Exchange Square

Exchange Square in Manchester is one of the cities coolest, more modern areas, located at the back of the Manchester Arndale, here there is the entrance to the Printworks, and even The Corn Exchange, which has also been revitalised recently, with so many more eateries being added there such as Phở and a new restaurant from Gino, the chef from This Morning.
Exchange Square was one of the areas hit by the 1996 bombing of Manchester from the IRA, and since then they seem to have done a great job bringing it back to life again.
There is a new metrolink station from Exchange Square, providing travel across Greater Manchester, and it is a short walk to Victoria Station, Manchester’s 2^nd largest station.
In Exchange Square, there also is a Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, which adds a higher-​end feel to the area, but still it is a nice place to shop and look around, and defiantly worth paying a visit when in Manchester, as it is really central, just being outside one of the exits to the Arndale.
There also is a lot of coffee shops here with Café Nero and Starbucks all having stores, Second Cup also opened their first ever store in the UK here since expanding into the nation and now have 3 stores, including stores in London and Birmingham.
The Wheel of Manchester was also located here before it was taken down as the owners were not paying their rent.
There isn’t much else to say about Exchange Square but it is quite a nice, cool area of Manchester which has been greatly improved and they have worked hard since the IRA bombing of Manchester in 1996 strongly affecting it.

Exchange Square appears to be going through some renovations or merely a face lift. I understand it went through a tragic period in 1996, but it appears the city is erasing that incident by rebuilding and preserving some historic pubs The Oyster Bar and The Wellington.
I walked through the square to get to Hard Rock Café (not your traditional English Pub) but I appreciated nonetheless visiting Manchester from London and the train ride there was very scenic.

Exchange Square is a lovely part of Manchester, and clever too. Cleverly reconstructed after the infamous IRA bombing of 1996, this area is a perfect sun trap in Manchester. Well fitted with rows of seating and a large screen autotuned to the BBC, this area is very rarely empty. It’s sad that the wheel has left this area as many people knew where they were due to the landmark and now many people (including me!) can be found wondering why we’ve taken it down and replaced it with a pop up bar which has missed the nicest weather Manchester has seen in a while? Something to do with the new metrolink city crossing I’m sure. I often walk through this area on my way to guide at the Cathedral but have also been known to watch the ballet here when it was beamed and screened from London.
Lovely area but the 3 stars reflects some of the eateries and general lack of atmosphere in the area. Great when the beeb is screening something engaging or when the sun is out but otherwise a bit neglected by the masses.

Exchange Square serves many purposes. I’ve been here for the fireworks at New Years, I’ve been up and around the wheel, I’ve shopped at purchases at Selfridges, I’ve dined at various of the restaurants and I’ve drank at the adorable Sinclair’s.
Today with the scorching (well as scorching as Manchester during April has seen in a while) weather, the square became a meeting and catch up point, as we soaked up the rays by the wheel, in front of the Triangle and in front of the telly. I caught up on the daily headlines, people watched galore and shared a cheeky ice-​cream. The concrete benches are often skated over or what not, but today Manchester did sure have a well earned rest from the shops here. It’s a shame there’s no grass area like at Spinningfields for a bit of a lie down. Also, really not a big fan of the pigeons. But that’s not Exchange Square’s fault. Overall a great piece of Manchester town centre.

This part of Manchester has many scars, but it keeps them well concealed. Yes, Exchange Square is home to the Triangle shopping centre, the lovely little collection of old pubs, Selfridges, Harvey Nicks, the Urbis and the Manchester wheel. It’s the part of Manchester that bore the brunt of the IRA bombing in 1996. The area has been painstakingly rebuilt and looks better today than it ever has. They spent £4 million on it and it shows.
I like it here. They’ve provided plenty of rest spots for the summer, and the big screen is a great place to watch sports. They should take a leaf out of Spinningfields’ book and start showing movies on it. It’s a Manchester focal point, particularly for the tourist types with its wheel, the nearby bars and restaurants and the fact that it’s a stone’s throw from the main shopping area.
Shopping, check, movies, check, food and drink, check, entertainment, check, not a bad little spot for sure.

Having only lived in Manchester for six months, I can’t wait to be here in the summer and spend a few evenings sitting outside the pubs around exchange square. Or even go and watch the football on the big screen this summer when the world cup comes up.
Oh yeah, there’s a massive screen on the side of the triangle shopping centre. It plays out BBC News 24 most of the time. It’s really big.
Exchange Square is a really original way to use some of the city centre space, and provides a great spot to go and eat your lunch or catch up with colleagues during a break from work.

Indeed, this is the nicest square in Manchester. Now surrounded by 4 pubs, since The Mitre Hotel re-​opened a month or so ago. To put these pubs in order of quality, from worst to best, I would say The Mitre, The Crown & Anchor, The Old Wellington, and the winner, The Oyster Bar. This is not to say that some of these pubs are not that good, because they all are, and this is what makes Exchange Square the best place to spend a sunny afternoon and evening in the whole of Manchester.
The Old Wellington and The Oyster Bar share a large beer garden with twenty odd wooden tables and benches, making it a bustling centre on a warm day. The Crown & Anchor have a few nice tables outside but as these are along a road they aren’t as nice to sit at.
Across from the square is the beautiful Manchester Cathedral and behind it lies Chetham Library and a lovely wine bar named Hanging Ditch, which all contribute to the joys of Exchange Square. I must want you though, if you enter at lunchtime, you may have to forgo the plans you’ve made for the afternoon.

Like Kirsten, I find it really touching that Manchester re-​built (and rehomed) the two higgeldy piggeldy pubs that take Exchange Sq from a 4 to a 5. Not only is it a testament to the ingrained Northern love of beer (it’s OK, I can say that, I’m a Geordie), but also to the strength of this city.
Anyway, sentimentality aside, Exchange Sq. really is lovely. The long, smooth concrete bench-​seats are fantastic for Summertime lunch-​hours, and you can while away the hour watching whatever’s on the big telly before returning to your soulless office (or wonderful workplace, if you’re lucky enough to have a job you don’t (yet) hate). The boyf is a firm fan of the big telly, because it usually affords him the chance to watch some sort of sporting event or other.
The wheel of Manchester gets a big thumbs-​down from me, though, both in terms of it being a useless entity that hides the delicious frontage of Selfridges, and because the queues on the weekend annoy me (because I am essentially a horrible misanthrope). I loved Exchange Sq. without the wheel, and just cannot get over how much it breaks up the vast bright space.
The Triangle, though a crashing disappointment inside, is a pretty element of the Square, and bright and vibrant eateries Tampopo, Pizza Express and Zinc provide tasty treats and, in Zinc’s case, pavement seating.
Though not officially on the Square, Urbis really adds to the drama of the whole area, and even the Printworks, though a cathedral to puke and nylon, looks quite dashing at night.

Exchange Square is a fantastic example of how lovingly Manchester was re-​constructed after the IRA bomb of 1996.
Two pubs used to stand where M&S is now and they were moved and reconstructed on the other side of the square (The Oyster Bar and The Wellington). The Big Wheel also stands in the square, and even though the view from the 60 metre structure is a bit crap, it is a nice landmark to have.
Nowadays it’s £140 a year for a TV license. £140! So, this is the best bit about Exchange Square. If you’re really strapped for cash you can just sit on the stone seats and watch the Beeb to your heart’s content on the big screen. For free. During sports events and other events the BBC will often broadcast images of people watching the big screen, so get on your mate’s shoulders and wave.
It’s also a good place to sit and people watch on a sunny day, and of course you can expect to see a bubbly mess expanding over the part of the square next to the Triangle as soon as they turn the fountains on.