Fresh travel advice has been issued today ahead of the opening of the Manchester Christmas Markets 2023, which will see millions of visitors flock to the city.
The huge festive event celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, with wooden huts sprawling across the city centre peddling gluhwein, bratwurst, and plenty of local fare too.
Its popularity can’t really be understated – around nine million visitors are expected to visit the seasonal stalls again this year – and with that comes a travel warning.
People are being urged to use public transport over the coming festive period, with other massive events taking place at the same time as the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Over the coming seven weeks, there’ll be more than 40 shows, concerts and performances at the AO Arena, as well as huge Black Friday sales and plenty of sporting action.
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It’s estimated that footfall to the city centre typically increases by 14% in the lead-up to Christmas, with Black Friday weekend seeing trips into the city centre increase by 36%.
So in 2023, TfGM is urging people to ‘travel smart’ and use public transport, walking and cycling to navigate the Manchester Christmas Markets and surrounding events.
TfGM has issued travel advice ahead of the Manchester Christmas Markets 2023. Credit: TfGM
Sean Dyball, head of customer experience at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “Whether you’re working, shopping, or celebrating, the Bee Network is right on your doorstep – helping to make public transport and active travel affordable and accessible to everyone in Greater Manchester.
“Public transport can often be cheaper and more convenient than travelling by car or taxi, including avoiding traffic and the hassle and cost of parking – not only helping to reduce your carbon footprint, but allowing time to relax and enjoy some leisure time on the way.
“It’s also the fastest way to get around, with 99 stops on the tram network, connecting people both to the city centre and local shopping hubs.
“And bus travellers can take advantage of low-cost fares such as £2 adult single ticket and combined tram-bus tickets, making an expensive time of year a little easier on the purse strings.
“Cycling, walking or wheeling are also healthy, cost-effective ways of getting around – particularly at the first and last leg of a public transport journey.”
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Events coming up in the next few weeks in Manchester include the Black Friday sales over the weekend of 24 to 26 November; the annual Christmas Parade on Sunday 3 December; and hundreds of Christmas parties expected to peak on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 December.
On the 16 December, Manchester City will face Crystal Palace, and there’ll be three shows of Disney on Ice at the AO Arena, which continue into Sunday 17 December.
Manchester city centre, Piccadilly gardens Christmas Markets
Around two million football fans will head to Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks, with Manchester United hosting Bayern Munich on 12 December and Pep Guardiola’s men welcoming title rivals Liverpool on 25 November.
More protests are also expected, which have seen thousands come to the city centre over recent weekends.
This has led to some tram and bus services being disrupted as the network works to enable the demonstrations to take place safely.
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There are 24 park and ride locations around Greater Manchester, where you can park for free and complete your journey by tram.
Those who have to drive into the city centre are advised to park closest to their route out of the city centre to ease congestion across town.
The Bee Network journey planner and travel alerts hub will help people to plan their journeys across Manchester this Christmas.
Massive festive event dubbed the ‘Glastonbury of Christmas’ is returning to the North West
Daisy Jackson
The North West’s most extravagant festive event, with everything from a frozen skating pond to a snow-covered world filled with elves, will return just outside Greater Manchester this winter.
Dubbed the ‘Glastonbury of Christmas’, LaplandUK recreates the home of Father Christmas himself right outside Greater Manchester.
The event was so popular last year, organisers are expecting more than one million people will join the queue for tickets when they go live this week – with tickets expected to sell out in hours.
Families who book tickets for LaplandUK – which range in price from £60 to £195 – will be greeted by hundreds of elves and other performers in a snow-covered landscape.
You’ll be able to visit the Lapland Toy Factory to make a toy for Santa’s sleigh; decorate gingerbead with Mother Christmas in the Lapland Bakery, as well as skating on a frozen pond and travelling through the Whispering Woods.
Every child leaves LaplandUK with a gift from Father Christmas.
The immersive experience takes around four and a half hours from start to finish, but the magic begins way before – ticket-holders are sent personalised invitation boxes (which you can pop in the freezer for extra magic for the kids).
LaplandUK has invested an additional £30m into its Cheshire site, which is the second location after a long-standing residency in Ascot.
Keeping this impressive festive event running are more than 2000 members of staff across the two sites.
It’s drawn in some very high-profile guests, too, with previous visitors including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Sir Elton John, and the Beckhams.
The Lapland experience is based on eight best-selling books, written by founders Mike and Alison Battle.
LaplandUK will run from 7 November to 24 December 2026, with tickets ranging from £60 to £195.
Tickets for LaplandUK Manchester go on sale from 10am on Friday 27 March HERE, with the waiting room open from 9am.
How and where to recycle or donate your Christmas tree in Manchester | 2026
Emily Sergeant
The new year is here, and the ’12 days of Christmas’ are up… which means it’s time for a fresh start.
Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve both feel like things of the past now, and for most of us, this is our first proper week back at work too, which means (if you haven’t already) it’s time to tackle the task of taking down and putting away all the festive decorations – even if it is one of the dullest times of the year and it signals that the magic of Christmas is over.
For those of us that opt for a real Christmas tree though, the end of the year always brings one question – now what do we do with it?
Manchester City Council has aimed to answer that very question by providing residents with a handful of different ways to recycle their Christmas trees to make sure they’re put to good use and don’t go to waste or get dumped.
Here’s the different options.
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Recycle it in your food and garden waste bin
You can recycle your Christmas tree by cutting it up and placing it in your food and garden waste bin, but you’ll need to make sure you take the following steps before doing so.
Remove all decorations and fairy lights
Take off the base or wooden block if your tree has one
Make sure the trunk is not thicker than your wrist. Wood thicker than your wrist is too big and can’t be put in the garden and food bin. Large trunks and wooden bases can be taken to a recycling centre.
Donate it to charity
Did you know you can donate your Christmas trees to charity? That’s right – for residents living in Manchester, all you’ll need to do is register your tree with national charity JustHelping, along with a donation towards the collection, and you can help a local hospice or charitable cause in the city-region.
The money raised will go to good causes in the area, including Moya Cole Hospice (previously St Anne’s Hospice), Francis House, and We Love Manchester.
You can find more information and register your tree here.
It’s time to take down and recycle our Christmas trees for another year / Credit: Myriam Olmz | Tanbir Mahmud (via Unsplash)
Take it to a local drop-off point
You can drop your real tree throughout January at:
Angel Meadow Park (entrance Old Mount Street) – M4 4HA
Wythenshawe Park and Gardens Athletics Track – M23 0PH
Heaton Park (Middleton Road entrance) – M8 4NB
Boggart Hole Clough (near the Visitor Centre) – M9 7DH
Patchett Street, off Hyde Road in Ardwick – M12 4RY
Bring it to your local recycling centres
And finally, wherever you live in Manchester, you can take your real Christmas tree – and even your artificial tree that is beyond reuse – to your local recycling centre for free of charge, but it’s worth noting that if you’re planning on using a van, pick-up truck, or a twin-axle trailer to dispose of your tree, then you’ll probably need to apply for a permit.
You can find information about your nearest recycling centre here.
Are you elsewhere in Greater Manchester? Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) has teamed up with local councils and charities across the region to provide Greater Manchester residents in all 10 boroughs with several different options for either recycling or donate their old Christmas trees.
Daisy Jackson -
7th November 2023 
