Lovely museum. Despite a time constraints, I still wanted to see the Impressionism collection. I also went to the suggested rooms for the highlights. I highly recommend a visit. The review I'm wearing right now does not do it justice. It deserves better than I'm giving it right now.

I love the Manchester Art Gallery, sadly upon entry via the main entrance I was welcomed with a lady abruptly telling me not to tap my brolly on the carpetted entrance rug without as much as a hello or greeting. I asked her if she preferred me to drip the brolly all over the floors instead she said that the floor mat "wasn't for that". When I proceeded to raise to her attention that a slightly more polite introduction would have been favourable she proceeded to argue with me that she had been perfectly behaved and that I "was a visitor not a customer". I'm so glad she cleared that up (don't mind the sarcasm). Surely the manners expected when greeting a visitor should be greater than those shown to a customer. The mere fact that our public galleries are largely tax funded technically makes me a "customer" too because I do pay a great deal of tax. Thankfully the wonderful collection of Pre-Raphaelite art had a much needed calming effect and I enjoyed my visit with the exception of the cafe which is very poorly managed. The tables were shockingly dirty, when I asked for a disinfectant spray to at least clean my own table I was told "We can't give chemicals out". They did then proceed to wipe my table but it would take a week to wipe the stickiness off the table so did little to change the state of the table which is clearly the result of months of improper hygiene practices. They don't give out chemicals (food safe disinfectant spray) but they give out a thick coating of bacteria on their tabletops. Additionally many of the staff seemed to lack any motivation with exception of one lovely gent who had long hair in a pink shirt, he was very enthusiastic in answering questions inside the gallery and also one lovely girl with a bandana in the gift shop.

You can enter the museum directly without waiting in line and view everything; the various themes are distinguished by the color schemes of the rooms. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Great local art gallery. Free entrance. Historic older building and ultra modern new wing offer a wide range of exhibitions including paintings, photos, textiles, sculptures, and artefacts. Well presented regional gallery. Good descriptions. Shop with cards and postcards of exhibition items plus interesting reading material, papers and pens. Fab cafe. No tickets required when we visited. But you can use the card machines to make a £5 donation. Accessible access.

Fantastic visit. Brilliant gallery displays. Plenty of staff for help. Lifts accessible for more floors. Great fairly priced café. Clean W.C.. All in all a great day out. Allow 2 hours plus to see everything and check website for guided tours