The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Monday 23 March 2010
This article about the artist LS Lowry said he went to live in Salford as a young man and never left. In fact he moved to Mottram in Longdendale in 1948
Not so long ago, if you told a Mancunian you were planning a day trip to Salford, they'd probably have thought you were cracking a cheap joke at their expense. Manchester's industrial heartland was hardly a natural tourist destination, yet during the last decade one part of it has been transformed. Salford Quays, where the big cargo ships used to dock, has become a place to hang out and have fun, and its main attraction is the Lowry, named after Salford's favourite son.
The Lowry houses two theatres and several exhibition spaces, but its greatest treasure is the artist who gave this smart arts centre its name. LS Lowry moved to Salford when he was 21 and at first he hated it. Like a lot of people who live here, he came because he was hard up and he found hardship all around him. Yet it was his paintings of this bleak cityscape that made his reputation. Gradually, he grew to love Salford, and Salford loves him still.
Lowry never left Salford, and long before he became a household name, his local art gallery built up the world's biggest collection of his work. When the Lowry opened, 10 years ago, that collection came here, and now it's been rehung, under a new name, Lowry Favourites. The pictures in this new display are just a tiny part of the collection, but it's a perfect introduction to this elusive man, and his unique art.
Wandering around the exhibition, what strikes you is how accessible Lowry's pictures remain, even though the scenes he painted have long since disappeared. The factories have gone. Only a few old back-to-back houses survive. Yet this free show is packed with kids and parents and grandparents, a far broader range of punters than you tend to find in most galleries. Lowry lived alone (he never even owned a telephone) but he was a great communicator. He didn't flinch from portraying the harsh reality of urban poverty. He never lost his compassion for the poor.
As its name implies, Lowry Favourites includes some of Lowry's most familiar paintings, but there are some surprises amid the chimneystacks, including an intimate self-portrait and some haunting seascapes, painted after his mother died. Yet despite these hidden treasures, it's his industrial landscapes that endure. "For 30 years I painted mill scenes and nobody wanted them," he protested. "When I went on to something else, all they could talk about was mill scenes. I'm sick of it!" Maybe we became fascinated by these paintings when the world he painted vanished. By the time Lowry died, in 1976, Salford Quays had become a wasteland. Now it's full of brand‑new buildings.
Salford's other big draw is Imperial War Museum North, which opened in 2002. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind, one of the world's most celebrated architects. Like Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin, it's a bold, iconic building, a piece of sculpture as much as architecture, and the contents are equally arresting. The current highlight is a stunning retrospective of the work of renowned war photographer Don McCullin. Harrowing yet inspiring, it shows that sometimes, first-class journalism can become fine art.
The Imperial War Museum and the Lowry are only a short walk apart, on either side of the old ship canal, but if you're feeling energetic there are more sights further afield. The main landmark is Old Trafford, Manchester United's home. Even if you're not there on a match day, it's still well worth a visit. There are stadium tours, all sorts of souvenirs in the club shop, and a fine statue of three Man United legends – Law, Best and Charlton – outside. If you're a music fan, Salford Boys Club isn't far away. Smiths fans will recognise the facade from the cover of the band's best album, The Queen Is Dead.
I finished my day in Salford at the Lowry Retail Outlet, hunting for bargains in the discount designer stores. I'm not sure what Lowry would have made of this monument, but I don't suppose he'd have minded. The people in these arcades are the descendants of the people he painted. If he were alive today, he'd probably be painting shopping malls. Like all great artists, he painted what he saw, and that's why his art has lasted. As he said, "No need to go to London to become a famous painter – you won't find better lampposts there."
