Old Trafford, Manchester

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The tour around the stadium took about an hour, and I really enjoyed it. The guide was excellent and very knowledgeable, and it was a fun and interesting tour. I especially liked that, although the guide was of course enthusiastic about Manchester United, it never was over the board or too extreme.

I had never visited the interior of a football stadium before, so I was very excited. We got to sit down in different seating areas to get views of the pitch, walked through the many tunnels and back ways behind the scenes, visited the lounge of the players' wives and girlfriends, the change rooms of the players, the loges of the coaches - and then we even walked onto the pitch through the tunnel. It was fantastic and I had not expected that we would see and do so much. And even more so that we were allowed to take pictures everywhere, even in the change rooms and the lounge!

A combination ticket for the museum and tour is £16 which is very expensive, but I think if you are a football fan and are interested in seeing all this, it is definitely worth it. As I said, our guide was very good and explained a lot, and the hour passed quickly because the tour was so interesting.

Photo 1: In the change rooms
Photos 2 & 3: In the lounge
Photo 4: In the change rooms
Photo 5: The tunnel entrance to the pitch

You can see more pictures of the tour in this travelogue.

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Old Trafford Museum was my first stop when visiting the stadium.

The museum mainly deals with the history of Manchester United, from the very early days in 1878, when it started out as Newton Heath, the founding of Manchester United in 1902, to its many triumphs until today. Special emphasis is on the big tragedy that happened in 1958, when the aircraft carrying the team on return from a match in Belgrade crashed in Munich, eight players died and two were injured so heavily that they could not follow their football careers anymore. A large part of the museum is devoted to this terrible tragedy.

There are also big showcases with many jerseys, shoes, balls etc., as well as a myriad of cups, medals and prizes, including the cup they won winning the Chamions League final in 2008 against Chelsea (see picture 2).

I found it quite interesting to see things like this cup, jerseys of famous players etc., and it was also interesting to learn about the history of Manchester United. However, although I like Manchester United, I am not really a fan or supporter of the club, so I was more interested in the tour of the stadium and was done with the museum rather quickly.

A combination ticket of the museum and tour is £16 for adults, £14 for students and £10,50 for children. It is not possible to buy a ticket for the museum only.

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I must admit that Old Trafford Stadium was the biggest reason for me to visit Manchester. There are a number of stadiums around the world that I really want to visit, and Manchester was no 2 on my wish list, just outdone by Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. Well, I got to Manchester first, and so Old Trafford was the first football stadium I ever visited (I went to Allianz-Arena in Munich in 2008, but only saw the exterior, so it doesn't count).
In Old Trafford, I first visited the museum, and then did a guided tour around the stadium. More about this in the following tips!

Old Trafford was built a century ago, the first game in the stadium took place in 1910. Since then it has been the home of Manchester United. When it was built, it was a status symbol for the city of Manchester, one of the biggest and most beautiful stadia in the world. During World War Two it was damaged heavily, and no games were held there from 1939 to 1949. Different expansions have been done over the years, the last one in 2006. It now has a capacity of 76,212 people and therefore is the second biggest stadium in Britain, only Wembley is bigger.

Important games hold in this stadium were:
* Three group matches during the EURO 1966
* Three group matches, a quarter final and a semi final during the EURO 1996
* The 2003 Champions League final (AC Milan - Juventus, won by Milan)

The stadium can be easily reached by bus from the city centre, Stagecoach and Arriva busses leave from Piccadilly very frequently. The journey is about 15 to 20 minutes, and from the bus station it is only a one minute walk to the stadium.

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This is of course the football Old Trafford, located almost next door to the cricket ground! I am sure you will not get confused.

It is worth visiting and you can book tickets online. The tour is enjoyable, even if you are not a United fan - it is interesting to note how many fans are so against the American owners, the Glazer family. There are flyers and stickers around the stadium which leave you in no doubt.

The club was originally called Newton Heath with the club colours being green and gold. The protest against the Glazers brings many fans to the ground in the Green and Gold.

No sign of change at the time of writing in early 2011.

