Discover Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England. It covers 1,276 sq km (493 sq mi) and has a population of 2.6 million people (2012 estimate). It comprises the metropolitan boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. It is bordered by Lancashire to the north, West Yorkshire to the northeast, Derbyshire to the southeast, Cheshire to the southwest and south, and Merseyside to the west.

Greater Manchester was created in 1974. Before that, the area fell under the administrative counties of Cheshire, Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire, along with eight independent county boroughs.

After its creation, Greater Manchester had a two-tier system of local government, where power is shared between the district councils and the Greater Manchester County Council. Eventually the County Council was abolished in 1986, and the district councils of the respective metropolitan boroughs became unitary authority areas. Greater Manchester exists today as a geographic frame of reference. It has a downtown area denoted by the city center of Manchester and some parts of Salford and Trafford.

Cities in Greater Manchester

Towns in Greater Manchester

Metropolitan Boroughs of Greater Manchester

The Volunteer Hotel pub, Sale, Greater Manchester
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benkid77_The_Volunteer_Hotel,_Sale_250709.JPG
Author: Benkid77


Stockport Town Hall, Stockport, Greater Manchester
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stockport_Town_Hall_(1).jpg
Author: Andrew Smith

Visiting Greater Manchester

The Manchester International Airport (MAN) is the biggest airport in England outside the Greater London area. It receives flights from all over Europe with flights to selected cities in North America, South America, Africa and Asia as well. For more details, visit the Manchester page.

Cities of Greater Manchester

Map of Ceremonial Counties of England

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