15 Museums to Explore in Greater Manchester

Astley Hall is a museum and art gallery housed within a Grade I listed historic house. The Hall is set within the beautiful surroundings of Astley Park which include historic woodland, a lake, a fully renovated Victorian walled garden alongside clean and modern facilities for visitors to enjoy. From medieval times Damhouse was the site of the manor house for the lords of the manors of Astley and Tyldesley.

Bolton Museum and Art Gallery houses many collections, exhibitions run throughout the year. The Aquarium houses many endangered species of fish and run breeding programmes for them. An extensive fish collection containing a wide range of fresh water fish from all over the world. you can find out about feeding, breeding and fish care at the aquarium as well as current conservation projects.

The Art Museum and Sculpture Centre is based in the centre of Bury on the corner of Manchester Road and Moss Street. The museum collections include artifacts which are arranged into regularly changing thematic displays that cover a variety of topics with a focus on local and social history. The collection includes works by Turner, Constable, and Landseer.

The Greater Manchester Police Museum is a former police station converted into a museum and archives detailing the history of policing in Greater Manchester, England. The Greater Manchester Police Museum and Archives enables you to experience what life was really like for these officers, in what was once a busy Victorian Police Station. You’ll also see how times have changed and how policing has evolved to meet today’s needs.

This Grade 1, 16th-century half-timbered hall is one of the northwest’s most important buildings. There are displays of 17th and early 18th-century furniture, objects and artefacts, learn more about the life and work of Samuel Crompton and discover all about life in Stuart and Tudor times. The rooms have been accurately refurbished to retain their homely atmosphere.

The Hat Works is a museum in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, which opened in 2000. The museum is home to a recreated hat factory with some 20 fully restored working Victorian-style machines. Plus a fantastic collection of over 400 hats from around the world. There's also a tremendous collection of over 400 hats of which some 250 can be seen in thematic displays here.

The Imperial War Museum North is a majestic museum, which tells the story of how war has affected the lives of British and the Commonwealth citizens since 1914. The museum occupies a site overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal on Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, an area which during the Second World War was a key industrial centre and consequently heavily bombed during the Manchester Blitz in 1940.

Manchester Museum is a museum displaying works of archaeology, anthropology and natural history and is owned by the University of Manchester, in England. It is the UK's largest university museum and serves both as a major visitor attraction and as a resource for academic research and teaching. It has around 430,000 visitors each year.

The Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester aims to preserve and promote the public transport heritage of Greater Manchester in North West England, it is in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. The museum holds a sizeable collection, including around 80 buses, one of the largest collections of its kind in the United Kingdom.

The National Football Museum is a comprehensive museum that's home to a vast collection of football memorabilia based in the iconic Urbis building. About 2,500 items are on display at any given time, but the museum houses 140,000 items in total, with many of the displays being changed regularly.

People's History Museum is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. The museum provides opportunities for all people to learn about, be inspired by, and get involved in ideas worth fighting for; ideas such as equality, social justice, cooperation, and a fair world for all.

Portland Basin Museum is housed within the restored nineteenth century Ashton Canal Warehouse in Ashton-under-Lyne. The museum combines a lively modern interior with a peaceful canal side setting. It is an exciting family friendly museum, with something for all the family. The Museum takes full advantage of its position, with boat trips starting from the Museum waterfront, and mooring for visiting boats. including restored wooden narrow boats.

Salford Museum & Art Gallery holds one of the largest collections of art in the Manchester area. The collection is dominated by British Victorian art, much of which has been donated to the gallery by local philanthropists such as Oliver Heywood and Edward Langworthy. Particular highlights are the excellent collection of 19th-century paintings on display in the Victorian Gallery, and the tiles and pottery produced by the local Pilkington Company in the North Gallery.

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester offers visitors the chance to explore the whole history of science and technology, including the effects on industry throughout human history. The museum is at the site of the first passenger railway station in the world, and parts of this station still stand as Grade I listed buildings.

The Fusilier Museum is home to the collections of the XX Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The museum is housed in a building originally built as officers' quarters. Its collection including 12 Victoria Cross Medals won by the Regiment, the uniform and bearskin of King George V and an Eagle Standard of the 82nd Regiment of the French Line captured by the Royal Fusiliers during the Napoleonic Wars.