Few football grounds are as closely associated with their club as Old Trafford is with Manchester United. The Old Trafford Stadium Tour and Museum takes visitors beyond the stands and into parts of the stadium normally seen only from a distance on matchdays. Rather than simply offering a view of the pitch, the experience combines a working football stadium with Manchester United’s history, making it interesting even for visitors who are more interested in football culture than in supporting the club.
If exploring famous sporting venues is part of your travels, our Stadium Tours Around the World collection looks at how some of football’s best-known grounds can become part of a wider city trip.
Old Trafford opened in 1910 and has been Manchester United’s home for more than a century, although its history has not been uninterrupted. The stadium suffered severe bomb damage during the Second World War, forcing United to play home matches at Manchester City’s Maine Road while Old Trafford was rebuilt. Successive expansions later transformed the ground into England’s largest club football stadium.
Its scale is part of the experience, but the stadium’s importance comes just as much from the events associated with it — from the eras of Matt Busby and the Busby Babes to the long period of success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The familiar nickname “The Theatre of Dreams” has become inseparable from Old Trafford and reflects the stadium’s place in Manchester United culture. A tour provides a different perspective from attending a match, allowing visitors to concentrate on the building and the stories behind it without a matchday crowd.
The standard guided tour takes approximately 70 minutes. The route currently includes areas such as the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand seating area, accessibility platform, players’ dressing room, players’ tunnel, pitchside dugouts and press/media room.
Walking through the players’ tunnel is inevitably one of the most recognisable moments, but some of the quieter parts of the tour are equally interesting. Seeing the dressing room, media facilities and stadium bowl from different levels helps explain how Old Trafford operates beyond the view normally available to spectators.
It is important to remember that Old Trafford is a working stadium. Manchester United states that advertised areas cannot always be guaranteed, and tour routes can change because of stadium activity, rearranged fixtures or other operational requirements.
Admission to the Manchester United Museum is included with the standard stadium tour. Spread across three levels, the museum traces the club’s development through trophies, memorabilia, photographs and displays connected with players and important moments in United’s history. Manchester United recommends allowing roughly one hour to explore it.
The museum also covers the more difficult parts of the club’s story, including the Munich air disaster of 1958 and the Busby Babes. Together with displays documenting United’s domestic and European achievements, this gives the visit considerably more historical context than the stadium tour alone.
If your stadium tour is scheduled for 3pm or later, visit the museum first. Manchester United currently advises this because the museum may be closed by the time a later stadium tour finishes.
The standard Museum and Stadium Tour is no longer the only way to explore Old Trafford. Manchester United offers several additional experiences, although availability varies and some are offered only on selected dates.
Legends Tours provide the opportunity to experience Old Trafford with a former Manchester United player, while other specialist options are offered at different times. Dedicated British Sign Language support is also available for visitors who require it.
One of the most interesting additions is the Carrington Tour. It begins with a full Old Trafford stadium tour before taking visitors by bus to Manchester United’s first-team training ground for behind-the-scenes access. The club also offers selected experiences such as Take to the Pitch, which combines a stadium tour with a coaching session on the Old Trafford pitch.
These experiences can change more frequently than the standard tour, so check the official Manchester United tour options before deciding which version to book.
The Museum and Stadium Tour is closed on Manchester United home matchdays, so check the official schedule before choosing a date. Tours can also be affected by other stadium activity, making it sensible to check current arrangements shortly before travelling. Allow additional time before the scheduled tour for check-in and security, particularly if you also want to spend time in the museum. Visitors taking an afternoon tour should remember that the museum may need to be visited before the stadium portion of the experience.
Rather than relying on opening hours or ticket prices quoted in a travel guide, check the official Old Trafford Tour & Museum page when planning your visit.
The regular stadium tour route includes 177 steps, but Manchester United offers a flat-route tour for visitors who require an alternative. The club asks visitors with accessibility requirements to contact the Museum & Tour team at least 48 hours before their visit so that appropriate arrangements can be discussed.
Manchester United also provides arrangements for blind or partially sighted visitors, while BSL multimedia guides are available for deaf and hard-of-hearing guests. Because individual requirements vary, these services are best arranged or confirmed with the club before the visit. Confirming these details in advance can also help avoid unexpected changes to the tour route on arrival.
Old Trafford lies southwest of central Manchester and can be reached by public transport, car or taxi. For visitors arriving specifically for the Museum and Stadium Tour, Manchester United currently provides free parking, although parking arrangements should always be checked before travelling.
The stadium’s location also makes it possible to combine the tour with other attractions around Trafford Wharf and Salford Quays. Imperial War Museum North and the MediaCity area are nearby, so visitors do not necessarily need to return to central Manchester immediately after the tour.
Visitors planning a football-focused trip around England may also want to compare Old Trafford with Wembley Stadium. The two experiences tell very different stories: Old Trafford is centred on the history and identity of Manchester United, while Wembley is England’s national stadium and is associated with international football, major finals and other large sporting and entertainment events. Our Wembley Stadium Tour guide explores the England dressing room, players’ tunnel, pitchside areas and Royal Box while looking at the history behind one of Britain’s most recognisable sporting venues.
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Step inside Wembley Stadium, one of Britain’s most recognisable sporting landmarks. Visit the England dressing room, players’ tunnel, pitchside areas and Royal Box while discovering the history behind this iconic venue. From its famous arch to unforgettable football moments, the tour offers a fascinating look behind the scenes.
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