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Old Trafford makes a grand day out for any football fan, Manchester United or otherwise! Its spectacular museum chronicles the hitory of the msot decorated football club in English history, and has tons of memorabillia including many of their trophies and players medals. You can have your picture taken with the Club World Cup, the European Cup and the Premier League Trophy, and take a walk down the 'Treble Corridor', with boards and cabinets dedicated to every month of United unique Treble season of 1998/99, culminating in a cabinet displaying the three Trophies themselves, the European Cup, the FA Cup and the Premiership Trophy, which no other club in the UK has ever won in the same season. The same cabinet also contains the three medals, miniature replicas of the trophies, the commentary notes from the Champions League Final and the shirts of Ole Gunna Solskjaer and Teddy Sherringham, amongs numerous other little gems. There is also a room dedicated to remembering the Munich Air Disaster, in which many Manchester United players were killed.

The stadium tour is also excellent, and defiantely not to be missed! You get to see the home teams dressing room, the lounge where the players eat before the game, and you get to sit in the managers dug-outs (unfortunately the actual managers seat is cordened off, but you can sit on the substitutes seats, and wonder why these amazingly comfortable car seats are still called a 'bench'! The tour, naturally, ends in the megastore where you can shop to your hearts content with hundreds of Manchester United products on sale, including all kit ware.

After the shop, you should make your way to the Red Cafe. Here, you can either sit in the bar area and enjoy a nice drink and some bar food, including mini beef burgers (delicious), or go into the restaurant and enjoy what really is lovely food, and although it might be more pricey than some other restaurants, it is definately worth it just to say you have eaten here, and the food really is delicious! The deserts are between £3 and £4 and are actually a bargain, as I had a massive slab of chocolate fudge cake for just over £3!

Below is the ticket pricing list from manutd.com

Tickets Museum Only Museum & Tour
Adults £10.00 £13.00
Group Adult Rate £9.00 £12.00
Junior/OAP £8.00 £9.50
Group Rate Junior/OAP/Student(NUS Card holder) £7.00 £8.50
Family of 4 £32.00 £42.00
Family of 5 £40.00 £50.00
Education Visits (Pupils and staff) £4.00 £4.00
Students and Staff from University Groups £8.50 £8.50

Home to Manchester United, Old Trafford is a must see attraction if you love football, and don't support your local team. At the ground you can visit the club museum, club shop or take a stadium tour.

Details of prices & opening times can be found on the club website.

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No, i'm not promoting Manchester United. I am a true Leeds United supporter, you can hardly call me a glory supporter can you?

But i have to admit i had an electric time whilst at Old Trafford in 2006 when i went to see England play Hungry, with the winning result of 3-1. An unforgettable experience to see the boys play, making me a very proud indeed.

Although it was only a friendly, the performance from the team weren't anything less.

England fans are very supportive towards the team, making it an overall great experience for everyone, regardless what local team you support. We all supported England and thats all that mattered.

Leaving all Old Trafford, there was many happy fans and higher hopes for the World Cup. Although we didn't get the result we wanted in the Cup, i'm still proud to be supporting England, through and through!

Re-live the clubs triumphs, tragedies and trophies at the Manchester United Museum. Follow the history of the club from 1878 to the present day, including the Hall of Fame and dazzling Trophy Room. Delve behind the scenes at the Theatre of Dreams by taking the Stadium Tour. Stand in Sir Alex Ferguson's spot in the dug out, sit in the home changing room at your favourite players peg and emerge from the player's tunnel to the roar of the crowd. Not what you would expect from a museum and tour. Everything you would expect from Manchester United.

i think that even if you are not that interested in football a visit to one of soccer's most famous clubs is a must.
we had the tour the day after a match there and our guide was interesting and funny.
a couple of hours well spent

Whether you are into football or not, this is a great day out. For those of you who are into football, or support Manchster United then you are in for a real treat. If you can afford to splah out around £35 for a ticket to see a game then do so, you will not regret it. If that is out of your budget then why not go on the stadium tour which costs around £7. The tour takes you around the stadium, in the stands, next to the pitch, into the dugouts and into the players changing rooms. you also visit the clubs trophy room which is very impressive.