.
In other big news over in Oldham, on the sporting side of things, RLFC are staring down yet more uncertainty, with local hero Bill Quinn also wrapping up his time at the club.
Emily Sergeant -
20th November 2023 
