Map: Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants
Wedged between serene North Wales and the even-more-serene Lake District, Liverpool provides an opportunity to sample the “real” England. It’s the best look at urban England outside of London.
Beatles fans flock to Liverpool to learn about the Fab Four’s early days, but the city has much more to offer—most notably, a wealth of quality, free museums, a pair of striking cathedrals, a dramatic skyline mingling old red-brick maritime buildings and glassy new skyscrapers, and—most of all—the charm of the Liverpudlians.
Sitting at the mouth of the River Mersey in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, Liverpool has long been a major shipping center. Its port played a key role in several centuries of world history—as a point in the “triangular trade” of African slaves, a gateway for millions of New World-bound European emigrants, and a staging ground for the British Navy’s Battle of the Atlantic against the Nazi’s U-boat fleet. But Liverpool was devastated physically by WWII bombs, and then economically by the advent of container shipping in the 1960s. Liverpudlians looked on helplessly as postwar recovery resources were steered elsewhere, the city’s substantial wartime contributions seemingly ignored.
Despite the pride and attention garnered in the 1960s by a certain quartet of favorite sons, Liverpool continued to decline through the 1970s and ’80s. The Toxteth Riots of 1981, sparked by the city’s dizzyingly high unemployment, brought worldwide attention to Liverpool’s troubles.
But, finally, things started looking up. The city’s status as the 2008 European Capital of Culture spurred major gentrification, EU funding, development of the “Liverpool ONE” commercial complex in the once bombed-out center, and a cultural renaissance. And, with some 50,000 students attending three universities in town, Liverpool is also a youthful city, with a pub or nightclub on every corner. Anyone who still thinks of Liverpool as a depressed industrial center is behind the times.
Nicknamed “Scousers” (after a traditional local stew, originally brought here by Norwegian immigrants), the people of Liverpool have a reputation for being relaxed, easygoing, and welcoming to visitors. The Scouse dialect comes with a distinctive lilt and quick wit (the latter likely a means of coping with long-term hardship)—think of the Beatles’ familiar accents, and all their famously sarcastic off-the-cuff remarks, and you get the picture. Many Liverpudlians attribute these qualities to the Celtic influence here: Liverpool is a melting pot of not only English culture, but also loads of Irish and Welsh, as well as arrivals from all over Europe and beyond (Liverpool’s diverse population includes many of African descent and the oldest Chinese community in Britain). Liverpudlians are also famous for their passion for football (soccer), and the Liverpool FC team—as locals will be quick to tell you—is one of England’s best. And, along with the city, scouse stew is on the rise as well—you’ll see it on menus all over town.
Liverpool can easily fill a day of sightseeing. For the quickest visit, focus your time around the Albert Dock area, home to The Beatles Story, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Tate Gallery (for contemporary art lovers), Museum of Liverpool, and the British Music Experience. If time allows, consider a Beatles bus tour (departs from the Albert Dock).
A full day buys you time either to delve into the rest of the city (the rejuvenated urban core, the cathedrals, and the Walker Art Gallery near the train station), to binge on more Beatles sights (the Magical Beatles Museum or the boyhood homes of John and Paul), or a bit of both.
If you’re here just for the Beatles, you can easily fill a day with Fab Four sights: Do the tour of John’s and Paul’s homes in the morning, then return to the Albert Dock area to visit the Beatles Story and/or the British Music Experience. Take an afternoon bus tour from the Albert Dock to the other Beatles’ sights in town, winding up at the Cavern Quarter to tour the Magical Beatles Museum and enjoy a Beatles cover band in the reconstructed Cavern Club. (Beatles bus tours zip past the John and Paul houses from the outside, but visiting the interiors takes more time and should be reserved well in advance.)
International Beatles Week, celebrated in late August, is a very busy time in Liverpool, with lots of live musical performances.
With nearly half a million people, Liverpool is Britain’s fifth-biggest city. But for visitors, most points of interest are concentrated in the generally pedestrian-friendly downtown area. You can walk from one end of this zone to the other in half an hour. Since interesting sights and colorful neighborhoods are scattered throughout this area, it’s enjoyable to connect your sightseeing on foot. (Beatles sights, however, are spread far and wide—it’s most efficient to connect them with a tour.)
Tourist Information: Liverpool’s TIs are just tiny desks freeloading in the Central Library (near the train station) and at the Magical Beatles Museum on Mathew Street (tel. 0151/707-0729, www.visitliverpool.com).
Private Guide: Paul Beesley, a local guide who runs the Liverpool Tour Guide Service with the help of others, is a good source for private guiding (£140/half-day, tel. 0151/374-2374, www.liverpooltgs.weebly.com, office@ltgs.co.uk).
By Train: The main Lime Street train station has eateries, shops, car rentals, and pay baggage storage (daily 7:00-21:00, weekends until 23:00, tel. 0151/909-3697, www.left-baggage.co.uk).
Getting to the Albert Dock: From Lime Street Station to the Albert Dock is about a 20-minute walk or a quick trip by subway or taxi.
To walk, exit straight out the front door. On your right, you’ll see the giant Neoclassical St. George’s Hall; the Walker Art Gallery is just beyond it. To reach the Albert Dock, go straight ahead across the street, then head down the hill between St. George’s Hall (on your right) and the big blob-shaped mall (on your left). Turn left onto Whitechapel Street and walk straight ahead all the way until you see the big red-brick warehouses of Albert Dock.
You can also take a subway from Lime Street Station to James Street Station, then walk about five minutes to the Albert Dock (£2.05, also covered by BritRail pass, www.merseyrail.org).
A taxi from Lime Street Station to the Albert Dock costs about £6. Taxis wait outside either of the side doors of the station.
By Plane: Liverpool John Lennon Airport (tel. 0871-521-8484, www.liverpoolairport.com, airport code: LPL) is about eight miles southeast of downtown, along the river. Buses to the airport depart regularly from Liverpool ONE Bus Station. Bus #500 is quickest (2/hour, 35 minutes, £2.30, covered by all-day ticket).
By Car: Most drivers approach Liverpool on the M-62 motorway, which dies at the edge of town. Just follow signs to City Centre and Waterfront, then brown signs to Albert Dock, where you’ll find a huge pay parking lot. There’s a bigger central garage at the Liverpool ONE commercial complex. If coming from Wales, take the toll tunnel under the River Mersey (£2) and follow signs for Albert Dock.
