Zip World Manchester
Treetop nets, high ropes and forest tubing in the woods of Heaton Park, and it is outdoors, not indoors. The cheap one is Treetot Nets: an hour bouncing on nets in the trees for ages 1 to 5, from £5, with a grown-up joining in.
The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience
- Cost
- From £39 each
- Ages
- 9+
- Where
- Manchester, Greater Manchester
- Weather
- Works in the rain
- Booking
- Book online - timed sessions
The nineties TV show rebuilt for real in a studio on Lower Byrom Street: four themed zones, around 75 minutes of physical, mental, skill and mystery challenges, and the crystal dome finale. Nobody spectates. The adults are in the games alongside the kids, which turns out to be most of the fun.
The rules matter here. Minimum age is 9, no exceptions, and under-16s must be accompanied by an adult, with family tickets needing one grown-up per team, so this is not a drop-off. Book a timed slot online, arrive 15 minutes early and allow about two hours on site. Standard tickets start at £39 each, and in the school holidays family tickets start at £32 per adult.
For a 9 to 11-year-old who takes puzzles seriously this is the good stuff: real locks, real crawl spaces, real time pressure. Just make sure everyone in the party clears the age bar before you mention it at home.
What it costs: Standard tickets from £39 each; VIP tickets with a souvenir photo from £44. Family tickets, from £32 per adult, are school holidays only: at least three tickets including one child, and one adult (18+) per team with children aged 9 to 16.
Know before you go
- Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult (18 or over), and family tickets need one adult per team, so sort the grown-up count before you book.
- Term-time weekdays it opens from 1pm; weekends start at 9am. Arrive 15 minutes before your slot.
Worth knowing: Minimum age 9; under-16s must be with an adult (18+).
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What visitors say
★★★★★ 4.8 across 2,954 Google reviews.
Read all 2,954 reviews on Google - filter by star rating thereFrom The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience’s own Instagram
Short videos the venue posted itself, newest first. Each one plays from Instagram only when you tap it.
Plays from Instagram, which can set its own cookies once it loads. Or watch it on Instagram.
Plays from Instagram, which can set its own cookies once it loads. Or watch it on Instagram.
Plays from Instagram, which can set its own cookies once it loads. Or watch it on Instagram.
Also in Manchester
Science and Industry Museum
Working steam engines, the story of Cottonopolis, and hands-on galleries in the world's oldest surviving passenger railway station. Free, and the live demonstrations are the bit kids actually remember.
Manchester Museum
A T. rex skeleton cast, live frogs in the vivarium, Egyptian mummies and a genuinely good natural history floor. Free, university-run, and less overwhelming than the big London equivalents.
National Football Museum
Shirts, trophies and match footage across four gallery floors, with a penalty shootout and skills games that football-mad kids refuse to leave. If yours do not care about football, skip it: it is exactly what it says.
Runway Visitor Park
Watch jets take off close enough to feel them, with Concorde parked by the fence. Free in, pay for parking, and there is a play area and cafe for the wait between planes.
Heaton Park
One of the biggest municipal parks in Europe: a free animal centre, a boating lake, playgrounds and enough space to lose a whole day in. You will not do all of it in one visit.
What’s on near you, every Friday
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.