Rainy day in Manchester: 10 indoor things to do that are not shopping

It rains in Manchester. Not more than people say, but enough that every group needs an indoor plan. Here are ten that are not the shops, with a rough cost per head.

1. A private suite for the afternoon

The room is yours: big screen, PS5, pool or snooker, darts and table tennis in the large suites, food and drinks to the door, and the rain on the other side of the wall. FOMO Lounge is two minutes from Victoria with free parking, open from 2pm every day. A small suite for six is £18.75 an hour Monday to Thursday, about £3 a head. Book a suite.

2. The Science and Industry Museum

Free, in Castlefield, indoors for hours. The best free wet-weather option in the city.

3. Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth

Both free. The Whitworth has the better café and a park view for watching the rain from the right side of the glass.

4. An escape room

Manchester has a dozen. Sixty minutes, six people, £20 to £30 a head, and the most talking a group does all week.

5. A climbing wall

Bouldering centres in Ancoats, Salford and Stockport take beginners without booking on weekdays. Around £12 to £15 a session.

6. Snooker or pool in your own room

Instead of waiting for a table in a hall, a table inside a private suite where the frame is yours. The Prestige and Matrix suites at FOMO have full-size snooker. See the pool and snooker page.

7. The cinema, properly

HOME on First Street and the independents in Didsbury and Salford show what the multiplexes do not. Matinees are cheaper.

8. Bowling

Every retail park has one. A lane for six splits to a few pounds a head and the shoes are part of the joke.

9. The John Rylands Library

Free, on Deansgate, and the most beautiful indoor space in Manchester. Twenty minutes is enough. Combine with number three.

10. The match on a big screen, indoors

If it is a match day, a private suite with Sky and TNT installed beats standing in a wet fan zone. From £7.50 a head, see the football page for the next fixtures.