In case you somehow missed it, even in all of its beaming neon and futuristic glory, Pixel Bar Manchester has recently undergone some serious renovations and we’re not just talking a lick of paint – this is a proper next-gen upgrade if we’ve ever seen one.
One of the city centre’s best activity spots and go-to hubs for gamers, specifically, Pixel Bar has been impressing Manc players since 2021, when it took over the old Bar 21 site – one we were sad to say goodbye to at first.
But in the few short years that we’ve had the pleasure of picking up pads at this place, we’ve slowly managed to get over it and now we’re just as madly in love with the gaming gaff as we were its predecessor.
The bar itself was already pretty engaging to begin with but after more than a few tweaks to the overall hardware and a major refitting downstairs, its videogame offerings are bigger and better than ever.
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Let’s start with the first thing that hits you as you come in: those brilliant booths, complete with large LED screens, access to various different kinds of consoles and all manner of titles, all from the comfort of the plush padded seating.
Not only are these ideal for group bookings and parties, as they’re roomy enough to seat plenty of you, but you can also order a wide array of gaming-themed food and drink – still displayed within a cute little disc (cute) directly to your table.
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You essentially never need to get up and take a break from playing beyond nipping to the loo.
There are, of course, your classic arcade machines dotted around the main floor as well as downstairs if you prefer old-school.
Credit: The Manc Group
Speaking of downstairs…
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Now, this is where the levelling up gets seriously silly as not only have they transformed Bar 21’s old basement room into a shiny new large seating area, perfect for private hires, large groups or just a quieter room out back away from the bustle upstairs.
However, wander even further into the belly of this brilliant gaming venue’s lair and you’ll find there more than a few beasts waiting for you – in a good way.
Part of the former club room has now been turned into a hardcore gamer’s arena with a fully decked-out PC den and some extremely impressive rigs lining the walls.
Credit: The Manc
Boasting Razer keyboards, headsets and mice to boot, this has everything you need to host a proper old-school LAN party or for the esports hopefuls amongst you (and Manchester’s scene is growing fast, believe us), host competitive online tournaments.
Honestly, these guys are taking this stuff as seriously as you’d like them to; pull back a curtain plastered with UltaGear and Riot Games Play Club branding and you’ll even find a dedicated casting booth should you want some to commentate a live event or run a properly presented livestream.
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We don’t need to go into the exact specs of what you’ll find down here as we could be here forever but let’s just say you won’t go wanting for much.
God knows how much Pixel Bar pumped into this major refurb of their Manchester site, all we know is we’re impressed and we’ll be coming back here very soon.
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 26 May – 1 June 2025
Emily Sergeant
It’s bank holiday Monday and schools are out for half term.
May has been in full bloom for the last couple of weeks, especially as Manchester Flower Festival is still here, and with June arriving at the end of this week, there’s absolutely no shortage of things for the whole family to be getting up to in Greater Manchester.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? No worries.
We’ve chosen a few of the highlights for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide, both free things, and those that’ll set you back a few pennies too.
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The Dachshund Pup Up Cafe
Manchester City Centre
Monday 26 May
The Dachshund Pup Up Cafe / Credit: Supplied
Are you a big dachshund fan? Love seeing lots of little sausage dogs in the same place? Looking for your little pup to make some sausage friends? Don’t even have a sausage dog but want to join in on the fun anyway?
Well you’re in luck, as the Dachshund Pup Up Cafe is back in our city for its second time this year… and what better day than bank holiday Monday.
Organisers are expecting more than 250 dachshunds to join in on the fun this time around, and there’s loads for them to look forward to.
Manchester Flower Festival 2025 / Credit: Manchester BID
Manchester is blooming with colour once again as the city’s annual Flower Festival has returned this late May bank holiday weekend.
Now in its eighth year, and always billed as being the city’s most Instagrammable event in the annual calendar, The Manchester Flower Festival is a fabulous floral spectacle that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors into Manchester city centre.
This year’s festival, which is organised annually by Manchester BID, is celebrating Manchester and other great cities around the world.
