Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. The city has the country's fifth-largest population and lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous urban area, third most-populous county. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority for the city is Manchester City Council. The name Manchester originates from the Latin name Mamucium or its variant Mancunio and the citizens are still referred to as Mancunians.

At 53°28'0"N 2°14'0"W, 160 miles (260 km) northwest of London, Manchester lies in a bowl-shaped land area bordered to the north and east by the Pennines, an upland chain that runs the length of northern England, and to the south by the Cheshire Plain. Manchester is 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-east of Liverpool and 35.0 miles (56.3 km) north-west of Sheffield, making the city the halfway point between the two. The city centre is on the east bank of the River Irwell, near its confluences with the Rivers Medlock and Irk, and is relatively low-lying, being between 35 to 42 metres (115 to 138 feet) above sea level.

Although historically and traditionally a part of Lancashire, areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated into Manchester in the 20th century. The first to be included, Wythenshawe, was added to the city in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city.

Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and directly linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

The city is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world's first inter-city passenger railway station. Motorways include M56, M60, A57(M), A635(M) and the A5103.

The City of Manchester is governed by the Manchester City Council.

Notable streets and roads in Manchester include - Canal Street, Cheetham Hill Road (Manchester Jewish Museum, Peninsula Building), Corporation Street, Deansgate, King Street, Kingsway, Market Street, Mosley Street, New Cathedral Street, Oldham Street, Oxford Road, Peter Street, Manchester, Portland Street, Princess Street, Quay Street, Sackville Street, Spring Gardens, Whitworth Street and Wilmslow Road.

Manchester's Major institutions, landmarks and attractions - University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Arena, Manchester Apollo, Albert Hall, Victoria Warehouse, Manchester Academy, Manchester Opera House, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester United, Manchester City, Manchester Velodrome Manchester Art Gallery in Mosley Street. Manchester Town Hall, in Albert Square, the CIS Tower near Manchester Victoria station, the Green Building, opposite Oxford Road station and the award-winning Heaton Park.

Manchester has six designated local nature reserves: Chorlton Water Park, Blackley Forest, Clayton Vale and Chorlton Ees, Ivy Green, Boggart Hole Clough and Highfield Country Park.

Transport - The Manchester station group - comprising Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate - is the third busiest in the United Kingdom, with 44.9 million passengers recorded in 2017/2018.

Manchester became the first city in the UK to acquire a modern light rail tram system when the Manchester Metrolink opened in 1992.

Manchester has been a centre of television broadcasting since the 1950s. A number of television studios have been in operation around the city, and have since relocated to MediaCityUK in neighbouring Salford.

Manchester Airport serves Manchester, Northern England and North Wales. The airport is the third busiest in the United Kingdom, with over double the number of annual passengers of the next busiest non-London airport.

Bands that have emerged from the Manchester music scene include Van der Graaf Generator, Oasis, The Smiths, Joy Division and its successor group New Order, Buzzcocks, The Stone Roses, The Fall, The Durutti Column, 10cc, Godley & Creme, The Verve, Elbow, Doves, The Charlatans, M People, The 1975, Simply Red, Take That, Dutch Uncles, Everything Everything, Pale Waves and The Outfield.

Manchester has two symphony orchestras, the Halle and the BBC Philharmonic, and a chamber orchestra, the Manchester Camerata.