14 Best Sights in Manchester, Liverpool, and the Peak District, England

This 1930s structure was once the biggest municipal library in the world, and today its circular exterior, topped by a line of Doric columns and a massive Corinthian portico facing St. Peter's Square, is a major focus for Manchester's most prestigious civic quarter. Notable sights within the library are a British Film Institute archive, a free-to-view collection of 2,000 films and TV programs relating to the United Kingdom and its people (including more than 100 depicting life in Manchester and the Northwest); the Henry Watson Music Library with a DJ-mixing desk and instrument collection that is free to use; and the Children's Library, as well as free Wi-Fi, displays on local history, and a convenient café.

The thought-provoking exhibits in this striking, aluminum-clad building, which architect Daniel Libeskind described as representing three shards of an exploded globe, present the reasons for war and show its effects on society. Hourly Big Picture audiovisual shows envelop you in the sights and sounds of conflicts while a time line from 1914 to the present examines objects and personal stories from veterans showing how war changes lives. Excellent special exhibitions cover everything from life in Britain during the Blitz to artistic responses to conflict. The museum is on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in The Quays, across the footbridge from the Lowry. It's a five-minute walk from the MediaCityUK stop of the Metrolink tram.

Owned by the University of Manchester, this Gothic Revival masterpiece designed by Alfred Waterhouse was built by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands as a memorial to her husband, a cotton magnate. Constructed of red sandstone in the 1890s, the library resembles a cathedral and contains some outstanding collections of illuminated manuscripts and beautifully illustrated books. Among the many highlights are the oldest known fragment of the New Testament in existence, dating from around AD 100; an original Gutenberg Bible; and several works by William Caxton (c.1417–92), who introduced the printing press to the English-speaking world. There's a lively temporary exhibition program as well.

This University of Manchester--owned museum is located in a superb Gothic Revival building with modern add-ons. Its latest extension had added a superb South Asia gallery and a Chinese culture gallery. Embracing anthropology, natural history, and archaeology, it features one of the U.K.'s largest ancient Egyptian collections as part of the extensive Ancient Worlds galleries, a beautiful Living Worlds gallery designed to raise questions about our attitude towards nature, and a vivarium complete with live frogs and other amphibians and reptiles. A lively events program for all ages helps lure in repeat visitors.

The venue's historic buildings, one of which is the world's oldest passenger rail station (1830), hold marvelous collections relating to the city's industrial past and present, although conservation, restoration, and expansion over the next few years will mean certain areas are off-limits or obscured by scaffolding. You can walk through a reconstructed Victorian sewer, be blasted by the heat and noise of working steam engines, see cotton looms whirring in action, and watch a planetarium show. Allow at least half a day to get the most out of all the sites, temporary exhibitions, talks, and events.

This University of Manchester–owned art museum is beautifully—and uniquely—integrated into the surrounding parkland through its art garden, sculpture terrace, orchard garden, and landscape gallery. Some of the free events and activities take you into the park itself, including children's outdoor art clubs. The renowned collections inside the gallery embrace British watercolors, Old Master drawings, postimpressionist works, wallpapers, and an outstanding textile gallery befitting a city built on textile manufacturing. There's also a learning studio for families and a "café in the trees" overlooking the art garden, with a seasonal British menu.

Site of an early Roman fort, the district of Castlefield was later the center of the city's industrial boom, which resulted in the building of Britain's first modern canal in 1764 and the world's first railway station in 1830. It has been beautifully restored into an urban park with canal-side walks, landscaped open spaces, and refurbished warehouses. The 7-acre site contains the reconstructed gate to the Roman fort of Mamucium, the buildings of the Museum of Science and Industry, and several bars and restaurants, many with outdoor terraces. You can easily spend a day here. The site is also currently home to the Castlefield Viaduct Sky Park, inspired by New York City's High Line. This green oasis with more than 3,000 plants is open to 100 people a day with advanced booking.

The oldest public library in the English-speaking world (founded in 1653), as well as the meeting place of Marx and Engels when the former visited Manchester, is now an accredited museum. Among its collection of over 100,000 printed works—including some 16th- and 17th-century books and journals—are the economics books that Marx read here. Tours are available at 11 am and 2:30 pm weekdays via advance booking.

Behind an impressive classical portico, this splendid museum and its sparkling modern atrium houses an outstanding collection of paintings by the Pre-Raphaelites and their circle, notably Ford Madox Brown's masterpiece Work and Holman Hunt's The Hireling Shepherd. British artwork from the 18th and 20th centuries is also well represented. The second-floor Craft and Design Gallery shows off the best of the decorative arts in ceramics, glass, metalwork, and furniture. The Lion's Den (Clore Art Studio) is a creative space for families while the Derek Jarman Pocket Park pays homage to the eponymous artist's iconic garden in Dungeness, Kent.

The city's sandstone cathedral, set beside the River Irwell and originally a medieval parish church dating in part from the 15th century, is unusually broad for its length and has the widest medieval nave in Britain. Inside, angels with gilded instruments look down from the roof of the nave, and misericords (the undersides of choristers' seats) in the early-16th-century choir stalls reveal intriguing carvings. The octagonal chapter house dates from 1485. There are free guided tours on Mondays through Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm.

This striking, glass-skinned triangle of a building includes a galaxy of footballing (soccer) memorabilia, from historic trophies, souvenirs, and shirts (many of them match-worn and signed by legends of the sport) to such near-sacred items as the ball from the 1966 World Cup—the last time England won the sport's ultimate prize. There's also lots of interactive fun to be had, like in the penalty shoot-out area.

Not everyone in 19th-century Manchester owned a cotton mill or made a fortune on the trading floor. This museum recounts powerfully the struggles of working people in the city and in the United Kingdom as a whole since the Industrial Revolution. Displays include the story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre—when the army attacked a crowd of civil rights protesters in Manchester's St. Peter's Square, killing 15 and almost sparking revolution—together with an unrivaled collection of trade-union banners, tools, toys, utensils, and photographs, all illustrating the working lives and pastimes of the city's people.

Clad in perforated steel and glass, this arts center is one of the highlights of the Salford Quays waterways. L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) was a local artist, and one of the few who painted the industrial landscape; galleries here showcase the world's largest collection of his paintings alongside work by contemporary artists. The theater has three spaces showcasing everything from West End musicals and new works by up-and-coming theater companies to some of the U.K.'s most popular stand-up comedians. The nearest Metrolink tram stop is Harbour City, a 10-minute walk away.