Manchester, England · Capacity: 74,000
Old Trafford is a major stadium in Manchester, England, with regular global sports and entertainment events.
Old Trafford has been Manchester United's home since 1910 — the “Theatre of Dreams,” the largest club stadium in England, steeped in the history of Busby, Best, Cantona and Ferguson's treble.
It's a short tram ride from central Manchester, a city of football, music and northern grit.
Below are the Manchester stays, restaurants and bars fans use around Old Trafford.
Hotels, bars, restaurants and things to do near Old Trafford in Manchester — every pick web-researched and source-cited, closest to the stadium first.
Co-owned by former Manchester United stars Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, Hotel Football sits directly opposite Old Trafford with spectacular stadium views. The rooftop features a five-a-side pitch, and the Cafe Football restaurant serves match-day favourites. The ultimate football fan hotel experience.
Boutique hotel housed in a grand Italian Renaissance-style building in Manchester's city centre, featuring a rooftop infinity pool with Town Hall views. Well-connected to both Old Trafford and the Etihad, it is a stylish base for football weekends.
The Lowry Hotel on the banks of the River Irwell has been Manchester's most prestigious sports hotel for two decades, the preferred base of visiting Premier League clubs, international rugby teams, and boxing promotions that use Manchester Arena. Its proximity to Media City, Old Trafford, and the city centre makes it the most strategically located luxury hotel for sports travelers in the north of England. The River Bar is where Manchester's football and media worlds regularly collide.
Roomzzz Corn Exchange offers spacious apartment-style rooms in a beautifully converted historic building at the heart of Manchester's city centre, making it a practical and comfortable base for fans attending matches at Old Trafford, the Etihad, or the AO Arena. The kitchen facilities are ideal for match-day groups who want to cater pre-game snacks, and the location puts you within walking distance of the Northern Quarter's pre-match pub circuit. The value for money compared to traditional hotels makes it particularly popular with supporters traveling in groups.
A stylish independent hotel in the Northern Quarter with exposed brick rooms and a ground-floor bar that captures Manchester's creative spirit. Match-going fans love the walkable location to Piccadilly station for trams to Old Trafford and the Etihad, plus the Northern Quarter's legendary pub crawl at their doorstep.
Iconic Edwardian grand hotel in the heart of Manchester where Rolls met Royce and where visiting football teams have stayed for over a century. Its central location makes it perfect for fans hitting the pubs before heading to Old Trafford or the Etihad.
Spectacular bar and live music venue housed in a Grade II-listed former Wesleyan chapel with original stained glass windows. A fan-favorite for pre and post-match drinks on Manchester derby days, with the Etihad and Old Trafford both easily accessible.
One of Manchester's oldest pubs dating back to 1738, serving real ales and classic pub grub in a timber-framed building. A pre-match institution for Manchester United and City fans, this pub was famously relocated 300 metres after the 1996 IRA bombing.
The most famous match-day pub near Old Trafford, The Bishop's Blaize on Chester Road is a sea of red on game days. Packed with Manchester United fans singing and chanting hours before kick-off, it offers the quintessential English football pub experience. A must-visit for any travelling supporter.
The Bridge on Deansgate is one of Manchester's most popular sports bars, a multi-floor venue in the heart of the city centre that screens every major Premier League, Champions League, and rugby fixture to a mixed crowd of Red and Blue devotees who set tribal allegiances aside long enough to enjoy cold Mancunian hospitality. The bar's central location and late licence make it a natural post-match destination for fans arriving from Old Trafford or the Etihad. On derby weekend the atmosphere is electric from early morning.
20 Stories atop No.1 Spinningfields is Manchester's highest restaurant and bar — a sleek rooftop perch with 360-degree views over Old Trafford, the Etihad Stadium, and the full sweep of Greater Manchester that gives visiting football fans an extraordinary perspective on the city's twin football empires. The cocktail list celebrates Manchester's musical heritage with drinks named after Oasis, The Smiths, and Joy Division, and pre-match dinners here before a derby feel appropriately dramatic. The terrace on a dry Manchester evening is genuinely spectacular.
A stunning Victorian pub with original tilework and a vaulted ceiling that houses its own microbrewery producing award-winning real ales. United and City fans alike respect this as neutral ground—a place where the only rivalry is between the Manchester Bitter and the Lagonda IPA.
Elnecot in the Ancoats neighbourhood is the ideal pre-match dinner for fans heading to the Etihad, serving creative modern British sharing plates in a warm, buzzing room that attracts Manchester's sports media, visiting players' families, and savvy local football fans. The proximity to the Etihad Campus — a short taxi ride away — and the quality of the wood-fired cooking make it a cut above the typical stadium-area dining options. On midweek Champions League nights, the room hums with an energy that feels very specifically Manchester.
