It can be tempting at the Manchester Christmas Markets to find one spot and stay in it, happily getting merry on beers and mulled wine – but you’ll be missing out on some of the amazing bars dotted around this year.
This year’s huge festive event has loads of great bars slotted in with the wooden huts selling gifts and festive food.
There are slushy cocktails, shimmering gins, and refreshing spritzes, as well as the usual Christmas drinks like mulled wine and Bailey’s hot chocolates.
The beauty of the markets too is that although they cover a massive chunk of the city centre, everything is within walking distance of each other.
So clear an afternoon in your diary, wrap up warm, and hit the Manchester Christmas Markets for the ultimate booze tour.
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The Windmill Bar, Winter Gardens
The Windmill Bar, Winter Gardens at the Manchester Christmas MarketsThe Windmill Bar, Winter Gardens at the Manchester Christmas Markets
Starting off strong with one of the Manchester Christmas Markets’ most iconic bars – the Windmill Bar.
This festive landmark is dominating Piccadilly Gardens (aka the Winter Gardens) this year.
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Grab yourself a pint of sweet cherry beer, or a classic mulled wine, to warm your cockles. It’s even got undercover, heated seating.
The Manchester Gin Bar, Winter Gardens
Gin fans unite – there’s a whole bar specialising in different flavours and perfect serves of the world’s best spirit.
The Manchester Gin Bar has sparkling Christmas cocktails like a Cranberry Fizz with prosecco and raspberry, and a whole menu of spritzes (because Aperol isn’t just for summer).
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Other flavours here include Parma Violet, blood orange, and plum vanilla.
Bar 3, New Cathedral Street
Bar 3 at the Manchester Christmas MarketsBar 3 at the Manchester Christmas Markets
This might be our favourite bar on the whole Manchester Christmas Markets, with great people-watching from all the shoppers walking along New Cathedral Street.
You can sip on shimmering pink prosecco cocktails with a view of the Corn Exchange.
And Bar 3’s fruity raspberry cider is an absolute must for everyone having gluhwein fatigue.
The Winter Bar, Cathedral Gardens
The Winter Bar at Cathedral Gardens at the Manchester Christmas MarketsThe Winter Bar at Cathedral Gardens at the Manchester Christmas Markets
The Cathedral Gardens site of the Manchester Christmas Markets may be the most family-friendly bit, thanks to its ice rink, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a cracking bar here.
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The Winter Bar has loads of themed Christmas cocktails, including a fruity The Grinch and a creamy festive The Snowflake.
You’ll be surrounded by pretty twinkling lights and the sounds of happy shrieks from the ice rink here too – it’s like a cheesy Christmas film in the best way possible.
King Street Craft Bar, King Street
King Street Craft Bar
King Street is definitely one of the best spots on the Manchester Christmas Markets, home to some of the best food traders and loads of places to sit and take the weight off.
As well as loads of beers and wines at the King Street Craft Bar, you can dive in on surprisingly festive slushy cocktails.
Flavours include ‘The Grinch’ (made with vanilla vodka and a lemon-lime slush), ‘Mad Santa’ (pink gin and strawberry) and ‘Yellow Snow’ (limoncello, vanilla vodka, and lemon slush).
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The Grumpy Moose, King Street
The Grumpy Moose bar at the Manchester Christmas MarketsThe Grumpy Moose bar at the Manchester Christmas Markets
It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a Baileys, and The Grumpy Moose on King Street has the most delicious boozy hot chocolates in town.
You can also get yourself a delicious gin cocktail, or an espresso martini to give you that final burst of energy to get back home again.
Where to eat on your way around the Manchester Christmas Markets
You do not want to tackle this brilliant booze tour without stopping for fuel on your way around.
So head to the Dirty Chicken Co on Piccadilly Gardens for some absolutely delicious loaded fries.
And if you can walk past the smell of toasted coconut wafting from Macaroons on Market Street without buying a whole tray, you’re a stronger person than we are…
Christmas WILL return to Albert Square this year, Manchester City Council confirms
Daisy Jackson
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’.
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.
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.
“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.
Gavin and Stacey Christmas special on course to break UK TV viewing figures record
Danny Jones
Gavin and Stacey is set to break yet another TV record as this year’s Christmas special and definitive series finale has become one of the UK’s most-watched scripted shows ever.
The iconic British comedy returned after a long hiatus to finally conclude the series with its first new episode in five years.
Delighting die-hard fans and comedy fans in general all over the country, millions tuned in to watch the last-ever Gavin and Stacey chapter – over 19 million, in fact.
With 12.3m watching the finale on Christmas Day alone and even more in the week following, the tally has now reached approximately 19.3m and counting.
📢 Gavin & Stacey: The Finale has become the UK’s highest rating scripted show with 19.3 million viewers and counting
Not only did this smash their own previous record of more than 18m set by the last Christmas special back in 2019 but it is well on course to cruise past the 20m mark when the official seven-day viewing figures are released, which is standard practice for assessing final ratings and viewing figures in the UK.
Almost a quarter of the viewers who helped achieve the feat were aged 16-34 as well, making it the largest young audience ever, according to the BBC.
The emotional reunion of the beloved cast looks set to see them surpass Coronation Street‘s record of 19.4m set in 2003 and could even see them beat the legendary British sitcom, Only Fools & Horses, which saw 21.3m viewers gather around the box for their 2001 Christmas day episode.
So, although the BBC states that it is the “most-watched scripted show across all broadcasters and streamers since current records began in 2002”, it still technically has a little way to go in order to match/surpass the biggest-ever tally.
That being said, when factoring in the stats from all live views and digital streams, the final numbers should see them over the line.
We had to be together to watch it go out tonight!Gavin and Stacey is a show about friendship and family. Tonight’s show has been a labour of love from start to finish and we hope you enjoy it.Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.Happy Christmas from us both #GavinandStaceypic.twitter.com/kUKMiXUEyL
Regardless of whatever seven or indeed 28-day figure they end up on, co-creators, writers and stars James Corden and Ruth Jones have been blown away by the success of the one-off comeback.
Writing by way of recognition and as a thank you to the fans, they said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the audience response to our show and to these astonishing viewing figures.
“Gavin & Stacey really does belong to the audience and we are beyond thrilled that so many people enjoyed watching it this Christmas. A huge thank you to Charlotte Moore and the BBC for backing us these past 17 years.”
The ratings and overall reaction to the show have also been overwhelmingly positive, with millions tearing up over the long-awaited storyline – even if some of those watching pointed out one little problem…
Moore, BBC’s Chief Content Officer, went on to add: “The numbers are truly outstanding, unprecedented even! It’s the show the entire nation has been talking about over the last week so it’s no surprise that it’s not only smashed its own record but has become the UK’s biggest scripted show.
“Ruth and James’ creation is a true homegrown success story, and their finale is a comedy masterpiece. It’s made us laugh and cry together in a way that only Gavin & Stacey can.”
The final viewership for the 2024 special will be published on Monday, 6 January and take into account viewings across all platforms up to Thursday, 2 Jan – they already look destined for another entry in the history books.
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2023 