If you want to see as many Beatles-related sights as possible in a short time, these tours are the way to go. Each drives by the houses where the Fab Four grew up (exteriors only), places they performed, and spots made famous by the lyrics of their hits (“Penny Lane,” “Strawberry Fields,” the Eleanor Rigby graveyard at St. Peter’s Church, and so on). Even lukewarm fans will enjoy the commentary and seeing the shelter on the roundabout, the barber who shaves another customer, and the banker who never wears a mack in the pouring rain. (Very strange.)
Beatles fans enjoy loading onto this old, psychedelically painted bus for a spin past Liverpool’s main Beatles landmarks, with a few photo ops off the bus. With an enthusiastic live commentary and Beatles tunes cued to famous landmarks, it leaves people happy. The tour ends at the Cavern Club and includes general admission when the club charges a cover (£20, 5-8/day, fewer on Sun and in off-season, 2 hours, buses depart from the Albert Dock near the Beatles Story, tel. 0151/703-9100, www.cavernclub.org). As these tours often fill up, you’d be wise to book at least a day ahead by phone or online.
For something more extensive, fun, and intimate, consider a five-hour (can be made shorter) minibus Beatles tour from Phil Hughes. It’s longer because it includes information on historic Liverpool, along with the Beatles stuff and a couple of Titanic and Lusitania sights. Phil organizes his tour to fit your schedule and will do his best to accommodate you (£150 for private group tour with 1-5 people; £30/person in peak season if he can assemble a group of 5-8 people; can coordinate tour to include pickup from end of National Trust tour of Lennon and McCartney homes, also does door-to-door service from your hotel or train station, 8-seat minibus, tel. 0151/228-4565, mobile 07961-511-223, www.tourliverpool.co.uk, tourliverpool@hotmail.com).
To tailor a visit to your schedule and interests, Jackie Spencer is at your service...just say when and where you want to go (up to 5 people in her chauffeur-driven minivan-£240, 3 hours, longer tours available, will pick you up at hotel or train station, mobile 0799-076-1478, www.jackiespencerbeatleguide.com, jackie@beatleguide.com).
Two different hop-on, hop-off bus tours cruise around town, offering a quick way to get an overview that links all the major sights. Liverpool City Sights (red buses) generally have recorded tours, so I prefer City Explorer (yellow buses), because they come with live guides (£11, 13 stops, tel. 0151/933-2324, www.cityexplorerliverpool.co.uk). On either bus, your ticket is valid 24 hours and can be purchased from the driver (both run 4/hour at peak times, 2/hour after 15:00, daily April-Oct, generally 10:00-17:00; shorter hours and less frequent in winter).
Mersey Ferries offers cruises with recorded commentary that depart from the Pier Head ferry terminal, a 10-minute walk north of the Albert Dock. The 50-minute cruise makes two brief stops on the other side of the river. While you’re welcome to hop off and on, there’s little reason to get off across the river as city views are just as good from the boat (£10 round-trip, leaves Pier Head at top of hour, daily 10:00-15:00, Sat-Sun until 18:00 in April-Oct, café, WCs onboard, tel. 0151/330-1000, www.merseyferries.co.uk).
▲Merseyside Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum
At Pier Head, North of the Albert Dock
Other Sights in the City Center
▲Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (Catholic)
▲▲Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican)
In its day, Liverpool was England’s greatest seaport. It was along here (in front of the Cunard Building) that great ships embarked for America. For millions of people in the 19th century, this was their last stop before a new life in the New World.
But trade declined after 1890, as the port wasn’t deep enough for the big new ships. The advent of mega container ships in the 1960s put the final nail in the port’s coffin, and by 1972 the central port was closed entirely.
Today, it’s once again full of energy and a busy hub of harbor traffic: the harbor tour boat, ferries to Belfast and the Isle of Man, and just beyond, in a tented structure, the Liverpool cruise port (each year about a hundred ships stop here).
Over the past couple of decades, this formerly derelict and dangerous area has been the focus of the city’s rejuvenation efforts. Liverpool’s waterfront is now a venue for some of the city’s top attractions. Three zones interest tourists (from south to north): the Kings Dock, with Liverpool’s futuristic arena, conference center, and adjacent Ferris wheel; the red-brick Albert Dock complex, with some of the city’s top museums and lively restaurants and nightlife; and Pier Head, with the Museum of Liverpool, ferries across the River Mersey, and buildings both old/stately and new/glassy. Below are descriptions of the main sights at the Albert Dock and Pier Head.
Opened in 1846 by Prince Albert and enclosing seven acres of water, the Albert Dock is surrounded by five-story brick warehouses. A half-dozen trendy eateries are lined up here, protected from the rain by arcades and padded by lots of shopping mall-type distractions. There’s plenty of pay parking.
The Beatles seem like they’re becoming a bigger and bigger attraction in Liverpool these days. This exhibit—while overpriced and a bit small—is well done. The story’s a fascinating one, and even an avid fan will pick up some new information.
Cost and Hours: £17, includes audioguide; daily 9:00-19:00, Nov-March 10:00-18:00; tel. 0151/709-1969, www.beatlesstory.com.
Visiting the Museum: Start with a chronological stroll through the evolution of the Beatles, focusing on their Liverpool years: meeting as schoolboys, performing at (and helping decorate) the Casbah Coffee Club, making a name for themselves in Hamburg’s red light district, meeting their manager Brian Epstein, and the advent of worldwide Beatlemania (with some help from Ed Sullivan). There are many actual artifacts (from George Harrison’s first boyhood guitar to John Lennon’s orange-tinted “Imagine” glasses), as well as large dioramas celebrating landmarks in Beatles lore (a reconstruction of the Cavern Club, a life-size re-creation of the Sgt. Pepper album cover, and a walk-through yellow submarine). The last rooms trace the members’ solo careers, and the reverence for John’s peace work, including a replica of the white room he used while writing “Imagine.” A separate room shows the history of the Beatles in India, where they practiced transcendental meditation (along with singer Donovan, actress Mia Farrow, and The Beach Boys’ Mike Love) and worked on songs for The White Album. Rounding out the exhibits are a “Discovery Zone” for kids and (of course) the “Fab 4 Store,” with an impressive pile of Beatles buyables.
The great audioguide, narrated by Julia Baird (John Lennon’s little sister), captures the Beatles’ charm and cheekiness in a way the stiff wax mannequins can’t. You’ll hear clips of interviews from the actual participants in the Beatles’ story—their families, friends, and collaborators. Cynthia Lennon, John’s first wife, still marvels at the manic power of Beatlemania, while producer George Martin explains why he wanted their original drummer dumped for Ringo.
While this is a fairly sanitized look at the Fab Four (LSD and Yoko-related conflicts are glossed over), the exhibits remind listeners of all that made the group earth-shattering—and even a little edgy—at the time. For example, performing before the Queen Mother, John Lennon famously quips: “Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.” Surprisingly, there are no clips from the Beatles’ movies or performances—not even the epic Ed Sullivan Show broadcast. You’ll find that it’s strong on the Beatles’ history, but you’ll have to go elsewhere to understand why Beatlemania happened.
These museums tell the story of Liverpool, once the second city of the British Empire. The third floor covers slavery, while the first, second, and basement handle other maritime topics.
Cost and Hours: Free, donations accepted, daily 10:00-17:00, café, tel. 0151/478-4499, www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.
Background: Liverpool’s port prospered in the 18th century as one corner of a commerce triangle with Africa and America. British shippers profited greatly through exploitation: About 1.5 million enslaved African people were taken to the Americas on Liverpool’s ships (that’s 10 percent of all African slaves). From Liverpool, the British exported manufactured goods to Africa in exchange for enslaved Africans; the slaves were then shipped to the Americas, where they were traded for raw material (cotton, sugar, and tobacco); and the goods were then brought back to Britain. While the merchants on all three sides made money, the big profit came home to England (which enjoyed substantial income from customs, duties, and a thriving smugglers’ market). As Britain’s economy boomed, so did Liverpool’s.
After participation in the slave trade was outlawed in Britain in the early 1800s, Liverpool kept its port busy as a transfer point for emigrants. If your ancestors came from Scandinavia, Ukraine, or Ireland, they likely left Europe from this port. Between 1830 and 1930, nine million emigrants sailed from Liverpool to find their dreams in the New World.
Visiting the Museums: Begin by riding the elevator up to floor 3—we’ll work our way back down.
On floor 3, three galleries make up the International Slavery Museum. First is a description of life in West Africa, which re-creates traditional domestic architecture and displays actual artifacts. Then comes a harrowing exhibit about enslavement and the Middle Passage (as the voyage to the Americas was called). The tools of the enslavers—chains, muzzles, and a branding iron—and the intense film about the Middle Passage drive home the horrifying experience of being abducted from your home and taken in life-threatening conditions thousands of miles away to toil for a wealthy stranger. The exhibits don’t shy away from how Liverpool profited from slavery; you can turn local street signs around to find out how they were named after slave traders—even Penny Lane has slavery connections. Finally, the museum examines the legacy of slavery—both the persistence of racism in contemporary society and the substantial positive impact that people of African descent have had on European and American cultures. Walls of photos celebrate important people of African descent, and a music station lets you sample songs from a variety of African-influenced genres.
Continue down the stairs to the Maritime Museum, on floor 2. This celebrates Liverpool’s shipbuilding heritage and displays actual ship components, model boats, and a gallery of nautical paintings. There’s also good coverage of emigration. Part of that heritage is covered in an extensive exhibit on the Titanic. The shipping line and its captain were based in Liverpool, and 89 of the crew members who died were from the city. The informative panels allow you to follow real people as they set off on the voyage and debunk many Titanic myths (no one ever said it was unsinkable).
Floor 1 shows footage and artifacts from another maritime disaster—the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat. She sank off the coast of Ireland in under 20 minutes; 1,191 people died in the tragedy, including 405 crew members from Liverpool. The attack on an unarmed passenger ship sparked riots in Liverpool and almost thrust the US into the war. Also on this floor, an extensive exhibit traces the Battle of the Atlantic (during World War II, Nazi U-boats attacked merchant ships bringing supplies to Britain, in an attempt to cripple this island nation). You’ll see how crew members lived aboard merchant ships.
In the last room, three different exhibits overlap each other. Carrying Passengers covers Liverpool as a passenger port and gives an overview of passenger traffic in Britain today. Carrying Cargos focuses on cargo ships, imports and exports, and has an impressive figurehead from the HMS Hastings. Life of a Seafarer depicts life aboard ship, from leisure activities to diets and living conditions. From the early 1900s to the 1960s, most merchant fleet sailors came from towns like Liverpool.
A last section is dedicated to the MV Derbyshire, an oil tanker that disappeared in the South China Sea in 1980. The wreck was eventually found in 1994.
Make your way to the basement, where exhibits describe the tremendous wave of emigration through Liverpool’s port. And the Seized! exhibit looks at the legal and illegal movement of goods through that same port, including thought-provoking displays on customs, taxation, and smuggling.
This prestigious gallery of modern art is near the Maritime Museum. It won’t entertain you as well as its London sister, the Tate Modern, but if you’re into modern art, any Tate’s great. Its two airy floors dedicated to the rotating collection of statues and paintings from the 20th century are free; the top and ground floors are devoted to special exhibits. The Tate also has an inexpensive recommended café.
The most iconic rock-and-roll band of all time was made up of four Liverpudlians who spent their formative years amid the bombed-out shell of WWII-era Liverpool. The city has become a pilgrimage site for Beatlemaniacs, but even those with just a passing interest in the Fab Four are likely to find themselves humming their favorite tunes around town. Most Beatles sights in Liverpool relate to their early days, before the psychedelia, transcendental meditation, Yoko, and solo careers. Because these sights are so spread out, the easiest way to connect all of them in one go is by tour (see “Tours in Liverpool,” earlier).
All four of the Beatles were born in Liverpool, and any tour of town glides by the home most identified with each one’s childhood: John Lennon at “Mendips,” Paul McCartney at 20 Forthlin Road, George Harrison at 12 Arnold Grove, and Ringo Starr (a.k.a. Richard Starkey) at 10 Admiral Grove.
Behind John’s house at Mendips is a wooded area called Strawberry Field (he added the “s” for the song). This surrounds a Victorian mansion that was, at various times, a Salvation Army home and an orphanage. John enjoyed sneaking into the trees around the mansion to play. Today visitors pose in front of Strawberry Field’s red gate (a replica of the original).
During the Beatles’ formative years in the mid-1950s, skiffle music (American-inspired rockabilly/folk) swept through Liverpool. As a teenager, John formed a skiffle band called the Quarrymen. Paul met John for the first time when he saw the Quarrymen on July 6, 1957, at St. Peter’s Church in the suburb of Woolton. After the show, in the social hall across the street, Paul noted that John played only banjo chords (his mother had taught him to play on a banjo rather than a guitar—he didn’t even know how to tune a guitar), and improvised many lyrics. John, two years older, realized he was a better improviser than a musician, so he was impressed when Paul borrowed a guitar, tuned it effortlessly, and played a note-perfect rendition of Eddie Cochran’s “Twenty Flight Rock.” Before long, Paul had joined the band.
The boys went to school on Mount Street in the center of Liverpool (near Hope Street, between the two cathedrals). John and his friend Stuart Sutcliffe attended the Liverpool College of Art, and Paul and his pal George Harrison went to Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. (When Paul introduced George to John as a possible new member for the band, John dismissed him as being too young...until he heard George play. He immediately became the lead guitarist.) Paul later bought his old school building and turned it into the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
As young men, the boys rode the bus together to school—waiting at a bus stop in the Penny Lane neighborhood. Later they wrote a nostalgic song about the things they would observe while waiting there: the shelter by the roundabout, the barbershop, and the fireman with the clean machine.
By 1960 the group had officially become the Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and. . . Pete Best and Stu Sutcliffe. The quintet gradually built a name for themselves in Liverpool’s “Merseybeat” scene, performing at local clubs. While the famous Cavern Club is gone (the one you see advertised is a reconstruction, but does offer similar ambience and good cover bands), the original Casbah Coffee Club—which the group felt more attached to—still exists and is open for tours (3.5 miles northwest of downtown in Pete Best’s former basement, prebook by calling the TI at tel. 0151/707-0729 or online at www.petebest.com).
The group went to Hamburg, Germany, to cut their teeth in the thriving music scene there. They wound up performing as the backing band for Tony Sheridan’s single “My Bonny.” When this caught on back in Liverpool, promoter Brian Epstein took note, and signed the act. His shrewd management would eventually propel the Beatles to superstardom.
Many people could be considered the “Fifth Beatle.” John’s friend Stu, who performed with the group in Hamburg, left to pursue his own artistic interests. Pete Best was the band’s original drummer, but he was a loner and producers questioned his musical chops, so he was replaced with Ringo Starr. (John later said, “Pete Best was a great drummer, but Ringo was a Beatle.”) Brian Epstein, the manager who marketed the Beatles brilliantly before his untimely death, is another candidate. But—in terms of long-term musical influence—it’s hard to ignore the case for George Martin, who produced all the Beatles’ albums except Let It Be, and was instrumental in both forging and developing the Beatles sound.
By early 1964, the Beatles were already world-famous—but, as evidenced by their songs about Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, they never forgot their Merseyside home.
Cost and Hours: Free, donations accepted, £10 for special exhibits, daily 10:00-18:00, tel. 0151/702-7400, www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-liverpool.
A five-minute walk across the bridge north of the Albert Dock takes you to the Pier Head area, with a popular statue of the Beatles on the harborfront and the sights listed next.
This museum, in the blocky white building just across the bridge north of the Albert Dock, does a good job of fulfilling its goal to “capture Liverpool’s vibrant character and demonstrate the city’s unique contribution to the world.” The museum is full of interesting items, fun interactive displays (great for kids), and fascinating facts that bring a whole new depth to your Liverpool experience.
Cost and Hours: Free, donations encouraged, daily 10:00-17:00, guidebook-£1, café, Mann Island, Pier Head, tel. 0151/478-4545, www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.
Visiting the Museum: First, stop by the information desk to check on the showtimes for the museum’s various videos. If you have kids age six and under, ask about the hands-on Little Liverpool exhibit on the ground floor.
Ground Floor: On this level, The Great Port details the story of Liverpool’s defining industry and how it developed through the Industrial Revolution. On display is an 1838 steam locomotive that was originally built for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Global City exhibit focuses on how Liverpool’s status as a major British shipping center made it the gateway to a global empire and features a 20-minute video, Power and the Glory, about Liverpool’s role within the British Empire.
First Floor: Don’t miss the Liverpool Overhead Railway exhibit, which features the only surviving car from this 19th-century elevated railway. You can actually jump aboard and take a seat to watch 1897 movie footage shot from the train line. A huge interactive model shows the railway’s route. Also on this floor is the History Detectives exhibit, which covers Liverpool’s archaeology and history, including the story of the Liverpool Blitz (bombings by the German Luftwaffe in 1940-41—only London was bombed more than Liverpool during WWII raids over Britain).
Second Floor: If you’re short on time, spend most of it here. The People’s Republic exhibit examines what it means to be a Liverpudlian (a.k.a. “Scouser”) and covers everything from housing and health issues to military and religious topics. As industrialized Liverpool has long been a hotbed of the labor movement, exhibits here also detail the political side of the city, including child labor issues and women’s suffrage.
One fascinating display is the re-creation of Liverpool’s 19th-century court housing, which consisted of a series of tiny dwellings bunched around a narrow courtyard. With more than 60 people sharing two toilets, this was some of the most overcrowded and unsanitary housing in Britain at the time.
On the other side of the floor, the Wondrous Place exhibit celebrates the arts, cultural, and sporting side of Liverpool. An exhibit on the city’s famous passion for soccer features memorabilia and the 17-minute video Kicking and Screaming, about the rivalry between the Everton and Liverpool football teams and the sometimes tragic history of the sport (such as in 1989, when 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at a playoff match in Sheffield due to inept crowd control and an antiquated stadium).
Music is the other big focus here, with plenty of fun interactive stops that include quizzes, a karaoke booth, and listening stations featuring artists with ties to Liverpool (from Elvis Costello to Echo & the Bunnymen). And, of course, you’ll see plenty of Beatles mania, including their famous suits, the original stage from St. Peter’s Church (where John Lennon was performing the first time Paul McCartney laid eyes on him; located in the theater), and an eight-minute film on the band.
Finally, in the Skylight Gallery, look for Ben Johnson’s painting The Liverpool Cityscape, 2008, a remarkable and fun-to-examine melding of old and new art styles. At first glance, it’s a typical skyline painting, but Johnson used computer models to create perfect depictions of each building before he put brush to canvas. This method allows for a photorealistic, highly detailed, but completely sanitized portrait of a city. Notice there are no cars or people.
Three towering buildings near the Museum of Liverpool, remnants of a time of great seafaring prosperity, are known collectively as Liverpool’s Three Graces: the domed Port of Liverpool Building (which strains to evoke memories of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London); the relatively dull and boxy Cunard Building (now hosting the British Music Experience, described below); and the 1911 double-clock-towered Royal Liver Building (pronounced LIE-ver, Britain’s first skyscraper—322 feet tall with spires topped by the city’s mythical mascots, the “Liver birds”). The Royal Liver Building offers a tour to the top that is just an escorted walk through the working office building with an earnest guided spiel—it just isn’t that interesting.
This museum, located in the Cunard Building at Pier Head, goes beyond Liverpool’s Beatlemania, immersing visitors in the history of British music of all genres from 1945 until today. The multimedia exhibits include costumes, instruments, recordings, and memorabilia from artists and bands such as David Bowie, Queen, Amy Winehouse, Coldplay, and Adele, plus the chance to play professional-grade instruments in a sound studio. You could easily spend hours here, but plan for at least 90 minutes.
