CATEGORY · RAINY DAY APPROVED
Museums in Manchester
Manchester does museums properly, and most of the best ones cost nothing. The Science and Industry Museum on Liverpool Road has engines and hands-on halls with a proper cafe, Manchester Museum on Oxford Road has dinosaurs and living worlds, and the Greater Manchester Police Museum in the Northern Quarter opens Tuesdays only, with a Victorian courtroom and cells to explore. The Pankhurst Centre, from £5, gives kids a garden to chalk in rather than just cases to peer at. For under-fives, Portland Basin Museum in Ashton-under-Lyne has a recreated 1920s street and a play area, free with free parking. Older children might prefer the shooting simulator at The Fusilier Museum in Bury (from £2.95, with free return visits all year) or the retired Concorde at Runway Visitor Park in Altrincham. Bolton Steam Museum is free and outdoor, good for watching real steam engines turn over. If you fancy a longer trip, World of Glass out in Saint Helens is free to walk round, with live glass blowing for a few pounds extra.
14 places 7 upcoming events 10 free to visit
What's on: museums
WED 7 OCT · +52 MORE DATES
A Great Betrayal? One Hundred Years On. The lessons of the 1926 strike revisited
Working Class Movement Library
Free
WED 7 OCT · +85 MORE DATES
Collection Spotlight case: Remembering Peterloo
People's History Museum
Free
FRI 9 OCT, 11:15 · +16 MORE DATES
Highlights Tours
Manchester Museum
From £5
SAT 17 OCT, 12:00
Meet the London Mining Network
Manchester Museum
Free
SUN 18 OCT, 12:00
Cheetham Cultural Festival 2026: Museum Open Day!
Manchester Jewish Museum
Free
FRI 13 NOV, 10:30
Finds ID
Manchester Museum
Free
FRI 20 NOV
Expert Led Guided Tours
Western Approaches
Places for museums
FreeAstley Hall
Chorley
Free entry to a 400 year old hall with a play area, a walled garden and a café for cake afterwards.
CaféGift shopFood on siteOutdoor play+2 more
FreeBolton Steam Museum
Bolton
Free entry to watch a collection of working mill steam engines turning over, some driven by real steam.
Free parking
from £6Fireground
Rochdale · ages 0+
A museum of old fire engines and firefighting history, open Thursday to Saturday in Rochdale.
CaféFree parkingPublic transport nearbySchool visits
FreeGreater Manchester Police Museum & Archives
Manchester · ages 6+
Free walk-through police history museum in the Northern Quarter, open Tuesdays only, with a real Victorian courtroom and cells to poke around.
Accessible toiletBaby changeGift shopGroup bookings+3 more
FreeManchester Museum
Manchester
Free Oxford Road museum with dinosaurs and living worlds - Soft Play N never.
CaféChanging PlacesGift shopFood on site+2 more
FreePeople's History Museum
Manchester
Free Spinningfields museum of democracy and protest - Soft Play N never.
Accessible toiletBooking requiredCaféChanging Places+9 more
FreePortland Basin Museum
Ashton-under-Lyne · ages 0-5
A recreated 1920s street and a hands-on play area for under-fives, free to walk round in Ashton-under-Lyne.
Baby changeBlue badge parkingCaféFree parking+5 more
FreeRunway Visitor Park
Altrincham
Climb aboard a retired Concorde and a DC10 parked up outside Manchester Airport, with runway views thrown in free.
Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféGift shop+7 more
FreeScience and Industry Museum
Manchester
Free Manchester science museum on Liverpool Road - engines, hands-on halls and a proper cafe.
CaféGift shopToiletsWheelchair accessible+2 more
from £6The British Commercial Vehicle Museum
Leyland
Climb into real lorry cabs and grip the wheel of vehicles that used to rule the roads, all under one roof near the M6.
CaféFree parkingGift shopToilets+1 more
from £2.95The Fusilier Museum
Bury
Two galleries of 300 years of military history, a shooting simulator to test steady hands, and a ticket that gets you back in free all year.
Café
from £5The Pankhurst Centre
Manchester
A small suffragette museum where kids get a garden to chalk in and a photo op, not just glass cases to file past.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+6 more
FreeThe Whitaker
Rossendale
Free contemporary art exhibitions and family workshops in a park setting, with a café for afterwards.
Café
FreeWorld of Glass
Saint Helens
Free walk through a Victorian glass street, hands-on light and lens exhibits, and live glass blowing you can watch for a few pounds extra.
CaféGift shopGroup bookingsParking+1 more
Good to know: museums in Manchester
Are any of them free?
Yes, Astley Hall, Bolton Steam Museum, Greater Manchester Police Museum & Archives, Manchester Museum and 6 more are free to visit.
What does a paid visit cost?
Paid entry starts from £2.95 at The Fusilier Museum. Prices, ages and facilities are listed on every place page, taken from each venue's own published price list.
Whereabouts are they?
You'll find museums in Chorley, Bolton, Rochdale, Manchester, Ashton-under-Lyne and 5 more. Every place we list is in or around Manchester, and each listing has the full address and directions.
More ways to plan a day out
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