When the standard events and things to do just won't cut it anymore, you'll want to check out the variety of interactive happenings that'll transport you to a whole different world. From landing in your very own Squid Game to taking on iconic gameshows and walking among art exhibitions, these are the best immersive experiences in Manchester for 2026.
Where To Find An Immersive Experience In Manchester
Alcotraz: Cell Block Three-Four
A top choice of immersive events in Manchester, Alcotraz: Cell Block Three-Four sees you throw on a very fetching orange jumpsuit and make your way to the cells for some prison-themed theatre with delish cocktails to boot. Not only will you sneak in your own liquor and be a part of the action, but the expert mixologists are sure to shake up plenty of bespoke drinks for your group.
Orange Is The New Black? Prison Break? Feel like your favourite criminals here.
Immersive Gamebox
Don a motion sensor visor and get inside a private pod at Immersive Gamebox in Manchester Arndale, where plenty of themed scenarios await. You'll use your body and the touch-sensitive walls to complete different challenges across the space, whether you go for Squid Game, James Bunny: Casino Tropicale or Ghostbusters. Make sure to get some drinks delivered to your room too.
This immersive experience in Manchester features twists on your favourite games, TV and films.
DNA VR
After immersive things to do in Manchester? DNA VR has your back. Grab your choice of bev from the bar and get stuck into everything from zombie apocalypse survival to jailbreak escape rooms and even a spot of dragon fighting. For an out-of-this-world experience, you can rely on the virtual reality gaming here.
Becoming an elven assassin? Yup, you can even do that here.
THE CUBE Live Experience
Another example of getting your competitive steak out at a gameshow replica, THE CUBE Live Experience is all about doing seemingly simple tasks. But we know how that all changes inside the iconic Perspex box. Arrive in teams to take on seven iconic single or two-player games while under pressure, before moving to the slick bar to refuel.
The Cube Manchester isn't to be missed.
Escape Hunt
Head inside the Corn Exchange and you'll find Escape Hunt, an exciting experience packed with adrenaline-pumping missions for your group to throw themselves into. So, what's on the cards? 60 minutes to solve clues, crack codes and defeat puzzles, all across Doctor Who, Wild West, Viking or Samurai-inspired rooms.
There's the quirky Alice In Puzzleland here too.
The Crystal Maze Live Experience
Found next to the Science and Industry Museum is the ultimate team test: The Crystal Maze Live Experience. Immersive yourself in the 90s gameshow, making your way through multiple zones that come complete with a mix of challenges that are both physical and putting your logic or judgement through its paces.
You're in for a wild ride.
Breakout Manchester
Thanks to multiple locations in our city, Breakout Manchester is an escape room experience with a whole host of options for between two and five people. Whether meddling with rare spells, potions and magical artefacts, investigating a zombie lab or escaping kidnappers sounds like more your thing, this place has the scenario to suit your group.
Satanic rituals at a hut in the woods? That's in store here too.
Museum Of Illusions
You might have spotted these guys on TikTok, as they've been popular in global cities like New York and Chicago to name a few. The Museum of Illusions is a unique experience featuring plenty of immersive rooms that are designed to blow your mind. Manchester is the first UK location for this quirky exhibit, coming to the former Sports Direct store on Market Street. Expect intriguing holograms and unbelievable tricks in displays such as the Walk-in Kaleidoscope, Vortex Tunnel and Infinity Room, as well as some features that reflect Manchester itself.
Prepare to have your mind blown at this top pick of immersive experiences in Manchester city centre.
Chaos Karts Manchester
Widely referred to as 'real life Mario Kart', Chaos Karts at Old Granada studios is the UK's first ever live-action video game experience. You and your pals can zip around an augmented reality racecourse with an almost infinite number of maps to choose from - from deserts to space. The vehicles replicate physical sensations as you drive, with virtual power ups and weapons to spice up the competition a little.
Live out your Mario Kart fantasies at Chaos Karts.
Horizon of Khufu
Forget the long-haul flight to Cairo, as Manchester’s Transmission House is set to become a digital portal to the Fourth Dynasty. The arrival of Horizon of Khufu brings a boundary-pushing immersive expedition to the city, swapping traditional museum glass for untethered VR headsets.
Developed in collaboration with Harvard University Egyptologists, the 45-minute journey allows you to physically roam a massive 10,000-square-foot arena, feeling the sheer scale of the Giza Plateau as you navigate forbidden corridors and witness the sacred funeral rites of King Khufu.
Horizon of Khufu (pictured).
The Jury
Experience the heart of a high-stakes courtroom drama where the gavel is in your hands. Manchester is being summoned to the stand as The Jury Experience takes over the city’s most prestigious stages.
Moving between the acoustic precision of The Stoller Hall and the Royal Northern College of Music, this immersive courtroom drama strips away the fourth wall and places the burden of justice squarely on the audience. You'll take on the role of a sworn juror, tasked with dissecting the murky details of a high-stakes speedboat mystery where every testimony counts.
How will you fare in the courtroom?
LOWRY 360
The Salford Quays skyline is welcoming a new dimension of storytelling with the launch of LOWRY 360. As the UK’s first free permanent gallery of its kind, this ambitious project, created in collaboration with Barcelona’s Layers of Reality, transports you directly into LS Lowry’s 1953 masterpiece, Going to the Match.
It is a sensory reimagining of the North’s industrial heart, where super-high resolution visuals and a surround-sound soundscape of factory whistles and pre-match chatter bring the canvas to life with visceral, panoramic detail. It's a great way of catching some immersive art in Manchester.
This free exhibition is worth attending.
Bubble Planet
Manchester is surrendering to a surrealist dreamscape with Bubble Planet, reimagining the city's industrial backdrop as a series of pastel-hued fantasies. Spanning ten thematic environments at 10 Temperance Street, the experience is a masterclass in playful escapism.
From the Bubble Ocean, a vast sea of living balloons, to the oversized Bubble Bath where you're miniaturised amidst giant spheres, the exhibition is designed to trigger a sense of childlike wonder while providing the most Instagrammable vistas in the Northwest.
Bubble Planet comes with lots of photo opportunities.
Taste Film
For those who believe that a great film should be consumed rather than merely watched, Taste Film offers the ultimate multisensory seat at the table. This is cinema reimagined as a feast, where the fourth wall is replaced by a meticulously timed menu that allows viewers to eat the very scenes unfolding on screen.
From the fantastical flavours of Matilda and Bridesmaids to the sharp drama of Pulp Fiction, founder Amy Fernando has spent nearly a decade perfecting the art of the edible narrative, ensuring that every bite syncs with the movie’s most iconic moments.
This one's for the film fanatics.
For more unique things to do
across our city, check out this guide.
