Manchester Old Trafford stadium by mari

Manchester’s iconic Old Trafford stadium is home to the mighty Manchester United, and will be hosting many of the Olympics football games. The football tournament kicks off on the 26th of July and tickets are completely sold out for the events.

Team GB’s first game at Old Trafford is on the 26th of July against Senegal. The country has high expectations for the team, captained by veteran Ryan Giggs. Odds are in favour of team GB winning, and hopes are high after England’s strong performance in the Euros – but regardless of the score a great atmosphere can be guaranteed.

If you couldn’t get a ticket for one of the matches at Old Trafford, there are many other places to catch the action. Large screens are being put up outdoors around Manchester so that local residents as well as tourists can watch the events from the streets. The first of the screens was fitted in the city centre, in Exchange Square – a major shopping and entertainment district. The square also features the world’s largest Next store, as well as a Selfridges, so it’s a great place to go shopping and catch some of the action.

As a special event, all of the Team GB Cycling events will be shown at the National Cycling Centre (Manchester’s international standard velodrome). The events will be on a big screen and all of them are free to attend. Other events being held at the centre include the Watt Bike Challenge on the 4th of August, where participants test how much power they can output on a training bike, and the Cycle Jumble on the 5th of August, which should be a great place to find bike-related bargains.

Many of Manchester’s pubs will be showing the games too; Yates’s, in Portland Street, The Lost Dene in Deansgate and Zoo Manchester on Grosvenor Street are some of the city’s favourite sports bars and are all showing the games. Going to the pub is a great way of feeling part of the games if you didn’t manage to get tickets and all the pubs should have a fantastic atmosphere.

Much like London, travel within Manchester is going to be affected while the Olympics are on. Manchester Piccadilly railway station is expected to be busy between the 26th of July and the 7th of August. Some of the events are taking part on weekdays and during the day time to it will be best to check your travel in advance.

If you’re thinking about visiting Manchester during the Olympics, consider staying in a serviced apartment in Manchester which would be an ideal place to stay for business travellers, families and couples alike.

The post Olympics in Manchester | United Kingdom appeared first on Europe Explored.

Football lovers from around the world will know and appreciate the quality of teams and players produced by the country in recent years, and their stadiums don’t disappoint either.

With many being newly built for the European 2004 football tournament, Portugal really does have some of the best stadiums in Europe on offer for the sports mad traveller.

Here are 6 of the best for you to visit:

1. Estádio da Luz – SL Benfica

Photo by Crystian Cruz

In terms of highest capacity the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benefica (Estadio da Luz) wins the day holding a massive 65,647 supporters.

It is home to Benfica who are a team in the Primeira Liga which is the top division of the Portuguese football leagues.

Despite being one of the largest and well supported clubs in Portugal, Benfica’s last Primeira Liga title came back in the 2009/2010 season.

2. Estádio do Dragão – F.C. Porto

Photo by senalbuquerque

Located in Porto and home to the F.C. Porto football club, the Dragao can house just under 51,000 fans making it an impressive stadium by any measure.

Opening for business in late 2003 this stadium has seen its fair share of trophies over its short history including 7 Primeria Liga titles, 4 Portuguese Cups and a UEFA Cup amongst others.

3. Estádio José Alvalade – Sporting Clube de Portugal

Photo by blvesboy

Another Lisbon based stadium, the Jose Alvalade is the home ground of Sporting and has a capacity of just under 51,000 similar to the Dragao of Portugal.

The Jose Alvalade also opened its doors  in the second half of 2003 and was built with the Euro 2004 football tournament firmly in mind like many of Portugal’s top capacity stadiums.

Unfortunately Sporting have not won the league title since moving into their new stadium, but have won a Portuguese Cup back in 2007.

4. Estádio Cidade de Coimbra - Académica de Coimbra

Photo by Elapsed

Another relatively new stadium built for the Euro’s, the base of Academica (Portugal’s oldest registered football club) has a maximum game capacity of almost 30,000.

Located in Coimbra which is further north up the western coast of Portugal from Lisbon, Academica are classed as being in the second tier of Portugese football having never managed to clinch a league title.

The stadium has hosted some big pop acts in recent years including the massive U2 360 tour.

5. Estádio Nacional

Photo by Koshelyev

The National stadium of Portugal is in Lisbon however it is not really used very much anymore after falling into some disrepair according to many Portugal football fans.

The nation side tends to use one of the other Lisbon stadiums for their home games now, but the Estadio Nacional does still host the Portuguese Cup final every year.

It has a seating capacity of around 38,000 and is well worth a visit if you’re staying in or around Lisbon.

6. Estádio Municipal de Braga – Sporting Clube de Braga

Photo by LeonL

No list of Portuguese football stadiums would be complete without this one, which is home to Braga and has a capacity of slightly over 30,000.

Probably one of the most striking stadiums in Europe, it has been built on the side of the quarry of Monte Casto and the quarry wall sits directly behind one of the goals, at the other end there is also no stand giving panoramic views of the city of Braga in the distance.

A truly wonderful design that should not be missed.

Darren Atkinson is a keen football fan and runs a holiday accomodation website found at: www.villasinportugal.com.

The post Top 6 Football Stadiums in Portugal appeared first on Europe Explored.