Christmas in Manchester: Advice for stakeholders

November 2025 - January 2026

Last updated: 7 November 2025

From Friday 7 November, the Christmas season begins with the grand opening of Manchester Christmas Markets.

The Markets will open across the city centre from Friday 7 November, until Monday 22 December. Cathedral Gardens and Albert Square markets will remain open until Sunday 4 January 2026 (except Christmas Day).

Millions of people are expected to head into the city centre for the markets, shopping, events including gigs and football and a night on the town.

This page has all the advice you and your teams need to make your journeys as easy as possible with the Bee Network.

Jump to travel advice:

Key advice to keep you and your teams moving
Travelling by bus
Travelling by car
Travelling by tram
What TFGM is doing to keep you moving
Social media resources
Industrial action

Key advice to keep you and your teams moving

From mid-November until Christmas, Manchester city centre and key surrounding roads will be very busy as the return of the Manchester Christmas Markets, seasonal tourism, events and shopping attract visitors.
The best way to get into and home from the city centre is with the Bee Network – using frequent buses and trams – as well as commuter trains.
If you need to drive, plan your journey and consider in advance where you are going to park, and be conscious that you are likely to see significant increases in congestion and journey times.
We anticipate the busiest areas will be within the inner ring road particularly around night life hotspots, event venues and car parks (especially the one closest to retail centres, Deansgate and event venues).
If you have to drive there are 24 park and ride sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park your car for free and hop on the tram to your destination. Find your nearest park and ride.

Saturday 22th November: Gladiators Live at the AO Arena and Hits Radio Live at the Co-op Live.
Tuesday 25th November: Manchester City V Bayern Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium.
Saturday 29th November: Manchester City V Leeds at The Etihad Stadium, Sonny Federa at the Co-op Live and Hauser at the AO Arena
Wednesday 3th December: Manchester United V West Ham at Old Trafford and Mumford & Sons at the Co-op Live.
Saturday 6th December: Jamiroquai at the Co-op Live and Pete Tongue at the AO Arena
Saturday 20th December: Manchester City V West Ham at the Etihad Stadium and the last week of Manchester Christmas Markets.

Advice for travelling by bus

Buses are a great way to get into, around and home from the city centre, with services connecting all ten boroughs to the city centre. Many routes run every 12 minutes of less and you can plan your journey by bus on the Bee Network website or app.
A single bus journey anywhere on the Bee Network is just £2 and you can ride as many buses as you want all day for just £5 and with contactless tap and go there’s no need to get a ticket.
Many buses run late into the evening and some run all night long to get you home from a night out. See the full list of night bus services.

Advice for travelling by tram

Trams run every 12 minutes, Monday to Thursday from 6am to midnight, meaning one is never too far away. On Friday and Saturday there are trams all the way until 1am to get you home.
At busy times, we’re putting extra double trams on so there’s more room for everyone.
You can tap on and off trams so there’s no need to buy a ticket. You can get an adult single fare from just £1.40.

Advice for travelling by car

If you do need to drive, roads around the city centre will be very busy, as will car parks, so consider driving at quieter times to beat the traffic and skip the queues.
Think in advance where you’re going to park and make sure to leave plenty of time.
There are 24 park and ride sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park your car for free and hop on the tram to your destination. Find your closest park and ride.

What TFGM is doing to keep you moving

The event promoters, TfGM, the Local Authorities, and the emergency services have all been involved in the planning and delivery of the transport operation for the events.

Enhanced monitoring of the highways and transport network from TfGM’s Control Centre and using intelligence to strengthen Metrolink and public transport provision.
Collaborating with transport operators to provide a co-ordinated response to events and congestion.
Working with event organisers and partners, including local authorities and National Highways to limit non-urgent roadworks on major routes to and from venues during this period.
Monitoring traffic signal timings across the network and on diversion routes, running special timings plans before and after the events.
Introducing planned bus diversions around road closures and providing customer information on affected bus stops to advise passengers of bus diversions.
Updating live navigation devices in real time with events, road closures and incidents.
Using roadside electronic message signs to advise of events and disruption at key points across the Greater Manchester road network
Co-ordinating social media communications plans with other agencies to maximise reach.
Boosting posts on social media to further amplify the transport message.
Regularly updating stakeholders and highlighting the key messages in transport newsletters and briefings.

From Friday 8 November – 22 December, the Manchester Christmas Markets will be open across ten locations in the city centre.

Many more visitors than usual will be travelling into the city centre to enjoy Christmas shopping and festive events.

Expect journeys by car to take significantly longer.

Plan your travel by public transport: beenetwork.com

🎅 The Manchester Christmas Markets are open at locations across the city centre.

Visiting the markets? With multiple events taking place, public transport is the best way to travel.

🚊City centre tram stops, train stations and bus stations are all a short walk away from the market locations.

For more travel advice, visit: beenetwork.com/manchester-christmas-markets

From Friday 8 November – 22 December, Manchester Christmas Markets will be attracting visitors to the city.

🎅 The festive magic will be spread across ten locations, including Albert Square for the first time in seven years!

🚊 The easiest way to travel is by tram, with each market location only a few minutes’ walk away from the closest tram stop.

Get in the spirit: beenetwork.com/manchester-christmas-markets

It's the most wonderful time of the year! 🎄🌟

The Christmas Markets open their stalls on 7 November until 22 December.

🚊 Planning your trip? All ten market locations are just a short walk away from the nearest tram stop.

Find out more tram: beenetwork.com/manchester-christmas-markets

Industrial action

Unison and Unite have announced two days of strike action, taking place on Wednesday 5 and Friday 7 November. Further industrial action is planned for Wednesday 12 November. Unison has said that another strike will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved.