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Date spot in Manchester

Mackie Mayor

Share plates from a handful of independent kitchens at the long tables of a restored Victorian market hall.

Inside Mackie Mayor, diners at long tables beneath a glass roof held up by curved iron arches

Eagle Street, Northern Quarter

1 Eagle Street, Manchester M4 5BU

Why it's a good date: You each order what you fancy and swap halfway through. The glass roof and ironwork make it feel like an occasion, and it gets busy at weekends, so go early for a table.

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Photo: Duncan.Hull, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)

More from our Manchester guide

  • Afflecks' tall red-brick corner building, with arched windows and metal sculptures climbing the wall

    Afflecks

    Church Street, Northern Quarter

    52 Church Street, Manchester M4 1PW

    Rummage through four floors of independent stalls selling vintage clothes, records, posters and oddities.

    Why it's a good date: Set each other a small budget and a challenge, like finding the other the best thing for under a tenner, then compare your finds over a drink nearby.

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    Photo: Ivor Josephson, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)

  • Narrowboats moored on the canal at Castlefield, below a white arched footbridge and an iron railway viaduct

    Castlefield canals

    Castlefield, at the south end of Deansgate

    Castlefield Basin, Potato Wharf, Manchester M3 4NB
    • Outdoors
    • Free
    • Romantic

    Walk the towpaths around Castlefield Basin, where the Bridgewater Canal winds between old warehouses, railway viaducts and the remains of a Roman fort.

    Why it's a good date: A few minutes from the shops and it feels like another city, especially on a summer evening. The canal-side pubs give you somewhere to stop when you've walked enough.

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    Photo: Gillie Rhodes, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)

  • Heaton Park's green slopes and trees, with the Manchester skyline on the horizon under a cloudy sky

    Heaton Park

    Middleton Road, north Manchester, by Heaton Park tram stop

    Heaton Park, Middleton Road, Manchester M25 2SW
    • Outdoors
    • Free

    Explore one of Europe's biggest city parks, with woodland, a boating lake and a view of the Manchester skyline from the high ground.

    Why it's a good date: It's big enough to feel properly out of town, and the tram drops you at the gate. The rowing boats are seasonal, so check they're out if you fancy a turn on the lake.

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    Photo: Todor.iliev.doychinov, CC0 (cropped and resized)

From our guide to date ideas in Manchester

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