Manchester, Leeds or Birmingham?

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Never been to any *gasp*

Apart from Birmingham has the NEC clothes show live, that is AWESOME for shopping.

I find the Trafford centre overrated. It's just lots of street shops u'll find in most cities crammed into one building.

Manchester City Centre is my answer

Reply 22

Student2806

Do you live around these three? I'd recommend Glasgow.

Reply 23

bean69

go to birmingham...theres a some lovely places to shop just out of town in a place called handsworth, check it out

Reply 24

Overground

bean69

go to birmingham...theres a some lovely places to shop just out of town in a place called handsworth, check it out

If you want to buy top quality terrorist literature.

Yeah, Birmingham. Never been to Leeds, but it's better than Manchester. This town has its faults, but it's ace for shopping. I'd say it's even better than London, because everything is within walking distance. Birmingham city centre is very compact.

Make sure you visit:

- The Bullring, largest town centre shopping centre in Europe.
- The Mailbox - where the posh people of Birmingham shop (hence it's usually empty :wink:

)
- Little cafés on back streets as you get out a bit, like off Victoria Square
- Don't bother with food establishments in the Bullring, they are uniformly awful.
- Pay the big Aston Villa shop on New Street a visit
- Vintage clothes/record shops in Digbeth. There are also a few in the main city centre bit down side streets but you need to know where to look.
- The Jewellery Quarter is pretty charming
- Have a drink in Brindley Place

Reply 25

mtbab

bean69

go to birmingham...theres a some lovely places to shop just out of town in a place called handsworth, check it out

don't be sending people to handsworth lol.

Reply 26

coldwind

Oooh these are my towns!!
I would say Manchester.
Birmingham is good with the bullring and whatnot, but the Arndale has all the shops you need, and then there's the main street with a fab primark at the end of it. With manchester aswell, there's also a lot of 'different' shops nearby, like alternative ones, especially in Afflecks Palace (although I havent been there since the whole 'its closing down/not closing down' palava)
When I've been to Birmingham on a shopping mission I never come back successful but Manchester is always a winner. Mancs also has a selfridges like birmingham if that's any help.
Leeds is ok. Primark's good. But it's really quite a small shopping area.

Wow, I didn't really need to write an essay for that, did I?!

Reply 27

Kater Murr

Belle-x

Manchester. Leeds is so overrated, it's rubbish.

Ditto, and I'm from Hull.

Reply 28

bean69

mtbab

don't be sending people to handsworth lol.

but then they would miss out on so much...

Reply 29

mtbab

Birmingham!

We havent just got the Bullring,
Weve got the high streets surorunding it
Other mini malls like the Pavillions and Martineau Place.
We've got a 6floor House of Fraser.
We've got the Mailbox hosting your top quality restaurants and shops like Harvey Nicks.
Then we've got all the markets, where you certainly find a bargain
Up the hill we have the Jewellry Quarter too.
Down in the digbeth we've got all the vintage shops.

there is so much more to Birmingham Shopping that Bullring, and thats why you should go to Birmingham.

Reply 30

Bluelight

Manchester by a mile.

Reply 31

Amy_J

catface

When this is the shop which springs to mind as you're trying to sell a city, you know it's not worth bothering with.

Reply 32

WoWZa

They're all awesome because they are in the midlands and north!

Reply 33

abc101

Oo, there's a lot of love for Birmingham and Manc!

Whereabouts in both those cities can I locate independent and/or 'swish' shops that aren't uber-expensive?! Meadowhall in Sheffield has proved completely fruitless so if the Trafford Centre and the Bullring are pretty much exactly the same as Meadowhall where shall I go?! I am a bit of a Primark lover but I need special occasion dresses :P

All three cities are pretty much the same distance from me - Leeds may be a tad bit further possibly - which is quite handy in one way, but quite annoying in another as it means I can't just pick the nearest place!

Thanks for the advice people, reppage at some point to you helpful homies :smile:

Reply 34

abc101

mtbab

Mini malls eh? Sounds interesting! Kinda swayed towards Brum now...

Reply 35

abc101

catface

What exactly is Affleck's Palace? I always hear people raving about it - is it all alternative stuff or are there more mainstream kinda shops there?

Reply 36

simpo

Overground

- The Bullring, largest town centre shopping centre in Europe.

Actually the Arndale centre is the largest town centre shopping centre in Europe.

Having lived in Birmingham and gone to Uni in Manchester i would say that Manchester is far superior to Birmingham for shopping. I haven't been to leeds though so I can't really comment on that.

Reply 37

Milady de Winter

Never been to Manchester. Birmingham Bullring is good for more 'high-end high street' (shops like Reiss, etc.). The big yellow vintage warehouse in Digbeth (it has no name!) is the only vintage shop in the city centre - that I know of? A couple of other vintage shops in King's Heath and Moseley, but not worth a visit for their sakes alone.

Also - the Topshop in Birmingham fails to sell half the stuff it advertises... if that's your bag, you really have to go to the mega-one in London. Other than that, few complaints :biggrin: