From textile town to hotbed of music, Manchester has had a rich and at times tumultuous history.

Now, the northern English metropolis is establishing a new identity as a global cultural hub.

Have you been to the John Rylands Library yet?

Two photos from Manchester, England, one showing a hotel guest room, and one showing the gardens of an art gallery

From left: A guest room at the Stock Exchange Hotel; the gardens of the Whitworth Gallery.Emli Bendixen

asked our server at breakfast.

Its my absolute favorite place in the city.

(The hotel is co-owned by the former Manchester United soccer star Gary Neville.)

The interior of an ornate library in Manchester, England

The reading room at the John Rylands Research Institute & Library.Emli Bendixen

Its raison detre is to put on the kind of work that London wouldnt, or couldnt.

No other place in the U.K., he argues, will have anything like this building.

The glass-walled dining area of an arts center in Manchester, England

The restaurant at the Home arts center.Emli Bendixen

Two photos from Manchester, England, one showing a portrait of Esme Ward, and one showing a stone statue of a man

From left: Esme Ward, director of the Manchester Museum, in its Living Worlds galleries; a statue of Friedrich Engels brought to the city by artist Phil Collins outside of the Home arts center.Emli Bendixen