What's there to see and do in Manchester?

A great deal. When people outside the North West of England are asked to describe what best represents Manchester in their opinion, they will often mention City and United, musicians and clubs - past and present - that have helped define a city in the world's eyes. Others might have a more disparaging view of Manchester, as a city stalked by industrial decline inhabited by stoical whippet racing, pigeon fancying Northerners. Stereotypes are often crude, and some myths regarding Manchester need debunking.

Manchester is a city of firsts. The city was the world's first industrial city. People settled in Manchester and found work in the burgeoning cotton industry, but the city also had a thriving commercial sector, too.

Interested locals and visitors alike can explore the city, on foot, in their own time, with the Manchester: Then & Now, Walk Talk Tour audio downloadable walking tour.

Did you know that Manchester can lay claim to having had the first symphony orchestra in Britain? Hear what it is called, when it was formed and where it now calls home on the Manchester: Then & Now podcast guided tour. Hear about Manchester's Roman past and the origins of the name 'Manchester.' To hear an audio sample from the Manchester: Then & Now mp3 guided tour please click here.

Visit the world's first railway station, Liverpool Road (which is now part of the Museum of Science and Industry) and hear why the very first train - scheduled to run between Manchester and Liverpool - was late. Hear about the brilliance of Alan Turing and his colleagues at the University of Manchester. Turing's team created The Small Scale Experimental Machine, (better known as The Baby) which heralded the arrival of modern computing sixty years ago. Unfortunately, Turing's life ended prematurely. Turing was gay, at a time when to be openly homosexual could attract official censure.

Thankfully, we live in more enlightened times now. Manchester can boast Britain's first, and Europe's largest, Gay Village centred on Canal Street. The Manchester: Then & Now visitor guide does not visit the Gay Village. To see the tour's route in greater detail please click here.

Walk Talk Tours will be present at the Manchester Kids Fun Idea Show this weekend, which is being held at Manchester Central (formerly GMEX. The Show will open its doors at 10am and close at 4pm on both Saturday, 5 July and Sunday, 6 July. Visitors to the Show who purchase the Manchester: Then & Now iPod travel guide from our stand will have the chance to win a MP3 player if they enter our Manchester: Then & Now competition.

With a Walk Talk Tour you're in charge. No need to follow the man with the umbrella, or feel too much like a tourist with a guidebook in your hands.

The Manchester: Then & Now city guide costs just £5. The tour can be completed in two and half hours, but you're free to take as little or as long exploring the sights and attractions along the tour's route.