Manchester’s Christmas activities will finally make a return to Albert Square for the first time since 2019, the council has confirmed.
The beautiful square in the heart of the city has been largely closed off for the last few years while the Town Hall is carefully restored, in a project known as Our Town Hall.
Before that it was the beating heart of the city every winter, filled with wooden huts for the Manchester Christmas Markets and overlooked by the giant light-up Santa.
Now, Manchester City Council has confirmed that ‘most of’ Albert Square will be made available this year to support this year’s Christmas programme.
There’s been no mention of the city’s biggest festive event, the Manchester Christmas Markets, but rather plenty of hints of ‘Christmas events’.
ADVERTISEMENT
The latest report on the Our Town Hall project says that works on the the transformed and enlarged square will be ‘resequenced and accelerated’ so the Albert Square can be ready for a ‘welcome winter return’.
More details of the festive attraction will be shared later in the year.
ADVERTISEMENT
The skilled contractors working on the Town Hall are now 80% of the way through the ‘construction’ phase, with completion currently pencilled in for August 2026.
Albert Square in Manchester will host Christmas events again in 2025. Credit: The Manc Group
When it reopens, it will include a new free visitor attraction which will open up the Town Hall’s history to the public.
Deputy Council Leader Councillor Garry Bridges said: “We know Mancunians and visitors alike are looking forward to having their town hall and their civic square back and better than ever and it’s great that we can now look ahead to that.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We are developing a civic square to rival the best in Europe and it will be exciting to see it pilot Christmas events this year ahead of a full permanent opening next year.
“We look forward over the course of this year to announcing more details about Christmas in Albert Square and how people in Manchester can help us celebrate the reopening of their magnificent town hall.
“We’ve overcome so many challenges to get to this point and while the unique nature of the project is such that some inevitably still remain, we believe the end result will be something special.”
The Our Town Hall report will be considered by the Council’s Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee when it meets on Thursday 6 March.
The project is continuing to operate within its revised £429 million budget, adjusted in October last year, but some residual risks remain. A further update report will be brought forward this summer once negotiations with the management contractor have concluded and the completion date is confirmed.
Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can avoid the madness
Daisy Jackson
The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY – so we’ve picked out the top pubs providing refuge from it all.
Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.
And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with toy town mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.
But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.
And by respite, we mean a pub.
So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.
North Westward Ho, Chapel Walks
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc GroupNorth Westward Ho’s traditional interior. This pub is near the Market Street and King Street Christmas Markets
This stunning pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Albert Square, Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens AND King Street Christmas markets hubs.
Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building into a pub serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.
And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria StationThe Victoria Tap is one of the cosiest pubs near the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets
The Victoria Tap is a beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.
You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.
Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.
Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.
This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.
Like an oasis in the desert, Cafe Beermoth is one of those pubs that provides serious Christmas Markets salvation when you need it most.
The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.
You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.
But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.
If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.
Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.
The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.
There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.
The pub is also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the Christmas Markets ice rink.
Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.
Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.
It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.
AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.
Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.
There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.
At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.
52 Cross St, M2 7AR
ADVERTISEMENT
The Rat & Pigeon, Back Piccadilly
The Rat & Pigeon is a lovely cosy pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
It will come as a surprise to precisely no one that the so-called ‘Winter Gardens’ at Piccadilly Gardens are possibly the most hectic spot of all in town.
Which is why we’d highly recommend slipping away to The Rat & Pigeon, where the Crown & Kettle team have transformed the former Mother Macs pub into a three-storey pub.
Each floor provides you with a different vibe, whether your evening involves a pint and a dartboard or a cocktail and a giant disco ball.
If you really want to get away from the crowds trudging the streets of the Manchester Christmas Markets, you need to get underneath the streets.
ADVERTISEMENT
Welcome to The Gas Lamp, a subterranean, tiled-wall haven where local craft brewery Pomona Island dominates the taps and fridges (alongside plenty of other great pints).
It’s also a paradise for whiskey drinkers and is just a quick dart beyond the King Street markets.
50a Bridge Street, M3 3BW
Mulligans of Manchester, Southgate
Mulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans. Credit: The Manc GroupMulligans is one of Manchester’s top pubs and a good escape from the Christmas Markets
Is Mulligans a quiet pub? Absolutely not. But if you can get yourself a seat in one of its cosy corners or snugs, with a steady stream of Guinness in front of you, it’s one of those places you won’t want to tear yourself away from in a hurry.
This legendary Irish boozer just off Deansgate makes for a perfect escape in winter, where there’s live music seven days a week and top-quality Irish stout on the taps.
ADVERTISEMENT
Last year they opened up a brand-new bar upstairs, but it’s still the cosy original pub downstairs that we try to cram into when the Manchester Christmas Markets are too much to bear.
Rochdale to be filled with fiery sculptures for return of dazzling Ignite Fire Festival
Daisy Jackson
A magical trail of fire sculptures and light installations will return to Rochdale this month, spilling across the square and gardens around the almighty Rochdale Town Hall.
Ignite Fire Festival will be back in town this winter between 21 and 23 November, for three free nights of spectacular shows, light trails and family-friendly entertainment.
That’s alongside an ice rink and Christmas market, too.
It’s all in the lead-up to the festive lights switch-on and will include a 20-strong drumming collective, blazing fire sculptures, and illuminated installations.
This year’s Ignite Fire Festival will be the biggest yet, Rochdale Borough Council has promised, with artworks created once again by multi-award-winning outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank.
The event will kick off on the Friday of the festival with a torchlight procession to officially launch the new Broadfield Slopes, which has been carefully restored to deliver new pathways and parkland in the town centre.
Thousands of people are expected to attend again, for an evening that includes flaming hot performances from some of the north’s top talent and ‘Drum Machine’ – the 20 strong drumming collective will be bringing their techno infused beats.
Rochdale Ignite Fire Festival. Credit: Walk the Plank / Alan Hamer
There‘ll also be hot food, mulled wine and other seasonal drinks.
Rochdale’s Ice Rink by Santa’s Village will also be open and running until 4 January, although advance booking is advised.
Councillor Sue Smith says: “Ignite Fire Festival and Christmas Light’s Switch On has been a huge hit with audiences across Greater Manchester.
“This year, with the addition of a new illuminated trail around our beautifully restored slopes area, the ice rink and the return of a Christmas Market it really will be the ultimate winter experience.”
Ignite Fire Festival, sponsored by car supermarket The Trade Centre UK, will open from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 November, with dazzling shows between 5pm and 8pm.
One of the installations from last yearDisplays will be open to walk through each eveningRochdale Ignite Fire Festival. Credit: Andy KruczekExpect flaming hot performances from some of the north’s top talent.Credit: Rochdale Borough CouncilBack again for 2025 is ‘Drum Machine’. Credit: Supplied
Then there’ll be the Christmas lights switch-on taking place from 5.30pm on the Sunday, with Father Christmas and his special guests, including the Mayor of Rochdale.
Ignite is organised by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency in partnership with Culture Co-op, funded by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The festival is also supported by The Casey Group – the contractor responsible for the restoration of the Broadfield Slopes, who will have plant equipment at the event to inspire future careers in the construction industry and highlight opportunities available.
BRSK – the full fibre broadband provider is also supporting, and will have a presence at the festival.
Find out more about Ignite Fire Festival in Rochdale HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
27th February 2025 
