MANCHESTER is singled out as world class in a new travel guide which paints a bleak picture of England and the English.
The new Rough Guide to England says first-time visitors to the city are surprised because they don't expect to see much beyond a "dour industrial cityscape".
But it says that since the IRA bomb, the city has been transformed by a building programme that has placed it in the "vanguard of modern British urban design".
Manchester's "buzzing" café and club cultures are highly praised as are its tourist attractions, including the Lowry and the Imperial War Museum North.
The guide says: "Few cities in the world have embraced change so heartily. From engine of the Industrial Revolution to test-bed of contemporary urban design, the city has no realistic English rival outside of London.
"Manchester can match the capital for glamour in cafés and clubs, and also boasts the inimitable draw of the world's best-known football team."
Oasis
The Halle Orchestra and Oasis are praised for putting Manchester on the world map, while the city's student population and its gay scene attracts plaudits.
Nationally, a far bleaker picture is painted.
England, the guide says, is "a nation of overweight, alcopop-swilling, sex-and-celebrity-obsessed TV addicts". A "tiny, land-owning aristocracy still own most of the land" and "accent and vocabulary can stamp a person's identity like a brand", the authors add.
They go on: "It's a nation where commuters suffer overpriced, underfunded public transport services and where the hearts of many towns consist of identikit retail zones."
But they also call England "a country of animal-loving, tea-drinking, charity donors thriving on irony and Radio 4" and "a genuine haven for refugees and a country of immigrants from more than 100 ethnic backgrounds".
'Individuality'
The book also describes England as a country "where individuality and creativity flourish, fuelling a thriving pop culture and producing one of the most dynamic fashion, music and arts scenes to be found anywhere".
English people "can't agree on who or what they are", the guide claims, and that trying to communicate with a stranger in a public place in London "can be seen as tantamount to physical assault".
The guide lists 35 "things not to miss" in England, including afternoon tea, castles, and Bonfire Night.
DO you agree with the new Rough Guide to England? Have your say.
Showing comments 1 to 6 and replies | View All
Ed, Glasgow (24/04/2006 at 10:27)
I didn't know you could get paid for stating the obvious!
Ian, Manchester (24/04/2006 at 12:49)
By the time you've arrived, your perceptions are already tainted by all the sarcasm you've had to read.
Most people will agree the Lonely Planet is much better... its full of factual information that gets you around without ruining the freedom of making your own judgements.
Tim Lodge, Cambridge (24/04/2006 at 13:39)
J P, London (24/04/2006 at 14:47)
Yer What?, Clone City (24/04/2006 at 15:29)
What next - praise for the redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens too???
Teapot, North West (26/04/2006 at 15:58)