Piccadilly Gardens

- City Tower, Market Street, Monument to Queen Victoria


Piccadilly Gardens is a large square and gardens in the heart of Manchester. and traffic hub for the yellow trams and the blue double deckers. At Piccadilly Gardens you find a lot of sculpture and fountains, such as the Monument to Queen Victoria and the Wellington statue. The modernist 30-storey, 107m tall City Tower, built in 1965, is situated right next to the square. It is currently the 3rd tallest building in Manchester (2016), next to it stands the futuristic "hanging" Mercure Hotel. You can also find a lot of pubs in the area, and street musicians. During our visit there was a nice food market on the square. The hip Northern Quarter neighbourhood begins here, as well as the road Piccadilly, where you find the Piccadilly railway station. In 2001 the square was reconstructed by Leslie Jones Architects. During my visit Piccadilly Gardens was under renovation, so the large fountains, the gardens, the sculpture were not visible and the 53m high high ferris wheel called the Wheel of Manchester, was sadly enough demolished in 2015. So no opportunities there to take great skyline photos for us.

There are lot of obscure types in this area, especially after dark, such as homeless people, drunk youngster and drug dealers, so beware!

The shopping street called Market Street begins at Piccadilly Gardens, where you find department stores such as Debenhams. There is a really charming second hand store near the square, that sell everything from books and records to toys!

City Tower, Piccadilly Gardens 01 City Tower, Piccadilly Gardens 02 City Tower, Piccadilly Gardens 03 City Tower, Piccadilly Gardens 04 Monument to Queen Victoria, Mercure Hotel, Piccadilly Gardens 06 Piccadilly Gardens 01 Wellington Monument, Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly Gardens 05 Piccadilly Gardens 07 - double deckers Piccadilly Gardens 08 Piccadilly Gardens 09 Piccadilly Gardens 10 - Market St Piccadilly Gardens 11 - Market St, trams Piccadilly Gardens 12 Piccadilly Gardens 13 Piccadilly Gardens 14 Piccadilly Gardens 15 Piccadilly Gardens 16 Piccadilly Gardens 17 Nice second hand store near Piccadilly Gardens Nice second hand store near Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly Gardens 21 Piccadilly Gardens 22 Piccadilly Gardens 24 Piccadilly Gardens 25 Market Street 01 Market Street 02 Market Street 03 Market Street 04 Market Street 05 Market Street 06 Market Street 07