Manchester is a city in North West England. Manchester achieved city status in 1853, the first new British city for three hundred years. Today Manchester is ranked as a beta world city and is consequently the highest ranked British city except for London. Its metropolitan economy is the third largest in the United Kingdom. Manchester is the third-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, after London and Edinburgh. Manchester’s city centre has a good mixture of high-street stores and independent shops, as well as designer boutiques and bargain-basement outlets. And it’s compact enough to walk everywhere. If you can’t get your shopping fill in the city, there’s always the enormous Trafford Centre, a few miles away.