Empire Exchange

You’ll hear Empire Exchange before you see it. As you head down from Piccadilly Station you’ll hear glam rock blaring from the shop’s speakers, which is enough to draw you in alone. The shop front filled with old bikes, dated football shirts and signed music memorabilia is just a taste of what can be found inside, and once you head downstairs you’ll find a veritable Aladdin’s Cave of items. Nobody ever quite knows what they’ve gone into Empire Exchange to look for, and you’re certainly unsure about how you left with a stack of records, a copy of NME from ‘94 and a signed photo of Coronation Street’s Bet Lynch. It’s well worth a trip just to look in amazement at the shelves rammed with records and comics and the sagging shelves of books where you can reacquaint yourself with old copies of the Beano. The shop's a little disorientating to navigate — be careful not to trip over a box of old comics or bump your head on a model airplane hanging from the ceiling. Despite the dishevelled nature of the shop there is some order to things, but for the most part you’ll still find yourself having a good old rummage before you actually find that gem of an item, whether it's an ironic purchase or not. It's a junk shop without the junk. [Charlotte Davies]