Royal Exchange Arcade

Not been in here for years. It’s a lovely little arcade. There is a mix of jewellers. Card shops. Cafes. Painting galleries. Show shops etc. All a bit random. Little bit more upmarket. You know when the shops need to buzz you in you need to make sure your packing plastic. Lol. It’s a little dimly lit and yes I know that is traditional architecture but use brighter bulbs FFS. It’s quite quiet so you can browse at leisure. You’re not fighting to get to the till. All in all a pleasurable little jaunt while killing time before the bank. I didn’t make purchases today but that’s ok nice to window shop. If your in Manchester go and have a nosey

Love the arcade, always have, but when visiting recently with a friend from overseas he wanted to take a photo of the entrance with the Christmas lights, but the security guard stopped him, said too many expensive shops in there to be photographed! He was outside on cross St and if were were planning a robbery we would not stand there with a great big SLR camera in hand, would do it and you would never know, how stupid are these security guards? Made a complaint at the Town Hall, the could not believe it, said they cannot stop you on a public street.

The Royal Exchange Arcade links St Anne’s Square to Cross Street. It’s got some fairly unexciting little boutique shops inside, but there’s nothing especially inviting going on in here.
The Arcade is a bit gloomy and could benefit from a bit more light and sparkle to draw more shoppers in I think.

I like this little part of town too, it’s a really good place to escape to on a busy day, outside is absolutely manic with people EVERYWHERE and this little oasis of calmness is just what you need.
The card shop in here is great, full of cards for every occasion and some really nice gifts too.
I really like the café too, proper coffee and yummy cakes, just what you to refuel before hitting the shops again.

I love the Royal Exchange Arcade. Ok, it’s not the biggest arcade you’ll ever see, but it’s full of charm and if you work nearby it has everything you need uncover if you’re on a quick break (and it’s raining).
There’s a card shop, gift shop, jewellers, framing store, barbers/​salon, coffee shop and last but not least, a pawn shop should you need to flog something for a quick buck.
I love this time of year when the arcade dresses itself up for Christmas. In fact it’s fair to say that I’d love to work in one of these quaint little shops, I’m sure there’s a real sense of community here and it takes you back to times gone by when independent owners went that extra mile to make their customers feel welcome. Now it’s all high street homogeny.