The Oxford Road corridor is already buzzing with this year’s intake of freshers - the first new students since the iconic precinct bridge was demolished, with their stories still to be written.
Memories from past students, and their thoughts on the best and worst things about being a student in Manchester, suggest that the university landscape is changing faster than the architecture.
If you remember head banging at Jilly’s Rockworld, Brutus Gold’s Love Train at Discotheque Royale, Ceilidhs at Jebez Clegg, 50p Reefs at Mutz Nutz and partying at Paradise Factory; you’re probably a 30-something graduate from the classes of the 2000s. A time when a night out wasn’t complete unless you stopped at Monsoons for a cheeky kebab on the way home and when you dragged yourself out of bed in the morning, Solomon Grudy served a mean hangover breakfast. Lectures and the weather were the only things holding you back.
As these venues become shops and hotels, what do graduates from the 2010s rate about the city a decade later? Their memories are rocking out at Satan’s Hollow, boogieing 80s style at Club Tropicana, and sticking to the floor at Fifth Avenue's foam parties. But the recent grads are keen to stress that there's a lot more to Manchester than club nights.
The best things about the city include catching the independent films at HOME, performances at Contact Theatre or free attractions such as the Whitworth Art Gallery or Manchester Museum. While this isn't the most scientific of studies; one thing hasn’t changed - Manchester is one of the best student cities in the world. So get out and enjoy it while you’re here.
See Time Out's student guide to Manchester.