El Gato Negro on King Street is widely regarded as Manchester's finest tapas restaurant, a buzzing multi-floor space where exceptional Spanish small plates and excellent Rioja fuel sports fans' pre-match excitement and post-match analysis in equal measure. The rooftop terrace is one of Manchester's most sought-after summer dining spots, and the kitchen's consistency has made it a firm fixture on the city's sports hospitality circuit. Arriving without a reservation on a match day is optimistic; booking ahead is essential.
Set in a stunning former courthouse on Deansgate, Hawksmoor Manchester is one of the UK's finest steakhouses. Fans celebrating a big match day treat themselves to 35-day dry-aged British beef and classic cocktails. The Sunday roast is a post-match institution for visiting supporters.
Manchester's creative heart packed with indie cafes, record shops, street food, and craft beer bars in converted warehouses — the beating pulse of the city's culture.
Cult-favourite Neapolitan pizzeria in Ancoats with queues out the door on match days. A short tram ride from the Etihad Stadium, it has become a ritual stop for Manchester City fans who swear by the margherita before kick-off.
Hidden in the Northern Quarter since 1984, This & That is Manchester's legendary rice-and-three curry cafe. Fans on a budget pile their plates high with authentic Punjabi curries for just a few pounds. It is a rite of passage for away supporters visiting Manchester, and the lamb curry is world-class.
Manchester's established premier arena in Victoria has hosted more legendary concerts than almost any venue outside London, reflecting the extraordinary depth of Northern England's live music culture. The arena's proximity to Manchester Victoria station makes it one of the country's best-connected venues, and the surrounding Northern Quarter's bars and restaurants have built a vibrant pre-show culture around it. Manc audiences are renowned for their passionate, expert, and emotionally generous response to live performance.
One of Britain's most beloved mid-size music venues has been operating in various forms since 1803 and is now a stunning transformed space that combines Manchester's Victorian architectural heritage with world-class live music facilities. The venue's programming spans jazz, world music, indie, and electronic with a commitment to artistic quality that has made it the choice for discerning music fans across the North. The refurbished Grade II-listed building itself is worth visiting for fans of music and architecture alike.
The Etihad Stadium has been transformed from the 2002 Commonwealth Games venue into the home of one of the most successful club sides in Premier League history, where the blue half of Manchester can now boast a state-of-the-art 55,000-seat stadium with trophy rooms that have filled rapidly under Pep Guardiola's extraordinary tenure. The official tour covers the dressing rooms, warm-up areas, and pitch-side views, with the adjacent City Football Academy making this one of the most comprehensive behind-the-scenes football experiences in England. Visiting both Manchester stadiums in a single weekend gives a unique insight into the city's dual football identity.
Manchester's brand new arena, the UK's largest indoor music venue, opened in 2024 with a design specifically engineered around the fan experience, with 23,500 capacity, perfect sightlines from every tier, and acoustic treatment that sets a new benchmark for live music venues in Britain. The 10-year naming rights partnership reflects Manchester's status as one of the world's great music cities, and the venue's arrival has allowed the city to compete directly with London for the largest touring shows. Early shows have confirmed it as a transformative addition to UK music infrastructure.
The Etihad Campus fan walk on matchday — from the Ashton New Road pubs through the Etihad precinct to the stadium itself — is one of English football's great matchday rituals, with City supporters in sky blue streaming past the bronze Sergio Agüero statue and the dramatic stadium exterior. The surrounding campus includes the City Football Academy and the National Cycling Centre, giving the area a genuine sports-city atmosphere even on non-match days. Champions League nights here, with 53,000 fans packed inside and the Oasis and Stone Roses anthems booming, are among the best nights in English football.
Tour Manchester City's 53,400-seat home in the Etihad Campus — press room, tunnel walk, dressing rooms, and the trophy cabinet of the most dominant English club of the 2020s.
Old Trafford in Manchester is tracked across 0 events and seats 74,000 fans. Here's how fans build a trip around it:
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Structured facts on this page (capacity, opening year, architect, ownership) are compiled from public reference databases and verified against venue coordinates.
Pep Guardiola, Mel B, Orlando Bloom, Matty Healy have been spotted at Old Trafford.
Old Trafford has a capacity of 74,000 people.
Old Trafford opened in 1910. It was designed by Archibald Leitch.
Manchester United F.C. plays home games at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Check our events page for upcoming events at Old Trafford.