Manchester Audio Tour: Art, Culture, Legend

Explore Manchester at your own pace

A secret war once raged beneath the towers of Manchester, while masterpieces and mayhem have brushed shoulders on rain-soaked streets. Manchester's story is hidden in the echoes between galleries and gothic halls.

On this self-guided audio tour, wander beyond the surface to unlock tales of rebellion, art, and ambition that most passersby overlook. Every turn uncovers secrets and surprises lying just out of sight.

Who tried to topple Manchester's Town Hall-and nearly got away with it? What ghostly presence still lingers amid the marble in the Art Gallery? Why did a single night at Manchester Arena change music history forever?

Photo: William McCue, Unsplash

Tour details

• Duration: 1 hour 57 minutes, entirely at your own pace
• Distance: around 5.7 km (3.6 miles)
• Stops: 15 landmarks, including Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Town Hall, Free Trade Hall
• Audio: up to 38 minutes of narration
• Starts at: Manchester Art Gallery

Map data by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors

How it works

• Book here and a redemption code arrives by email within minutes.
• Download the free AudaTours app on your phone and enter the code.
• Download the tour once and the whole thing works offline.
• Walk to the first stop and press play. The audio for each landmark starts automatically as you approach it, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

There is no fixed date and no start time. The date you pick at checkout does not matter, and the tour stays on your phone permanently, so you can use it whenever you next visit and walk it again as often as you like.

What is included

• Professionally narrated audio that plays automatically at each stop
• An interactive map showing the walking route between landmarks
• Full offline access once downloaded, so you need no data or signal
• Freedom to start, pause and resume whenever you like
• Lifetime access - your code never expires

Photo: Mylo Kaye, Unsplash

Where you will stop

• Manchester Art Gallery
• Manchester Town Hall
• Free Trade Hall
• King Street, Manchester
• St Ann's Church, Manchester
• Manchester International Festival
• Manchester Cathedral
• Manchester Arena
• Urbis
• Manchester Arndale
• The Portico Library
• Alan Turing Memorial
• Palace Theatre, Manchester
• Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
• The Haçienda

Image: AudaTours

What is AudaTours?

AudaTours turns a walk through a city into a story. Our guides bring landmarks to life with the history, the scandals and the detail you would never get from a plaque.

• Immersive: real stories about the places in front of you, not a dry commentary
• Offline: download once and use it with no data, anywhere
• At your own pace: start, pause and resume whenever you want
• Accurate: every story is built from verified historical sources and checked before release

Good to know

• This is a self-guided audio tour on your own phone. There is no in-person guide.
• It does not include entry to any building or site along the route.
• The landmarks on the tour are not affiliated with AudaTours.
• You need a smartphone with Android 7.0 or later, or iOS 16 or later.
• Bring headphones and start with a charged phone.

Who it suits

Solo travellers, couples, families and small groups who would rather explore on their own schedule than follow a guide and a fixed departure time. It suits a first visit, and it suits anyone who has already seen the famous sights and wants to know what actually happened in them.

Image credits

Photos: The Haçienda (Wikimedia Commons, public domain); William McCue, Mylo Kaye (Unsplash).