You can't claim to have been shopping in Manchester until you've got yourself thoroughly lost in the labyrinthine Affleck's Palace. This is the perfect antidote to big brands and boutiques, with about 50 different shoppettes all squeezed into the five storey building.

Loads of quality second-hand stuff in equal measure with off-the-wall new stuff. Although the object of any shop has to be to get you to part with some cash, at Affleck's it's more of an exploration... whatever it was that you went in there looking for is never the thing that you find yourself leaving with. And you will be leaving with something.

This is a shopping mall with balls. And their website is a good giggle as well if you've got Flash installed. The Palace is open from 10am to 5:30pm weekdays and 10am to 6pm on Saturdays.