Lincoln Statue is a great statue in the otherwise underwhelming Lincoln Square just off Brazenose…read moreStreet. It's full of character and stands tall above the small square. Clearly it's a bit weird that there is a statue of an America President in Manchester. But actually John Bright (whose own statue is in Albert Square) was an important ally to Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, encouraging Manchester to boycott Southern Cotton in protest at slavery. The Lincoln Statue was made by George Grey Barnard and was erected in 1919.

Anyone who visits Northern Quarter, or walks past Affleck's Palace or down Tib Street, will be…read moreamused by this creation. How would one describe it? To paraphrase the famous surrealist line, it is beautiful like a fortuitous encounter of a caterpillar and a saxophone within the remains of a red brick warehouse. As if this was not enough, there is a Freudian twist to it in the form of something that suggests the sculpture is of hermaphrodite nature, in that it has something female and male to it at the same time. Considering the status of Northern Quarter as the place for all things peculiar, the composition is a perfect fit.

Manchester Town Hall is located in Albert Square in the city centre - it is home to the main area…read moreof the city's famous yearly Christmas Markets. It is one of the nicer, older buildings in the city being built in the mid-1800s and in many ways is your typical victorian building. It has been refurbished of late and the town hall now has a small Post Office in the annexe - it is also well located being right next to Manchester Central Library and part of it is also in St Peter's Square, which is one of the main stops on the city's light railway transport, Metrolink. It is still used today for various reasons other than the Post Office, it also is a small base for the police and it can sometimes be used for voting counting in elections, more notably the 2016 EU referendum where the United Kingdom voted by majority to leave the European Union. The guide of finding key areas of the town hall could perhaps be displayed better, especially when approaching it from Albert Square and St Peter's Square, being quite large it does stretch across both. A really nice old building in the city with some use today - as far as town halls go this is pretty cool. 4*

Last night I was lucky enough to attend an event at Manchester Town Hall. It was Grant's True Tales…read more(http://www.grantswhisky.com/uk/truetales/about), and it was absolutely spectacular. I experienced a whisky tasting, some exceptional cocktails and personal, entertaining stories told by some very interesting people, including that lovely Alistair McGowan, one of the country's nicest comedians. But most of all I got to see the Town Hall, full access. We all know it's an incredible building, but ascend the stairs, see the mosaic tiles on the floor and the bees which adorn them, go into the main hall and see what event managers can actually do with the space. We saw logos projected on walls amidst the ornate windows, heard the soft buzz of the live music from the Food and Drink festival outside, drank some beautiful whisky cocktails and got to meet a bunch of like-minded people. Even if you're not someone who falls in love with buildings the way I do so quickly and willingly, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to be overwhelmed by the Town Hall. It's staggeringly big, as beautiful as any cathedral, and it's steeped in history that's practically tangible as you walk around. But the cherry on the icing? Even the toilets are stupendous! Adding a lovely lavvy into the mix just finishes it off now, doesn't it...

Exchange Square in Manchester is one of the cities coolest, more modern areas, located at the back…read moreof the Manchester Arndale, here there is the entrance to the Printworks, and even The Corn Exchange, which has also been revitalised recently, with so many more eateries being added there such as Pho and a new restaurant from Gino, the chef from This Morning. Exchange Square was one of the areas hit by the 1996 bombing of Manchester from the IRA, and since then they seem to have done a great job bringing it back to life again. There is a new metrolink station from Exchange Square, providing travel across Greater Manchester, and it is a short walk to Victoria Station, Manchester's 2nd largest station. In Exchange Square, there also is a Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, which adds a higher-end feel to the area, but still it is a nice place to shop and look around, and defiantly worth paying a visit when in Manchester, as it is really central, just being outside one of the exits to the Arndale. There also is a lot of coffee shops here with Café Nero and Starbucks all having stores, Second Cup also opened their first ever store in the UK here since expanding into the nation and now have 3 stores, including stores in London and Birmingham. The Wheel of Manchester was also located here before it was taken down as the owners were not paying their rent. There isn't much else to say about Exchange Square but it is quite a nice, cool area of Manchester which has been greatly improved and they have worked hard since the IRA bombing of Manchester in 1996 strongly affecting it.

