Manchester: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Manchester is a city of 568,996 people in United Kingdom (England), 51 m (167 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Manchester Airport (MAN), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 2,251+ places to stay.
Key facts
Open Manchester in Google Maps
Daylight in Manchester runs from about 7 h 33 min a day in late December to 17 h 7 min in late June (computed for 53.48° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Manchester is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Manchester Airport (MAN), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, whose 10,007-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL, 44 km), Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA, 57 km), East Midlands Airport (EMA, 94 km).
Flights to Manchester: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Manchester · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 2,251+ places to stay in Manchester (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 578 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (407), and 19 are five-star. Across 417 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.4 out of 10. Guests have left 721,007 reviews in total.
Hotels in Manchester: the full picture, and book
Our booking partner lists 5 hostels in Manchester, out of 2,251 places to stay of every kind — 0.2% of everywhere it lists in the city, a small share: this is a city where nearly everything on offer is a hotel or an apartment. Guests have left 10,588 reviews across them.
Hostels in Manchester: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 262 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Birmingham, 113 km — tours
- Dublin, 266 km (Ireland) — flights · tours
- Glasgow, 295 km — tours
- Sheffield, 52 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Leeds, 57 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Edinburgh, 282 km — tours
- Liverpool, 50 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Bristol, 227 km — tours
- Cardiff, 231 km — tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Los Angeles, Palembang, Chemnitz, Kanpur, Córdoba, Rehovot, Amsterdam, Saint Petersburg, Wuhan, Faisalabad, Aydın, Taldyqorğan, Amsterdam.
Common questions
Which airport serves Manchester?
Manchester Airport (MAN), 15 km (9 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Manchester?
About 568,996 people live in Manchester, across 116 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Manchester in?
Europe/London, currently UTC+1.
What currency is used in Manchester?
The Pound (GBP). Traffic drives on the left.
Are there hostels in Manchester?
5 of them, bookable on this site. Hostels in Manchester.
How many hotels are there in Manchester?
Our booking partner lists 2,251 or more places to stay in Manchester, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Manchester?
London (262 km), Birmingham (113 km), Dublin (266 km), Glasgow (295 km), Sheffield (52 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.