From the vibrant tulip fields of Amsterdam, to the urban energy of New York’s Statue of Liberty, and the high-tech influence of Singapore, this year’s theme is wide open for interpretation, and offers contributing gardeners the chance to showcase their designs which interpret the beauty of cities through iconic landmarks, floral heritage, or personal connections to global hotspots.
The GM Walking Festival is back for 2025, and it’s bigger than ever.
Coordinated by Greater Manchester Moving, and organised in alignment with National Walking Month, the month-long celebratory festival invites people from all across the region to experience the joy of walking and wheeling throughout May.
The festival brings together more than 400 free organised group walks hosted by local organisations and community groups in every borough of Greater Manchester.
Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You / Credit: Science Museum Group
You can plunge headfirst into the incredible world of our senses at a new immersive museum exhibition that’s now arrived at the Science and Industry Museum.
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Back by popular demand after a successful run over these past two years, but with a fresh new adventure lined up for 2025, Operation Ouch! is giving you the chance to journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.
Tickets to Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You are now on sale, and visitors are being told to prepare themselves for an “epic exploration of the senses”.
Stories – Brought To Life / Credit: The Manc Group
A major new National Portrait Gallery exhibition has arrived in Salford.
The ground-breaking new experience by FRAMELESS Creative has opened at MediaCity, bringing some of the world’s most famous portraits to life like never before.
Stories – Brought to Life will explore the fascinating lives of these figures, who have shaped the UK’s history and culture all the way since the Tudor period, and will combine the highest quality digital projection, Hollywood-style visual effects, and the latest audio technology, along with specially created musical scores and creative narratives to shine a new light on each individual.
Visitors will be able to step inside iconic portraits including Grayson Perry, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Emmeline Pankhurst, Queen Elizabeth I, and William Shakespeare.
Balcony Greening Workshops / Credit: National Trust
Free balcony greening workshops are happening across Greater Manchester this spring to help people create their own ‘mini wildlife havens’.
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The National Trust is on a mission to help city dwellers create their own green spaces through its ‘Sky Gardening Challenge’, with the conservation charity encouraging people with balconies to ‘grow and green’ the town or city they live in from skyline spaces in the hopes that it’ll enhance their connection to nature and improve their wellbeing, all while helping wildlife thrive at the same time.
City dwellers can get a free balcony gardening guide, free seeds, and free workshops in collaboration with lots of brilliant community organisations across the region.
Classes are happening across the borough on selected dates up until 7 June, and you can find out more and book here.
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COMING SOON – Circolo Popolare
St Michael’s
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COMING SOON – Circolo Popolare / Credit: The Manc Group
Get ready to say Ciao to Circolo Popolare, Manchester’s newest Italian restaurant opening over in Gary Neville’s fancy St Michael’s development early next month, because we got to have a little look around and can confirm it’s an absolute feast for the senses.
From the jasmine-covered ceiling to the windows full of vintage booze bottles, all the way down to the hand-painted crockery, she’s certainly a looker.
On the menus you’ll find authentic Neapolitan pizzas, huge pasta bowls, authentic plates, and a gigantic wibbly-wobbly tower of a lemon meringue pie – plus cocktails poured from animal-shaped jugs.
It’s officially opening on 6 June and this is one you want to get straight in your calendar.
L.S. Lowry’s iconic masterpiece ‘Going to the Match’ is being brought to life right before your eyes in this brand-new exhibition now open at The Lowry.
Lowry 360 is an immersive experience forming part of the legendary The Lowry theatre’s 25th anniversary programme, and it means that, for the first time ever, you can see one of Manchester’s most famous paintings by, arguably, the city’s most famous artist come to life through sight and sound.
Better yet, after you’ve immersed yourself in this incredible experience, then you can then see the actual painting in the full gallery – Modern Life: The LS Lowry Exhibition.
Legendary musical The Rocky Horror Show is back in Manchester this week.
Having been seen by over 35 million theatregoers since it first debuted, The Rocky Horror Show will be making a grand return to one of Manchester’s biggest stages this week, and it’s starring none other than Australian superstar, Jason Donovan.
