Greater Manchester refers to an area roughly encompassing the conurbation of which the city of Manchester is the centre. It is situated in North West England. It has a population of about 2.5 million.

It borders onto Cheshire, Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Warrington.

It is made up of ten Metropolitan boroughs - Bolton MBC (Metropolitan Borough Council), Bury MBC, Manchester City Council, Oldham MBC, Rochdale MBC, Salford City Council, Stockport MBC, Tameside MBC, Trafford MBC and Wigan MBC.

Greater Manchester was established as a Metropolitan county in 1974 from areas that had previously been administered as part of the county of Lancashire and the county of Cheshire, and a number of areas that had previously been county boroughs independent of county administration.

The Metropolitan boroughs are now mostly independent councils, although they pool certain resources to run several Greater Manchester-wide services, including:

• Greater Manchester Police Authority
• Greater Manchester County Fire Service
• Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive

Other services are directly funded and managed by the local councils.

Towns and villages

• Ainsworth, Altrincham, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ashton-under-Lyne, Ashton upon Mersey, Astley Green, Atherton
• Blackrod, Bolton, Bowdon, Bramhall, Broadbottom, Bury
• Carrington, Chadderton, Cheadle, Cheadle Heath, Cheadle Hulme, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Crumpsall
• Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield
• Failsworth, Fallowfield, Flixton
• Gatley
• Hazel Grove, Heald Green, Heywood, Horwich, |Hyde
• Irlam
• Kearsley
• Leigh, Levenshulme, Littleborough, Little Lever, Lowton, Lowton Common
• Manchester, Marple, Marple Bridge, Milnrow, Mossley, Mottram-in-Longdendale
• Northenden
• Oldham, Orrell
• Partington, Pendlebury, Pennington, Prestwich
• Radcliffe, Ramsbottom, Rochdale, Royton
• Sale, Salford, Standish, Stretford, Swinton
• Timperley, Trafford Park
• Urmston
• West Didsbury, Whitefield, Wigan Withington, Woodley, Worsley

Places of interest

• Buckton Castle
• Bramall Hall, Bramhall
• Salford Quays, Salford
• Smithills Hall
• Wythenshawe Hall
• Astley Cheetham Art Gallery, Ashton-under-Lyne
• Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Ashton-under-Lyne
• Park Bridge Heritage Centre
• Portland Basin Museum, Ashton-under-Lyne
• Etherow Country Park
• Etherow Park
• River Bollin, River Croal, River Irwell, River Mersey, River Roch, River Tame
• Manchester Ship Canal
• East Lancashire Railway, a heritage railway