Manchester is now one of the hippest cities to visit in England with a heap of clubs and bars, and a fashion scene that rivals London. There is also the rather magnificent Manchester United Football stadium to entice you too. If you aren’t familiar with Manchester as a place to visit in Europe, then here are a few reasons to forgo London for the sake of this Northern city instead.

Old Trafford Football Stadium

Whether you’re a fan of the team or not, Manchester United has a firm place in the history of football and any fan of the sport will marvel at this giant of Old Trafford, also known as the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. It was built in 1909 to fit 80,000 fans, which makes it the biggest club in Britain. You could - if you’re lucky – try and get a ticket to one of the matches and catch modern legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in action. If you can’t hold of a ticket or are out of season, walk around the stadium and grab a historical tour at the museum, going back in time to the golden days of the Busby Babes. Alternatively, have a wander over to Eastland’s, the Manchester City Stadium if you want to join the more authentic fans. Both will offer a great slice of Manchester’s old and modern culture, and football history.

Nightclubs

Manchester’s nightlife is certainly a good reason to visit the city. Since the legendary days of the Hacienda, clubs have been a big part of the makeup of this city. Try Sankeys for house music and weekly tribal sessions with top djs (all inside an old soap factory, for extra charm). If you want to put your glamorous or glitzy outfits on then head to Opus nightclub for an upmarket atmosphere and a swanky bar, which is probably a hangout for Manchester United footballers. In the Northern Quarter is Mint Lounge, an underground club that’s a little bit more edgy and chilled out, playing live jazz and soul.

Shopping

Anything London can do Manchester does better, or at least can boast the kind of boutiques that stand along Bond Street. The Manchester set take pride in their appearance and dressing up is a big deal. For the chicest shopping, head down to King Street for Vivienne Westwood, Hermes and Mulberry. Cathedral Street has its own Selfridges and Harvey Nichols for Miu Miu, Prada, and Space NK for makeup and perfume. Bring your credit card to Manchester; you’ll be laden with bags and goodies. For cheap flights to Manchester, check out Fly Monarch, who fly directly to the city from all over Europe and could come in handy when booking your holiday. Don’t forget your credit card, but also don’t overlook travel insurance, which is a must when going anywhere. Try AA Travel, for travel insurance that could be purchased online and keep you protected against any mishaps along the way.

Tuscany is without doubt one of the most beautiful and historically significant areas of Italy, characterised by its rolling hills, historic towns, and the capital Florence: crucible of the renaissance. Flying in to Pisa, it would seem churlish not to take a trip to the infamous leaning tower, situated beside the equally spectacular (if a little more perpendicular) Pisa Cathedral, and the monumental Camposanto in the walled Piazza del Duomo. This square is an astonishing sight, not least when you realise that these magnificent examples of Romanesque architecture have been standing for upwards of 900 years. No wonder the tower is leaning.

From Pisa, it’s about an hour’s drive or bus-ride to Florence, the Tuscan capital. At the heart of the city is the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore; known simply as ‘the duomo’: a vast Basilica encrusted in panels of green and pink marble, bordered with white and crowned with Brunelleschi’s infamous dome. 600 years after its completion, the dome is still the largest dome built with bricks and mortar in the world. As the recognised birthplace of the Italian renaissance, Florence has several astonishing art collections. Florence’s finest art gallery, the Uffizi, houses some of the world’s most celebrated art works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Bottichelli and Titian, to name a few. Many of these works were part of a hefty bequest by the last member of the Medici family – who ruled Florence for hundreds of years, and were renowned for their patronage of the arts.

Florence is a great base from which to journey deeper into the Tuscan hills, as it is situated equidistantly between other worthy destinations such as the Siena (home to the dramatic annual horse race in the Piazza del Campo), Lucca (a stunning medieval town with still-intact Renaissance-era city walls), and Vinci: birthplace of Leonardo. These places are generally reachable via bus, but the hiring of a car for the duration of your stay is recommended, especially if you fancy exploring the hillsides in a little more depth. In terms of accommodation, Florence is of course heaving with hotels, all scrabbling for tour custom. Be careful here, because the tarifs can vary wildly from place to place, so it’s worth shopping around. Alternatively, you could stay in one of Florence’s many hostels, which offer a cheaper, often more reliable, service.

The hills surrounding Florence, incised by the river Arno, provide easily accessible and tranquil oases to view the busy city below. Watching the sun set over Brunelleschi’s dome from one of the villages that dot the hillside is an extraordinary sight: the rooftops glowing orange in the dying light, all trace of city hubbub silenced by the distance, and replaced by a twilight chorus of birds in the olive groves. Tuscany comes into focus at moments like this: its history, its landscapes, its beauty.

When you're heading to foreign lands, don't forget to book travel insurance. If you have an EHIC Card, then this might necessarilly provide you with the correct cover if you fall ill while away, and it won't protect you against loss or accidental damage. For low cost travel insurance, take a look at Go Travel.