Etihad Stadium tour: prices, booking, and what's included

The Etihad Stadium tour covers Manchester City’s home ground and, in its longer format, the wider City Football Academy campus next door — one of the most modern football training complexes in Europe. This guide covers what the standard tour includes, pricing, how to book, and how it stacks up against the Old Trafford tour if you’re deciding between the two or trying to fit both into one trip (see Old Trafford vs Etihad for the direct comparison).

What the standard tour includes

The standard Etihad tour runs about 75 minutes and takes in the home and away dressing rooms, the players’ tunnel, the pitchside technical area, and typically a look at media and press facilities. Guides tend to be club staff with genuine matchday experience, and the tour includes access to the club museum, which covers Manchester City’s history from its earlier, less glamorous decades through the 2008 takeover and the sustained success that followed. The museum is smaller than Manchester United’s at Old Trafford, reflecting the shorter recent trophy history, but it’s well laid out and doesn’t feel rushed for the size.

GetYourGuideEtihad Stadium: Manchester City Stadium Tour75 min · Manchesterfrom $37Check availability →

The extended Etihad Campus tour

For visitors who want to see more than the stadium itself, there’s an extended option covering the City Football Academy campus — the training complex where the first team and academy sides train, connected to the stadium by a footbridge. This is a genuinely distinctive add-on compared to most English club tours, since few Premier League clubs offer public access to first-team training facilities at all. It costs more than the standard tour and takes longer, so it’s worth it specifically if the modern-facilities angle interests you more than pure stadium history.

GetYourGuideManchester: Etihad Stadium & City Football Academy TourManchesterCheck availability →

There’s also an option aimed at visitors travelling from further afield, bundling the stadium tour with rail travel from London — a niche option, but worth knowing about if you’re not based in Manchester and want the logistics handled as one booking.

GetYourGuideEtihad: Man City FC Tour by Rail from London13.5 h · Manchesterfrom $267Check availability →

Prices and what affects them

Budget roughly £22-28 for an adult on the standard tour, with the Campus add-on tour costing meaningfully more. Concession and family pricing is usually available, and — as with Old Trafford — prices and demand rise around school holidays and weeks either side of Champions League or derby fixtures. In euros or dollars that’s roughly €26-33 or $28-35, though always check the live exchange rate at the point of booking rather than a fixed conversion.

Booking in advance versus turning up

Weekend tours during the football season (August to May) typically need booking one to two weeks ahead, and further out during school holidays. Midweek mornings, particularly outside peak season, occasionally have short-notice availability, but it’s not something to bank on if your trip dates are fixed. If you’re planning to see both Manchester clubs’ stadiums on the same trip — as covered in the Manchester football weekend itinerary — book both tours as early as you can, since trying to shuffle dates around whichever has last-minute slots free adds unnecessary stress to the trip.

What the tour doesn’t cover

Worth setting expectations honestly: the standard tour doesn’t include access to hospitality suites, boardroom areas, or the players’ private facilities beyond the dressing rooms and tunnel — these remain off-limits regardless of ticket type, and any offer claiming otherwise for the standard public tour should be treated with suspicion. The tour is also a fixed, guided experience rather than a self-paced wander, so if you’re hoping to linger extensively in any one spot (the trophy room being the most common request), you’re working within the group’s overall schedule rather than an open-ended visit.

Weather and seasonal notes

Because the tour route is almost entirely indoor and under cover, Manchester’s frequent rain has little practical effect on the visit itself, making it a reliable wet-weather option regardless of time of year. The Campus tour involves slightly more outdoor walking between buildings than the standard stadium tour, so a waterproof layer is worth having if you’ve booked that option and the forecast looks unpromising, which in Manchester is a reasonable assumption most of the year. Winter months outside the Christmas period tend to have marginally better availability given lower general visitor volume, though this isn’t dramatic enough to plan a trip around.

Avoiding resale scams

Book only through the official Manchester City website or a recognised booking platform. As with Old Trafford, unofficial resellers sometimes advertise “guaranteed” Etihad tour slots at a markup, particularly around high-demand fixture weeks — this is a scam pattern worth being alert to rather than a genuine scarcity service, and the same caution applies to anyone contacting you directly on social media offering tour or match tickets outside official channels. See Manchester scams to avoid for the broader pattern across the city.