Cost and Hours: £14, daily 10:00-18:00, last entry 1.5 hours before closing, multimedia guide-£2; tel. 0344-335-0655, www.britishmusicexperience.com.
Visiting the Museum: The museum is one big room with a stage dominating the center that’s flanked by eight zones covering different eras. Music videos and holographic performances play on the stage. You can work your way around the hall chronologically from 1945 (when, with the help of pop music culture, children began freeing themselves from being “little adults who dressed and acted like their parents”).
Each section displays interesting facts about well-known artists, billboard art, costumes, instruments, and more. Your multimedia guide provides interviews, videos, and picture galleries. The first two sections (1945-1962, which covers jazz, skiffle, and rock-and-roll, and 1962-1966, covering R&B, Merseybeat, and the Beatles) have well-done interactive tables explaining the origin of these music genres and how the UK and US music scenes influenced each other. Timelines place the music in historical context, describing its relation to the politics and culture of each decade.
The final section is a studio where you can exercise your musical skills: take interactive instrument lessons (I learned to play a set of drums.); record your singing; or learn (and then record on video) dance moves that have been popular over the decades.
Stepping away from the waterfront, you find Liverpool’s workaday commercial center stretching east up to the train station and Walker Art Gallery and south past the massive Liverpool ONE shopping and residential complex. Take a moment with the map to get the lay of this easily walkable land: The older part of downtown stretches from Liverpool Town Hall down Castle Street to the huge Queen Victoria monument. Beyond the Victoria monument is Liverpool ONE. Next to that complex is the Ropewalks District stretching to Liverpool’s “bombed-out church.” Uphill from there you’ll find the cathedral neighborhood, with the Catholic cathedral to the left and Chinatown and the Anglican cathedral to the right.
If you’re arriving at Lime Street Station, here’s a stately way to get from the station into the city center. We’ll start by walking through St. George’s Plateau, past the Walker Art Gallery, and then downhill past St. John’s Gardens to Beatles sights along Mathew Street. Along the way, the only sight of real importance is the Walker Gallery (free and well worth a look, see listing, later). But the walk gives you a feel for the grand side of 19th-century Liverpool.
St. George’s Hall is the big, temple-like Neoclassical building facing the station. It originally contained courts and a concert hall; now it’s a venue for conferences, civic events, and the performing arts. Between the hall and train station is St. George’s Plateau, a gathering place for the community, with equestrian statues of Prince Albert and a youthful Queen Victoria that flank a somber memorial to the World Wars. Walk all around the memorial to appreciate the royal faces and the huge wartime losses Liverpool, like any British city, endured.
When John Lennon was shot, 25,000 gathered here for a candlelight vigil...probably recalling the last live Beatles’ performance here in December 1965, in the Empire Theatre across the street. Take a look up Lord Nelson Street to the right of the theater to spot the recommended Ma Egerton’s Stage Door pub, where many an artist went for a pint (and still do) after their performances.
The towering monumental column honors the Duke of Wellington, who beat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Behind him is the Walker Art Gallery, which is like a mini version of London’s National Gallery.
Now turn left and work your way downhill. The Neoclassical building adjacent to the Walker Gallery is the Central Library, containing a modern atrium (free, with TI open Mon-Sat 10:00-16:30) and, upstairs, the impressive Victorian Picton Reading Room. In front of the entrance, notice the long walkway engraved with famous book, movie, and music titles. Here and there you can see red letters sprinkled among the words, forming a puzzle to a secret code that the museum has yet to reveal.
The next grand building houses the World Museum, a catchall family museum with five floors of kid-oriented exhibits. You’ll see dinosaurs, an aquarium, artifacts from the ancient world, a planetarium, and theater (free, daily 10:00-17:00).
Continue strolling downhill along St. John’s Gardens (across the street). Filled with statues, it celebrates influential locals—politicians and philanthropists. (With all the slave wealth, big shots here felt a need to be philanthropic.)
At the foot of the park, find a round bronze memorial to the Hillsborough Stadium tragedy when 96 local fans (most quite young) were crushed during a 1989 soccer game in Sheffield. That tragedy led to a big change in how stadium seating is built in Britain.
The gaping tunnel below (with statues of the king and queen flanking its entry) is the mouth to the Mersey Tunnel, the first road under the river, which was opened in 1934. Movie buffs might recognize it from a Fast and Furious car chase or from a Harry Potter flying-broom chase.
From here, head downhill to the left on Whitechapel for about six blocks. A block into the pedestrian zone you’ll have entered the heart of Liverpool’s commercial center. At Stanley Street go right and then left onto Mathew Street—historic for Beatles fans. Lined with bars and souvenir shops, it’s super-touristy by day and sloppy and rowdy at night, often overrun with stag and hen parties on weekends (see listing, later).
Though it has few recognizable works, Liverpool’s main art gallery offers an enjoyable walk through an easy-to-digest collection of European (mostly British) paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts. There’s no audioguide, but many of the works are well explained by posted descriptions.
Cost and Hours: Free, donations accepted, daily 10:00-17:00, William Brown Street, tel. 0151/478-4199, www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.
Visiting the Museum: The ground floor has an information desk, café, children’s area, small decorative arts collection (with a fine selection of 18th-century fashion), and sculpture gallery focusing on 19th-century British Neoclassical works. The sculpture gallery has many works by John Gibson, a Welshman who grew up in Liverpool and later studied under the Italian master Antonio Canova. Gibson’s Tinted Venus (in the case in the middle) was considered scandalous to Victorian mores because of the nude sculpture’s lifelike pinkish tint. (Pinkish marble...yeow!)
Upstairs is a compact 15-room painting gallery. For a general chronological spin, from the top of the stairs head straight back through four rooms to find Room 1. (Paintings rotate in and out, so some mentioned here may not be on display.)
Room 1 (actually two adjoining rooms) has a famous Nicholas Hilliard portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (nicknamed “The Pelican,” for her brooch) and a well-known royal portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein. Room 3 has bombastic Baroque works by Rubens and Murillo (his Mary keeps her eyes on you as you cross the room), Room 4 features a Rembrandt self-portrait, while Room 5 focuses on 18th-century English painting, including canvases by Gainsborough, Hogarth (find the painting of the great actor David Garrick in the role of Richard III), and lots of horses by George Stubbs. Rooms 6-8 showcase a delightful array of Pre-Raphaelite works, among them Millais’ evocative portrait of Isabella (Room 6). You’ll find some Turners (a mushy landscape and a more sharp-focus Linlithgow Castle) in Room 7.
