Manchester nightlife is compact and it runs on two calendars. From September to New Year's Eve, The Warehouse Project fills Depot Mayfield, a former railway depot next to Piccadilly station. All year round, the night lives in smaller rooms: basements in the Northern Quarter, venues along Oxford Road and the bars of the Gay Village around Canal Street. Most clubs close at 03:00 or 04:00, and Cruz 101 keeps going until 08:00 at the weekend. Everything central is walkable, so one night can cover three areas. Worth knowing: the last trams leave around midnight, 01:00 on Friday and Saturday, so know your night bus before you go in.
Ranked by popularity. Tap a card for opening hours, door tips, getting there and tickets.
For the drinks before and after. Hours, prices and the best nights are on each page.
The season changes the city. The Warehouse Project runs from September to New Year's Eve at Depot Mayfield, beside Piccadilly station, and in 2026 the season runs from 18 September to 31 December. Those are the big nights. Outside the season, the smaller clubs carry the weekend on their own.
Most of the good rooms are basements you can walk between. Soup, Stage & Radio and Night & Day Café are a few streets apart in the Northern Quarter. YES, Joshua Brooks and Gorilla sit around Oxford Road station. Hidden is the exception: a converted textile mill north of the centre, near Manchester Victoria.
The trams stop before the clubs do. Metrolink runs until midnight, or 01:00 on Friday and Saturday, and most clubs close at 03:00 or 04:00. After that it is a £2 night bus from Piccadilly Gardens, Shudehill or Albert Square, or a taxi.
Hidden won DJ Mag's Best Club award in 2024, and The Warehouse Project books some of the biggest names in dance music every autumn.
Band on the Wall, Albert Hall, Gorilla, The Deaf Institute and Night & Day Café all have bands on most weeks, often followed by DJs.
The Gay Village around Canal Street has bars, drag, cabaret and Cruz 101, open since 1992 and still running until 08:00 at the weekend.
Schofield's Bar was ranked 59th in the World's Best Bars in 2022. Cloud 23 pours on the 23rd floor of the Beetham Tower.
Port Street Beer House has 18 keg and 7 cask lines, and Cask Ancoats has 27 keg lines on the marina.
Night & Day Café runs free DJ nights, and a Bee Network bus fare is £2 a ride.
Not for you if you want a huge club every weekend of the year. The Warehouse Project is an autumn season, and the year-round rooms are small, close at 04:00 and sell out on big nights.
Pints in the Northern Quarter or Ancoats. Gigs at Band on the Wall and Soup start between 19:00 and 19:30.
Cocktails in Spinningfields or on Deansgate, or a second bar on Oldham Street.
Club doors. Hidden and Cruz 101 open at 23:00 on Friday and Saturday.
Last trams on most nights. On Friday and Saturday they run until 01:00.
Closing time at Hidden, Soup, YES and Stage & Radio. Night bus or taxi home.
Cruz 101 closes after its Friday and Saturday nights.
Depot Mayfield, two minutes from Piccadilly station, from September to New Year's Eve. Most big nights sell out, so buy from the official links only.
The basement at Soup on Spear Street and the VOID-powered basement at Stage & Radio on Port Street both run until 04:00 at the weekend.
A Swan Street venue with a licence on the site since 1803, reopened in 2022 with room for 520.
Drag and cabaret at Via until 02:00 or 04:00, then Cruz 101 on Princess Street until 08:00 on Saturday morning.
Cloud 23 on the 23rd floor of the Beetham Tower, then a walk to Schofield's Bar in Sunlight House, open until 01:30.
The Oldham Street café-bar has run since 1991. Its Saturday DJ nights are free to get into.
The densest area for a night out: Soup, Stage & Radio, Band on the Wall, Night & Day Café, Port Street Beer House and Science & Industry, all walkable from Piccadilly Gardens.
Old cotton mills turned flats, restaurants and beer bars. Cask Ancoats on the marina and wine at Blossom Street Social. Drinks and dinner, not clubs.
Depot Mayfield sits beside Piccadilly station and hosts The Warehouse Project from September to New Year's Eve. Out of season it is quiet after dark.
Bars on Canal Street, Richmond Street and Bloom Street, with Via, G-A-Y and Cruz 101. The latest finish in the city.
YES, Joshua Brooks, Gorilla and The Deaf Institute, all close to Oxford Road station. Busy in term time, with plenty of student nights.
Albert Hall on Peter Street, Cloud 23 at the top of the Beetham Tower and canal-side terraces at Dukes 92. A good start, rarely a late finish.