Getting there by Metrolink

The Etihad Campus has its own Metrolink stop on the Ashton line, roughly 15-20 minutes from the city centre, and the stadium is a short walk from the tram stop — again, well signposted and hard to miss given the stadium’s scale. Trams run every 10-12 minutes on weekdays with a slightly reduced Sunday service. Tap in and out with contactless via the Bee Network rather than queuing for paper tickets — see the Metrolink tram guide for fare details.

There is stadium parking available for non-matchday visits, priced comparably to city-centre parking, though most visitors find the tram simpler given traffic and the cost of driving into central Manchester in the first place.

Matchday versus tour day

Tours do not run on matchdays, and access is often reduced in the immediate run-up to a fixture. If attending an actual Manchester City match is your goal rather than a tour, that’s a separate and more involved booking process — see football tickets Manchester for how general sale and membership-based ticketing works, since most away and even a good share of home tickets are allocated through club membership schemes rather than open sale to visitors.

How it compares to Old Trafford

The two tours are similarly priced and similarly structured — dressing rooms, tunnel, pitchside, then museum — but they differ in emphasis. Old Trafford leans into a longer, deeper trophy history and a larger museum; the Etihad tour leans into modern facilities, with the Campus add-on being the standout differentiator no other Manchester tour offers. Neither is objectively “better” — it depends whether history or modern infrastructure interests you more, and Old Trafford vs Etihad goes through the comparison in more depth if you’re deciding which to prioritise on a tight schedule.

Combining with a longer City-focused day

If Manchester City is your primary reason for visiting, it’s worth building a full day around the club rather than just the tour itself — starting with the standard or Campus tour in the morning, lunch at Sportcity or back in the city centre, then the club shop for merchandise, and if there’s a fixture on television that evening, a City-supporting pub (see watching football Manchester pubs) to round things off. This kind of single-club deep dive works well as one day within a longer Manchester trip that isn’t entirely football-focused otherwise, giving you room to balance it against the city’s music heritage, museums, or the Northern Quarter on other days.

Is it worth it if you don’t support Manchester City?

As with Old Trafford, yes if you have a general interest in football or stadium architecture — the Campus tour especially offers something genuinely different from a typical stadium visit. If your football interest is minimal and time is tight, it’s reasonable to deprioritise this in favour of city-centre sights like the Northern Quarter or Manchester Cathedral, but committed football tourists doing both Manchester clubs in a weekend, as in the football fan weekend Manchester guide, will find it a genuinely different experience from Old Trafford rather than a repeat.

Nearby, after the tour

Sportcity, the wider development around the Etihad, has some food and retail options, though it’s less developed for casual visiting than the area around Old Trafford. Most visitors head back into the city centre afterwards — the National Football Museum pairs well if you haven’t already done it, and a football-friendly pub in the evening (see watching football Manchester pubs) is a sensible way to close out a football-focused day, particularly checking which pubs lean City rather than United before you settle in.

Group sizes and what the tour feels like on the day

As with most English club stadium tours, groups are typically 20-30 people led by a single guide, moving through the stadium in a fixed sequence rather than at your own pace. Photography is generally permitted throughout, including the dressing rooms and pitchside area, with the guide flagging any specific restrictions on the day (usually tied to hospitality areas in active use). If you’re travelling as a larger family or group and want to stay together throughout, book as a single party where the booking system allows, rather than assuming separate tickets for the same slot will be kept together automatically.

Accessibility

The stadium’s tour route is largely step-free with lift access covering areas that would otherwise involve stairs, and the club recommends contacting the ticket office ahead of a visit if you have specific accessibility needs, since the exact route can shift slightly depending on which hospitality and media areas are in active use that day. Audio description and other additional needs support can be arranged with advance notice — this isn’t something to expect to organise on arrival without having flagged it first. Wheelchair users should also confirm accessible parking arrangements ahead of a visit, since the stadium’s parking areas nearest the accessible entrances can be limited compared to general visitor parking.