Room 10 makes the transition to the 20th century and Impressionism, while modern British art is displayed in Rooms 11-15. In Room 11, Bernard Fleetwood-Walker’s Amity shows a pair of chaste but (apparently) sexually charged teenagers relaxing in the grass.
The narrow, bar-lined Mathew Street, right in the heart of downtown, is ground zero for Beatles fans. The Beatles frequently performed in their early days together at the original Cavern Club, deep in a cellar along this street. While that’s long gone, a mock-up of the historic nightspot (built with many of the original bricks) lives on a few doors down. Still billed as “the Cavern Club,” this noisy bar is worth a visit to see the reconstructed cellar that’s often filled by Beatles cover bands. While just a touristy pub draped in memorabilia, dropping by in the afternoon for a live Beatles tribute act in the Cavern Club somehow just feels right. You’ll have Beatles songs stuck in your head all day anyway, so you might as well see John and Paul wannabes strumming and harmonizing a close approximation of the original (open daily 10:00-24:00; live music daily from noon until late evening, free admission most of the time, small entry fee Thu-Sun evenings; tel. 0151/236-9091, www.cavernclub.org).
Across the street and run by the same owners, the Cavern Pub lacks its sibling’s troglodyte aura, but makes up for it with walls lined with old photos and memorabilia from the Beatles and other bands who’ve performed here. Like the Cavern Club, the pub features frequent performances by Beatles cover bands and other acts (no cover, daily 11:00-24:00, tel. 0151/236-4041).
Out front is the Cavern’s Wall of Fame, with a too-cool-for-school bronze John Lennon leaning up against a wall of bricks engraved with the names of musical acts that have graced the Cavern stage. Adjacent, notice the 57 number-one singles from 1953 to 2018 by Liverpool bands.
At the corner is the recommended Hard Day’s Night Hotel, decorated inside and out to honor the Fab Four. Notice the statues of John, Paul, George, and Ringo on the second-story corners, and the Beatles gift shop (one of many in town) on the ground floor.
Claiming to be “the world’s most authentic Beatles museum,” this fascinating-to-Beatles-fans collection is spread chronologically over three floors with thoughtful descriptions. Neil Aspinall, a roadie-hoarder, collected this memorabilia during the early years as if he knew the Beatles would make history. Filled with a trove of artifacts (letters, clothing, photos, and so on), each floor covers an era: before they were famous, the touring years, and the studio/psychedelic years. Beatle-geek staffers are standing by to tell stories and answer questions. It’s strong on pre-Ringo days, because Neil was “a kind of stepfather” to Pete Best (the original drummer)...it’s complicated.
Cost and Hours: £15, RS%—Roag Best (the owner and half-brother of Pete) promises 20 percent off with this book; daily 10:00-18:00, last entry one hour before closing, 50 yards from the Cavern Club at 23 Mathew Street, tel. 0151/236-1337, www.magicalbeatlesmuseum.com.
One of the historic streets of Liverpool, Castle Street connected its medieval castle with its Town Hall. Today the Town Hall stands bold, the street is lined with bars and restaurants filling up the former offices of 19th-century banks, and the castle is long gone—replaced with a grand memorial to Queen Victoria. The monument seems fitting as the street is a parade of Victorian grandeur. Beyond Victoria (who somehow survived WWII bombing) is a zone that was obliterated by the bombing raids and was recently reborn.
This sprawling shopping/residential/entertainment complex, opened in 2008, covers 42 acres. Liverpool was slow to rebuild after World War II, and this vast, once-derelict stretch of the city center symbolized the decades-long funk. But in the early 2000s, with the help of EU money to kickstart development, the city started its rejuvenation with this huge project. Back then it’s said that half of all the construction cranes in Britain had been working here.
Liverpool ONE insists it is not a mall. It’s designed as a modern complex with three stories of shops and an actual street plan so that it feels part of the neighboring zones. You can walk from the train station to Albert Docks crossing only two traffic streets thanks to Liverpool ONE. It has residential floors above the commercial floors, so it’s also vibrant at night. With a world of famous-brand stores and restaurants, and lots of energy, the complex is worth a look. (Liverpool, with its trade heritage and successful Liverpool ONE development thanks to the EU, was one of the most anti-Brexit cities in the UK during the 2016 vote.)
Any big old-time port needed lots of rope, and that industry required long, straight lanes. Those long lanes now make up a happening zone of colorful, independent shops and restaurants. While the Ropewalks District sprawls several blocks wide, Bold Street is the most lively and fun place to explore.
In 1941, Nazi bombing raids gutted the fine Neo-Gothic St. Luke’s Church, which was left in ruins as a memorial to those killed. It marks the gateway to both the Ropewalks District and Chinatown. (Liverpool has the oldest Chinatown and the biggest Chinese arch in Europe.)
Liverpool has not one but two notable cathedrals—one Anglican, the other Catholic. (As the Spinners song puts it, “If you want a cathedral, we’ve got one to spare.”) Both are huge, architecturally significant, and well worth visiting. Near the eastern edge of downtown, they’re connected by a 10-minute, half-mile walk on pleasant Hope Street, which is lined with theaters and good restaurants (see “Eating in Liverpool,” later).
Liverpudlians enjoy pointing out that they have not only the world’s only Catholic cathedral designed by a Protestant architect, but also the only Protestant one designed by a Catholic. With its large Irish-immigrant population, Liverpool suffered from tension between its Catholic and Protestant communities for much of its history. But during the city’s darkest stretch of the depressed 1970s, the bishops of each church—Anglican Bishop David Sheppard and Catholic Archbishop Derek Worlock—came together and worked hard to reconcile the two communities for the betterment of Liverpool. (Liverpudlians nicknamed this dynamic duo “fish and chips” because they were “always together, and always in the newspaper.”) It worked: Liverpool is a bold new cultural center, and relations between the two faiths remain healthy here. Join in this ecumenical spirit by visiting and appreciating the lively energy of both churches.
This daringly modern building, a cone topped with a crowned cylinder, seems almost out of place in its workaday Liverpool neighborhood. But the cathedral you see today bears no resemblance to Sir Edwin Lutyens’ original 1930s plans for a stately Neo-Byzantine cathedral, which was to take 200 years to build and rival St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. (Lutyens was desperate to one-up the grandiose plans of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who was building the Anglican Cathedral down the street.) The crypt for the ambitious church was excavated in the 1930s, but World War II (during which the crypt was used as an air-raid shelter) stalled progress for decades. In the 1960s, the plans were scaled back, and this smaller (but still impressive) house of worship was completed in 1967.