The Rocky Horror Show tells the story of two squeaky clean college kids, who meet the charismatic Dr Frank-n-Furter when, by a twist of fate, their car breaks down outside a creepy mansion whilst on their way to visit their former college professor.
It’s described as being an adventure filled with fun, frolics, frocks, and frivolity, and you can find out more and get last-minute tickets here.
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Half Term 50% Off Pass
Oxygen at MediaCity
Monday 26 May – Sunday 1 June
Half Term Pass / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
Now that schools are out, families can get themselves one of Oxygen at MediaCity’s Half Term Pass, which gives pass holders the chance to visit the newly-opened £2.5m indoor activity park on any five days of the two-week break for 60 minutes of ‘Open Play’.
Weekends and the bank holiday are also included in the pass, so there’s plenty of time to go.
Kargo on the Docks / Credit: Supplied | Mark Waugh
Kargo on the Docks is back for the summer.
MediaCity’s al fresco dining pop-up has taken over the waterfront and gardens once again with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
A handful of Greater Manchester’s most popular independents have set themselves up Quayside inside those signature re-imagined shipping containers.
Foodies can expect a menu packed with bold new flavours including Caribbean, Lebanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, and Pan-Asian dishes.
Little Tikes x Bluey / Credit: Bluey | Wikimedia Commons
Fancy taking your little Mancs to meet Bluey herself this half term?
As schools across Greater Manchester are out for half term this week, toy manufacturers Little Tikes are heading to MediaCity, and bringing everyone’s favourite adventurous puppy Bluey along for the ride too… oh and better yet, it’s all completely free.
This day-long event – which is to celebrate the launch of Little Tikes and Bluey’s collaboration – will feature an abundance of Little Tikes toys for kids to try out, while parents can put their feet up and watch some Bluey on the big outdoor screen.
A popular festival full of pop-up live music, performance, food, drink, and family fun is back in Swinton this weekend.
Returning to the Salford town for the third year running at some of Swinton’s favourite venues and well-known locations, Swinton Sounds – which is a collaboration between Salford City Council and From The Other – is all about celebrating the local area and its vibrant community.
Throughout the weekend, local venues will welcome a lineup of Greater Manchester’s best musicians and DJs in a programme curated by the team behind the Sounds from the Other City festival.
Featured Image – Supplied | Pup Up Cafe | National Trust
Things To Do
You can get 50% off tickets at Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park this half term
Emily Sergeant
Families have the chance to visit Greater Manchester’s newly-opened indoor activity park for half price this half term.
In case you hadn’t already heard, Salford was chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, and officially opened the doors to its newest state-of-the-art equipment facility above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, inside the former site of I’m a Celebrity Jungle Challenge down at Quayside MediaCity, in mid February.
Since opening to the public, Oxygen MediaCity has already been helping lots of local families stay active while having fun at the same time.
Following a £2.5 million investment, the new park features more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more epic activities.
A series of optional games and dance parties are also on offer during each play session, and the new Manchester park also hosts ‘Peaceful Play’ sessions designed for neurodivergent guests, who prefer a calmer and quieter playing environment, as well as there being a ‘Toddler Venture Zone’.
A cafe serving drinks, snacks, and meals also overlooks the park, so once you’re all bounced out, you can recharge with a full feast from the new menu before heading home.
And thankfully, once schools are out again for half term next week, families can get themselves one of Oxygen at MediaCity’s Half Term Passes, which gives pass holders the chance to visit the park on any five days of the two-week break – including on weekends and the bank holiday – for 60 minutes of ‘Open Play’ between 26 May – 1 June.
Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park is offering 50% off tickets over half term / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
What’s more is that when pre-booking online, jumpers can add VIP Meal Deals to their order, which include a kid’s meal, slushie, and an ice cream or fruit bag for children for just £6, a toddler meal for just £4, or an adult meal, along with a bottled drink and ice cream for just £10.
Alternatively, guests can add a ‘Feed The Family’ bundle to their order when pre-booking tickets to secure a 20% saving.
For a limited time only, you can save some pennies and take advantage of the half-price offer by getting your hands on a Half Term Pass for only £30.
Danny Jones -
4th February 2025 
