We started in Albert Square, which seems to be the main hub of the market and usually the busiest. The smells were absolutely incredible! The stalls are set up in little wooden huts, and the whole atmosphere is so magical, it honestly doesn't feel like you're in Manchester. Fairy lights are strung between the stalls and around the trees and it just looks so unbelievable by night. The stalls range from hot chocolate and mulled wine, to sweets, meats, cheese, bags, clothes and hot food. My favourite thing about the market was the diversity of all the cultures and food there. There were stalls from Germany, France and Spain all selling their local specialities.
When we arrived Meesha and I were absolutely starving, so we headed straight for the food! We were completely spoilt for choice, there was everything from pasta to burgers and we spent ages walking round and deciding what we wanted. In the end I opted for a hot pork roll and with sage and onion stuffing and apple sauce, reasonably priced at £5, while Meesha went for gnocchi served with vegetables, also £5.
Neither of us were actually planning on buying anything from the markets yesterday, we went more for the food and to have a look. However, I'm definitely planning on going back to purchase some presents from there closer to Christmas as so many of the stalls had the perfect little gifts for people back home! The market stretches throughout the whole of Manchester City Centre, so everywhere you go there are stalls to entice you in. There were also several brass bands and choirs which helped add to the Christmas atmosphere and just made the whole experience more magical.
After we'd been looking for about an hour we both decided it was time for pancakes, so we went to Meesha's favourite stall and had mini Dutch pancakes with Nutella, which cost us £4 each. Nothing can beat Nutella and pancakes! What really surprised me was how reasonably priced all the food was, I was expecting to be forking out a lot more money, but I suppose they get a ridiculous amount of customers over the 4 weeks that it is open. Similarly the majority of the stalls are reasonably priced, although I do recommend looking around properly before rushing into buying things, as I saw the same faux fur headband on several different stalls, all offering it at different prices! 
The market closed at 8 and as we both began to get tired of walking round and the temperature started to get colder we decided it was a respectable time to get ourselves a Bailey's hot chocolate. Over the past few weeks at university this has become my absolute favourite drink, I can't get enough of them! Nearly all the stalls offered hot chocolate with Bailey's or rum, it's definitely a very Christmassy drink! These cost £6, as instead of getting them in takeaway coffee cups you get them in proper little mugs specially designed for the Christmas Market! You can return these afterwards for £2 back, but why wouldn't you want the souvenir and a cute little Christmas mug?!
Overall I definitely recommend that anyone considering coming to Manchester for the Christmas Markets does so, because I can assure you that they are well worth it. I'll definitely be going back within the next few weeks to purchase some presents and just throw myself back into that magical atmosphere. If you can't make this year then make sure you come along next year, it's definitely one of those events that you just have to go to, and it appeals to everyone as the stalls are just so diverse with their target demographics. It's a taste of Christmas all over the world, all compacted into Manchester City Centre.
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