Cost and Hours: Cathedral—free entry but donations accepted, daily 7:30-18:00—but after 17:15 (during Mass), you won’t be able to walk around; crypt—£3, Mon-Sat 10:00-16:00, closed Sun, last entry 45 minutes before closing, enter from inside church near organ; visitors center and an inviting café, Mount Pleasant, tel. 0151/709-9222, www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk.
Visiting the Cathedral: On the stepped plaza in front of the church, you’ll see the entrance to the cathedral’s visitors center and café (on your right). You’re standing on a big concrete slab that provides a roof to the massive Lutyens Crypt underfoot. The existing cathedral occupies only a small part of the would-be cathedral’s footprint. Because of the cathedral’s tent-like appearance and ties to the local Irish community, some Liverpudlians dubbed it “Paddy’s Wigwam.”
Climb up the stairs to the main doors, step inside, and let your eyes adjust to this magnificent, dimly lit space. Unlike a typical nave-plus-transept cross-shaped church, this cathedral has a round footprint, with seating for a congregation of 3,000 surrounding the white marble altar. Like a theater in the round, it was designed to involve worshippers in the service. Suspended above the altar is a stylized crown of thorns.
Spinning off from the round central sanctuary are 13 smaller chapels, many of them representing stages of Jesus’ life. Each chapel is different. Explore, tuning into the symbolic details in each one. Also keep an eye out for the 14 exquisite bronze Stations of the Cross by local artist Sean Rice (on the wall).
The massive Lutyens Crypt (named for the ambitious original architect)—the only part of the originally planned cathedral to be completed—has huge vaults and vast halls lined with six million bricks. The crypt contains a chapel—with windows by Lutyens—that’s still used for Sunday Mass, the tombs of three archbishops, a treasury, and an exhibit about the cathedral’s construction.
The street connecting the cathedrals is the main artery of Liverpool’s “uptown,” a lively and fun-to-explore district loaded with dining and entertainment options. At the intersection with Mount Street is a monument consisting of concrete suitcases (explained by a nearby info plaque); just down this street is John’s art school and Paul and George’s high school—with the four grand columns. In addition to well-respected theaters, this street is home to the Liverpool Philharmonic and its namesake pub.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, kitty-corner from the Philharmonic Hall on Hope Street, must be the most flamboyantly Victorian pub in town. It’s amazingly elaborate, the pink-marble urinals (while stinky) are downright genteel, and the cozy sitting areas on the ground floor will entice you to sip a pint. John Lennon said that his biggest regret about fame was “not being able to go to the Phil for a drink.” And, if you saw Paul McCartney on The Late Late Show doing host James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke”—or watched it on YouTube—this was the site for Paul’s surprise live concert (at the corner of Hope and Hardman streets, see the listing in “Eating in Liverpool,” later).
The largest cathedral in Great Britain, this gigantic house of worship hovers at the south end of downtown. Tour its cavernous interior and consider scaling its tower.
Cost and Hours: Free, £5 suggested donation, daily 8:00-18:00; £5.50 ticket includes tower climb (sold in the gift shop, 2 elevators and 108 steps), audioguide, and 10-minute Great Space film; tower—Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00 (Thu until sunset March-Oct), Sun 12:00-16:00 (changes possible depending on bell-ringing schedule); St. James Mount, tel. 0151/709-6271, www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk.
Visiting the Cathedral: Over the main door is a modern Risen Christ statue by Elisabeth Frink. Liverpudlians, not thrilled with the featureless statue and always quick with a joke, have dubbed it “Frinkenstein.”
Stepping inside, pick up a floor plan at the information desk, go into the main hall, and take in the size of the place. When Liverpool was officially designated a “city” (seat of a bishop), they wanted to build a huge house of worship as a symbol of Liverpudlian pride. Built in bold Neo-Gothic style (like London’s Parliament), it seems to trumpet with modern bombast the importance of this city on the Mersey. Begun in 1904, the cathedral’s construction was interrupted by the tumultuous 20th century and not completed until 1978.
Go to the big circular tile in the very center of the cathedral, under the highest tower. This is a plaque for the building’s architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960). While the church you’re surrounded by may seem like his biggest legacy, he also designed an icon that’s synonymous with Britain: the classic red telephone box. Notice the highly detailed sandstone carvings flanking this aisle.
Take a counterclockwise spin around the church interior. Head up the right aisle until you find the model of the original plan for the cathedral (press the button to light it up). Scott was a very young architect and received the commission with the agreement that he work closely under the wing of his more established mentor, George Bodley. These two architects’ visions clashed, and Bodley usually won...until he died early in the planning stages, leaving Scott to pursue his own muse.
Nearby, the “whispering arch” spanning the monument has remarkable acoustics, carrying voices from one end to the other. Try it.
Continuing down the church, notice the very colorful, modern painting of The Good Samaritan (by Adrian Wiszniewski, 1995), high above on the right. The naked crime victim (who has been stabbed in his side, like the Crucifixion wound of Jesus) has been ignored by the well-dressed yuppies in the foreground, but the female Samaritan is finally taking notice. The canvas is packed with symbolism (for example, the Swiss Army knife, in a pool of blood in the left foreground, is open in the 3 o’clock position—the time that Jesus was crucified). This contemporary work of art demonstrates that this is a new, living church. But the congregation has its limits. This painting used to hang closer to the front of the church, but now they’ve moved it here, to a lower profile spot.
Proceeding to the corner, you’ll reach the entrance to the oldest part of the church (1910): the Lady Chapel, with stained-glass windows celebrating important women. (Sadly, the original windows were destroyed in World War II; these are replicas.)
Back up in the main part of the church, continue behind the main altar to the Education Centre, with a fun, sped-up video showing all of the daily work it takes to make this cathedral run.
Circling around the far corner of the church, you’ll pass the children’s chapel and chapterhouse, and then pass under another modern Wiszniewski painting (The House Built on Rock). Across from that painting, go into the choir to get a good look at the Last Supper altarpiece above the main altar.
Continuing back up the aisle, you’ll come to the war memorial transept. At its entrance is a book listing Liverpudlians lost in war. Battle flags fly high on the wall above.
You’ll wind up at the gift shop, where you can buy a ticket to climb to the top of the tower. The cathedral’s café is up the stairs, above the gift shop.
Outside to the east of the cathedral, St. James Garden—once a sandstone quarry, then a spooky cemetery—is now a peaceful green space much appreciated by the community.