English translations and non-English speaking visitors

Standard tours run in English, and while guides are generally happy to slow down or clarify for non-native English speakers, dedicated tours in other languages are not typically offered as standard — worth knowing if you’re travelling in a group where English isn’t everyone’s first language. Some booking platforms offer printed or audio guide materials in additional languages as an add-on; check at the point of booking rather than assuming this is automatically included.

Visiting with children

Similar to Old Trafford, the standard tour involves sustained walking and standing with limited seating along the route, which can be tiring for very young children. The Campus tour, involving more walking across a larger site, is generally better suited to slightly older children or teenagers with a genuine interest in football or sports training rather than very young kids. If you’re visiting with under-5s specifically, the museum-heavy, tour-light approach (spending more time in the exhibits, less on the guided walk) tends to work better for keeping everyone engaged.

Food, drink, and the club shop

There’s a café on-site for refreshments before or after the tour, priced at typical stadium-attraction levels rather than city-centre café prices. The official Manchester City club shop at the stadium is well stocked with kit and merchandise, priced the same as any other official City retail outlet — buying here adds no cost premium or discount, it’s simply convenient if you’re already at the ground. If you’re comparing prices with unofficial sellers near the stadium on matchday specifically, stick to official retail — unofficial “market” stalls near football grounds sometimes sell counterfeit merchandise, which isn’t a risk at the official club shop itself.

How the Etihad compares to newer English stadiums generally

The Etihad, originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and subsequently adapted and expanded for football, sits in an interesting middle ground between historic older grounds like Old Trafford and purpose-built modern football stadiums elsewhere in England. This gives the tour a slightly different character — less century-old history to draw on, but a genuinely interesting story about stadium repurposing and the scale of investment that followed the 2008 ownership change. If you’re comparing stadium tours across multiple English cities as part of a broader football trip, the Etihad’s story of rapid modern transformation is one of the more distinctive versions of that narrative in the Premier League.

Fitting it into a longer Manchester stay

If football isn’t the sole focus of your Manchester trip, the standard Etihad tour fits comfortably into a half-day slot within a broader itinerary such as the 3 days in Manchester or Manchester weekend break plans. For a football-focused visit specifically, the Manchester football weekend itinerary sequences this tour alongside Old Trafford and the National Football Museum in a structure designed not to waste time crossing the city unnecessarily.

Frequently asked questions about the Etihad Stadium tour

How long is the Etihad Stadium tour?

The standard tour is about 75 minutes, with the extended Campus option taking noticeably longer — budget half a day including the museum and travel either way.

Does the tour include the City Football Academy?

Only the extended Campus tour includes the training academy; the standard stadium tour covers the stadium itself and the club museum.

How far ahead should I book?

At least one to two weeks for a weekend slot during the football season, and further ahead during school holidays or around major European fixtures.

Can I tour the Etihad on a matchday?

No — tours don’t operate on matchdays, and access is often reduced in the day or so before a fixture as the club prepares the ground.

How do I get to the Etihad from the city centre?

Take the Metrolink Ashton line to the Etihad Campus stop, about 15-20 minutes from the centre, then a short walk to the stadium.

Is the Etihad tour better than the Old Trafford tour?

Neither is objectively better — Old Trafford has more trophy history and a larger museum, while the Etihad’s Campus add-on offers a genuinely distinctive look at a modern training complex. See Old Trafford vs Etihad for the full comparison.

Is it worth it for a non-Manchester City fan?

Yes, if you have a general interest in football or stadium architecture, particularly for the Campus tour, which has no real equivalent elsewhere in Manchester.

Should I book through a third-party reseller if the official site is sold out?

No — stick to the official club website or a recognised booking platform. Unofficial resellers advertising “guaranteed” slots at inflated prices are a scam pattern to avoid, especially around fixture weeks.

Is photography allowed on the tour?

Yes, generally throughout, including the dressing rooms and pitchside — your guide will flag any specific area where photography is restricted that day, usually tied to hospitality or media areas in active use.

Does the tour work as a wet-weather activity?

Yes — the standard stadium tour route is almost entirely indoor or under cover, making it a reliable option regardless of Manchester’s frequent rain. The Campus add-on involves more outdoor walking between buildings, so a waterproof layer is sensible if you’ve booked that option.