Category: Manchester, NH
Author: Michael DeFranceschi • Published August 01, 2024 • Updated

[2024] Is Manchester NH Worth Visiting? Not By Itself.

Save this New England city for a road trip with the other New England states.
Is Manchester NH worth visiting? A large mural welcoming visitors to Manchester NH in downtown.

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New Hampshire's largest city is not worth visiting by itself.

Instead, I would strongly advise visiting Manchester in conjunction with another couple nearby places. Perhaps a New England state roadtrip!

There are only three to four things I would recommend for city lovers to see in Manchester: Cat Alley, the Manchester mural, the Currier Museum of Art, and perhaps the Millyard Museum.

Let me show you in broader detail the best things to do in this small New England city.

IN THIS ARTICLE...

[2024] Is Manchester NH Worth Visiting? Not By Itself.

Cat Alley

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? The entrance to Cat Alley off Elm Street in downtown Manchester, NH.
The coolest thing to see in Manchester is Cat Alley!

My favorite attraction in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire was Cat Alley.

Much in the same vein as mural clad alleyways like Luminous Lane in Charlotte or Graffiti Alley in Ann Arbor, Cat Alley is a public art project where one of the walls is painted with murals honoring the Internet's favorite pet: cats.

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? The corner of Cat Alley furthest from Elm Street in downtown Manchester, NH.
The corner of Cat Alley furthest from Elm Street.

The easiest way to enter Cat Alley is from Elm Street, which is the main street of downtown Manchester. You'll see a gateway with 'Cat Alley' and a motion graphic hovering above the entrance! There are also cute bike stands shaped like cats nearby the entrance as well.

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? The middle of Cat Alley in downtown Manchester, NH.
Don't be a copycat and take my picture of Cat Alley! Haha.

One thing I do love about writing this article is being able to showcase street art immediately. The street doesn't stop here with Cat Alley!

Next up...

Murals in Manchester

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? A mural with the text Greetings From Manchester off Hanover Street in downtown Manchester, NH.
Greeting murals common in many cities!

To find perhaps the most impressive mural in downtown Manchester, head over to the intersection of Elm Street and Hanover. From there, advance onto Hanover and you'll see a greeting mural on the right side of the street!

Murals welcoming visitors to the city are commonplace in many cities. The article I wrote for Oxford, Mississippi, for instance, features that city's greeting mural as the lead image.

The 'Greetings From Manchester' mural is exquisite and is one of the most stunning welcoming murals for a city I have in recent memory!

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? A mural featuring musicians for the performing arts theatre The Rex Theater in downtown Manchester, NH.
Seeing this murals envokes nostalgic feelings from my days as a musician!

Inserted above is a mural showcasing a band for The Rex, a performing arts theatre in downtown located off Amherst Street. From Hanover Street, you can walk through an alley and see this amazing mural on the back of the theatre!

I used to play guitar in my own band so if I were in this musical sextet, I'd be the dude on the left!

Is Manchester NH worth visiting? A mural in downtown at the intersection of Elm Street and Bridge in Manchester, NH
A gorgeous green mural the intersection of Elm Street and Bridge.
Is Manchester NH worth visiting? A mural in downtown at the intersection of Elm Street and Bridge in Manchester, NH
A mural outside a restaurant in downtown.

The third section of the article, focused on downtown, will be rather short.

Downtown

Downtown Manchester, NH looking on Elm Street.
Looking onto Elm Street, the main street in Manchester's downtown.

As I wrote earlier in the section about Cat Alley, only one streets serves as the epicenter for Manchester's downtown-- Elm Street.

A shot of Elm Street in downtown Manchester, NH.
Elm Street.

Albeit Manchester being the largest city in the state of New Hampshire, Manchester does not possess the look of a large city-- or even a mid-sized city. Don't come here expecting Manchester to resemble American cities like Detroit or Portland.

Manchester is a college town-- home to the Manchester campus of the University of New Hampshire. Thus, Manchester has the aesthetic of a college town, like Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor.

A church on Elm Street in downtown Manchester, NH in the evening.
Downtown Manchester, in the evening.

Elm Street has lots of food options to select from. Of course, bars too. Before I proceed to the two museums you can check out while visiting Manchester, there is one more picture I'd like to include, as I feel it's a humorous one!

Pictured below is a red colored telephone booth-- just like ones you'd find in the English city of Manchester! You can find this telephone booth near the city hall.

A church on Elm Street in downtown Manchester, NH in the evening.
Manchester, NH has a good sense of humo(u)r.

A fun historical nod-- especially because New Hampshire is one of the six states in the New England region of the United States.

The telephone booth is easily accessible from Elm Street. Go onto City Hall Plaza from Elm Street and you'll spot this object in little time.

Currier Museum of Art

Inside the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
Inside the Currier Museum of Art.

About a 20 minute walk from downtown is the Currier Museum of Art.

The Currier Museum of Art is a small and modest art museum featuring works by some well-known artists like Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, and Claude Monet.

Here are works I enjoyed walking through the museum:

A wooden sculpture inside the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
Really cool sculpture inside the Currier Museum of Art.
A splashy painting inside the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
Splashy.
Painted dolls inside the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
Cool.

And, of course-- you can't forget the red sculpture located outside the museum's entrance!

Red sculpture outside the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH.
This sculpture is outside the entrance to the museum.

One additional thing you can do when visiting the museum is to visit two homes constructed by famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright: the Zimmerman House and the Kalil House.

I actually had the pleasure of touring a house built by Wright in Grand Rapids called the Meyer May House. Unfortunately, when I was in Manchester, I hadn't realized the two Wright homes were so close to the Currier Museum of Art, so I didn't go.

If the process of exploring these two homes is anything like the house in Grand Rapids, you need to reserve specific time slots ahead of time-- and they're only open a couple hours of the day. The tours are guided.

You can learn more about the Zimmerman House and the Kalil House and how to book reservations here.

Millyard Museum

Historic display inside the Millyard Museum in Manchester, NH.
An exhibit inside Manchester's history museum.

Nearby downtown is the Millyard Museum-- a museum honoring the history of this New England city.

Many American cities obtained recognition by being a shining star in a certain industry. You have some obvious ones, like Los Angeles for the film industry and Detroit for the automotive industry.

Manchester, New Hampshire was a prime player in the cotton and textile industry.

Conclusion

One advantage of there being less to do in Manchester, New Hampshire is I had more time to take pictures I was really proud of.

As you can tell by reading, you could knock out Cat Alley, the murals, walk downtown, and visit one or both of the aforementioned museums in half a day.

Manchester, New Hampshire is only worth visiting if it's part of a larger itinerary-- like driving through all six New England states (New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut).

I'm not disappointed by my visit. Even when I go to places that aren't as exciting, I still honestly enjoy the experience of travel. New places-- even less-than-thrilling ones-- still create memories, whereas frequenting the same dumb bar in your hometown does not.

Have you been to Manchester? What was your experience? Feel free to tell me!


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