Exchange Square is a lovely part of Manchester, and clever too. Cleverly reconstructed after the…read moreinfamous IRA bombing of 1996, this area is a perfect sun trap in Manchester. Well fitted with rows of seating and a large screen autotuned to the BBC, this area is very rarely empty. It's sad that the wheel has left this area as many people knew where they were due to the landmark and now many people (including me!) can be found wondering why we've taken it down and replaced it with a pop up bar which has missed the nicest weather Manchester has seen in a while? Something to do with the new metrolink city crossing I'm sure. I often walk through this area on my way to guide at the Cathedral but have also been known to watch the ballet here when it was beamed and screened from London. Lovely area but the 3 stars reflects some of the eateries and general lack of atmosphere in the area. Great when the beeb is screening something engaging or when the sun is out but otherwise a bit neglected by the masses.

Ahh, I really do like Albert Square. It's no open and pleasant and spacious. It's a great place to…read morecome and grab some lunch and just hang out for a few minutes in the middle of the day. If you get the right bench, you can get close to the Jubilee Fountain, which is a small, ornate fountain that always works because it's from the olden days when building a water feature wasn't so difficult. If it's windy, watch out, I've walked past this fountain and got a mini-soaking a couple of times from a gust catching the water and giving your face a good splattering.

The Albert Memorial is the centrepiece of the various pieces of architecture in Albert Square. Even…read morewhen this square is full of German Christmas markets during the festive period, this memorial is so huge that it still manages to stand well above everything that is going on. Prince Albert was Queen Victoria's husband and died in 1861. He was honoured by such an extravagant statue because of the people of Manchester's appreciation of his support for public education in the arts. This statue was the first structure to be placed on Albert Square and even preceded the Town Hall which the statue now faces. I really like this statue, I think it's grand and impressive.

Another one of the small statues in Albert Square. Oliver Haywood is another fabulous local chap…read morewho truly did deserve a great statue in Albert Square. Oliver Haywood was a local banker who gave a lot of his money and wealth to local charities like Cheetham's Hospital, the Mechanics' Institute and Owens College. Haywood's statue was sculptured by Albert Bruce-Joy and was erected in 1894. Oliver Haywood lived from 1825 to 1892.

St Ann's is a good multi purpose area for Manchester, even if it is often overshadowed by the more…read moreopen and upmarket Albert Square down the road. Surrounded by all the usual high street shops like Holland and Barrett, coffee from Starbucks - plus there's some good high street banks here still like HSBC and Barclays (I know... a bank you can actually walk into and do banking stuff still exists in town...) The best thing on offer though are the travelling markets which come and go pretty much every month - there's always something going on here so definitely worth checking out any time of the year - especially the Xmas ones from mid Nov to Dec.

St Ann's is currently holding its annual (I think?) Feast Market. A collection of food stalls all…read morein one convenient place - especially when you work close by, like me! Although St Ann's isn't the biggest public space in Manchester, there are plenty of traders to choose from. It can be hard to take everything in, especially when your stomach's growling and you know you're short on time, but it's worth it trust me. Don't dive in to the first thing you see! You can choose from a Turkish grill serving up different flavours of chicken in wraps, Indian, Chinese, Thai Pies, regular pies, hog roast (the same stall from my previous review and well worth a visit!), fudge, nuts, cakes and breads. There's even a bar serving up beer, wine and prosecco if you feel the need. What more could you want? On this visit - and I'm sure there will plenty more, as I always love walking back into the office with something exciting and everyone then mentally planning their next lunch break - I just went for a cheese and bacon pastry from Martin's, along with a slice of flapjack. The pastry was gone in minutes and the flapjack served very well as a naughty hangover breakfast.

What an incredible piece of artwork in Piccadilly Gardens. The monument is large and pays a great…read morehomage to Queen V. It was unveiled in 1901, just after her death. This piece of public art depicts Queen Victoria on a throne, holding an orb and a scepter. Onslow Ford was the sculptor who created the bronze statue, which was initially intended to be created of marble. It is my understanding that Queen V. felt bronze would be more weather-appropriate. Nice piece of history to take in if you find yourself at Piccadilly Gardens.

Now over 100 years old (the statue, not Queen Victoria), this statue of Britain's longest serving…read moremonarch sits right in Piccadilly Gardens. The statue is oversized. Perhaps that is why this statue represents Queen Victoria as plump and grumpy. Or maybe it's just the expression that the sculptor has left on the subject's face. Sure, this is an impressive statue, but it doesn't possess the elegance or pomp of the Wellington statue just down the way.