Schofield's Bar and the 20 Stories rooftop. Polished, pricier and mostly finished by 01:30.
Hidden in a former textile mill near Manchester Victoria, and The Loft, a 200-capacity Funktion-One room on New Street. Plan the trip home before you go.
Clubs are 18+ and want photo ID: Cruz 101, Joshua Brooks and Hidden all say so on their listings. Most doors are relaxed about clothes. The exceptions are the smarter bars: Cloud 23 turns away sportswear, tracksuits, gym trainers, caps and flip flops, and Schofield's Bar takes no fancy dress or football shirts and groups of six at most. The Warehouse Project has run a no-phones policy at some events since 2025.
It ranges from nothing to £45. Saturday DJ nights at Night & Day Café are free. Gigs at Soup and Night & Day cost £14–16 in advance. Via on Canal Street charges from £5 on some nights. A Warehouse Project ticket in 2026 costs from £35 plus fees, and £44.45 for a Concourse night.
Metrolink trams run every 15 minutes until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 01:00 on Friday and Saturday. After that, Bee Network night buses leave from Piccadilly Gardens, Shudehill Interchange and Albert Square: the 142 runs down Oxford Road to East Didsbury every 15–30 minutes, and the 43 goes to the airport every half hour until 03:35. A single fare is £2, and a £5 day ticket is valid until 03:59 the next morning.
| Club entry | Free–£45 (≈€0–53) |
| Pint in a bar | £5–8 (≈€6–9) |
| Cocktail | £9–14 (≈€11–16) |
| Cloakroom | Varies by venue; The Warehouse Project sells lockers in advance |
| Night bus | £2 single, £5 day ticket (≈€2.34 / €6) |
| Taxi across town | Metered; check the fare in the app before you book |
| Late-night food | Varies; takeaways around Piccadilly Gardens stay open late |
| Hostel bed, weekend | Varies; book early for Warehouse Project weekends |
Free DJs at Night & Day Café, three pints in the Northern Quarter and the £2 night bus home.
A £15 gig, a cocktail, four pints and a £5 bus day ticket.
Cocktails at Cloud 23, a Warehouse Project ticket with fees, drinks until 04:00 and a taxi back.
Midnight from Sunday to Thursday, 01:00 on Friday and Saturday. After that it is a night bus or a taxi.
The 142 runs down Oxford Road to Didsbury every 15–30 minutes, and the 43 goes from Piccadilly to the airport every half hour until 03:35.
Many 2026 nights sold out early. WHP warns that resale tickets from third-party sites can be fake.
Cruz 101, Joshua Brooks and Hidden are 18+ with photo ID, and Cloud 23 runs Challenge 25 after 17:00.
It takes a few bookings a day and groups of six at most. Arrive early on a Friday or Saturday.
The bar and kitchen under the Oxford Road arches serve food and drinks whether or not there is a gig.
The first season, in 2006, was in the disused Boddingtons brewery in Strangeways. It moved to Store Street under Piccadilly station, then to Depot Mayfield in 2019.
In the 1930s the landlord, Ernie Tyson, put the stage high on the far wall of the pub, and the nickname stuck.
Built in 1908 as a Wesleyan Methodist hall, it ran as the nightclub Brannigans from 1999 to 2011 and reopened as a music venue in 2014.
43 Port Street was Club 43, where Ronnie Scott played, long before its basement club opened.
Most close at 03:00 or 04:00. Hidden, Soup, YES and Stage & Radio close at 04:00 at the weekend. Cruz 101 in the Gay Village stays open until 07:00, and 08:00 on Friday and Saturday nights.
The Northern Quarter for bars and basement clubs. The Gay Village for the latest finish. Oxford Road for student nights and gigs. Spinningfields and Deansgate for cocktails.
No. Metrolink runs until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 01:00 on Friday and Saturday. Night buses take over from Piccadilly Gardens, Shudehill and Albert Square.
About £25 for a cheap night with free entry and a few pints, £60 for a gig and drinks, and £120 or more for a Warehouse Project night with a taxi home.
From September to New Year's Eve at Depot Mayfield. In 2026 it runs from 18 September to 31 December, beside Piccadilly station.
Rarely. Most clubs are relaxed. Cloud 23 asks for smart casual, with no sportswear or caps, and Schofield's Bar refuses fancy dress and football shirts.
See which clubs and bars are open right now, who is playing and where to get tickets. Live in four cities, with more on the way.