John’s and Paul’s boyhood homes are now owned by the National Trust and have both been restored to how they looked during the lads’ 1950s childhoods. While some Beatles bus tours stop here for photo ops, only the National Trust minibus tour gets you inside the homes. This isn’t Graceland—you won’t find an over-the-top rock-and-roll extravaganza here. If you don’t know the difference between John and Paul, you’ll likely be bored. But for die-hard Beatles fans who want to get a glimpse into the time and place that created these musical masterminds, the National Trust tour is worth ▲▲▲.
Famous musicians who perform in Liverpool often make the pilgrimage to these homes—Bob Dylan turned up on one tour disguised in a hoodie—and Paul himself occasionally drops by. Ask the guides about recent memorable visitors.
Because the houses are in residential neighborhoods—and still share walls with neighbors—the National Trust runs only a few tours per day, limited to 15 or so Beatlemaniacs each.
Cost: £25, £31 includes a guidebook.
Reservations: Advance booking is strongly advised, especially in summer and on weekends or holidays. Book online or by phone as soon as you know your Liverpool plans—or at least two weeks ahead (tel. 0344-249-1895, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles). If you haven’t reserved ahead, you can try to book a same-day tour; the last tour of the day is least likely to be full.
Visitor Information: Tours run daily from the Albert Dock at 10:00, 11:00, and 14:10 (tours do not run Mon-Tue in mid-Feb-mid-March and Nov; no tours at all Dec-mid-Feb). They depart from the Jurys Inn (south across the bridge from The Beatles Story, near the Ferris wheel—meet in hotel lobby). The entire visit takes about 2.5 hours.
Visiting the Homes: A minibus takes you to the homes of John and Paul, with about 45 minutes inside each (no photos allowed inside either home). Each home has a caretaker who acts as your guide. These folks give an entertaining, insightful-to-fans talk that lasts about 30 minutes. You then have 10-15 minutes to wander through the house on your own. Ask lots of questions if their spiel peters out early—these docents are a wealth of information.
Mendips (John Lennon’s Home): Even though he sang about being a working-class hero, John grew up in the suburbs of Liverpool, surrounded by doctors, lawyers, and—beyond the back fence—Strawberry Field.
This was the home of John’s Aunt Mimi, who raised him in this house from the time he was five years old and once told him, “A guitar’s all right, John, but you’ll never earn a living by it.” (John later bought Mimi a country cottage with those fateful words etched over the fireplace.) John moved out at age 23, but his first wife, Cynthia, bunked here for a while when John made his famous first trip to America. Yoko Ono bought the house in 2002 and gave it as a gift to the National Trust (generating controversy among the neighbors). The house’s stewards make this place come to life.
On the surface, it’s just a 1930s house carefully restored to how it would have been in the past. But delve deeper. It’s been lovingly cared for—restored to be the tidy, well-kept place Mimi would have recognized (down to dishtowels hanging in the kitchen). It’s a lucky quirk of fate that the house’s interior remained mostly unchanged after the Lennons left: The bachelor who owned it decades after them didn’t upgrade much, so even the light switches are true to the time.
If you’re a John Lennon fan, it’s fun to picture him as a young boy drawing and imagining at his dining room table. His bedroom, with an Elvis poster and his favorite boyhood books, offers tantalizing hints at his later musical genius. Sing a song to yourself in the enclosed porch—John and Paul did this when they wanted an echo-chamber effect.
20 Forthlin Road (Paul McCartney’s Home): In comparison to Aunt Mimi’s house, the home where Paul grew up is simpler, much less “posh,” and even a little ratty around the edges. Michael, Paul’s brother, wanted it that way—their mother, Mary (famously mentioned in “Let It Be”), died when the boys were young, and it never had the tidiness of a woman’s touch. It’s been intentionally scuffed up around the edges to preserve the historical accuracy. Notice the differences—Paul has said that John’s house was vastly different and more clearly middle class; at Mendips, there were books on the bookshelves—but Paul’s father had an upright piano. He also rigged up wires and headphones that connected the boys’ bedrooms to the living room radio so they could listen to rock-and-roll on Radio Luxembourg.
More than a hundred Beatles songs were written in this house (including “I Saw Her Standing There”) during days Paul and John spent skipping school. The photos from Michael, taken in this house, help make the scene of what’s mostly a barren interior much more interesting. Ask your guide how Paul would sneak into the house late at night without waking up his dad.
Liverpool hops after hours, especially on weekends. If you’re out after dinner, here are a few suggestions.
A particularly lively zone is the area called Ropewalks, just east of the downtown shopping district and Albert Dock. Part of the protected historic area of Liverpool’s docklands, the redeveloped Ropewalks area is now filled with pubs, nightclubs, and lounges—some of them rough around the edges, others posh and sleek. While this area is aimed primarily at the college-age crowd, it’s still worth a stroll, and has a few eateries worth considering.
The Bridewell bar fills a circa-1850 police station with a lively pub atmosphere and a beer garden. Inside, past the bar, several jail cells have been converted into cozy seating areas (1 Campbell Square).
The Grapes, an artsy pub between Hope Street and Ropewalks, has a cracking atmosphere with a hard-working staff and a good selection of ales and cocktails. Upstairs is a cozy outdoor terrace (live music on Sun, 60 Roscoe Street).
Peter Kavanagh’s, near the Anglican Cathedral, is worth the trek. It’s a proper pub with no food but plenty of good ales, cocktails, and friendly locals. The interior is richly decorated with memorabilia from its various owners. Enjoy a pint on the outside terrace or in the comfy leather seating inside. There’s a late-night quiz every Thursday at 22:00, and live music Tuesday and Saturday evenings (8 Egerton Street, cash only).
The pubs listed here are best for serious drinkers and beer aficionados—the food is an afterthought.
Thomas Rigby’s has hard-used wooden floors in the taproom that spill out into a rollicking garden courtyard. Its atmosphere is laid back, and chances are good you’ll meet locals, especially after work hours (21 Dale Street).
Ye Hole in Ye Wall, around the corner and much more sedate, brags that it’s Liverpool’s oldest pub, from 1726. Notice the men’s room on the ground floor—the women’s room, required by law to be added in the 1970s, is upstairs (just off Dale Street on Hackins Hey).
The Globe, a few blocks over, right in the heart of downtown and surrounded by modern mega-malls, is a tight, cozy, local-feeling pub with five real ales and sloping floors (17 Cases Street).
The Cavern Quarter, with the Cavern Club and neighboring music bars, covers a one-block stretch of Mathew Street. Filled with Beatles bars and Beatles memories, it’s packed with curious tourists by day and gets rowdier after dark—especially with hen and stag parties on weekend nights. You can always drink and dance to cover bands playing Beatles classics on Mathew Street.
This area, just a short walk south from Albert Dock, is an up-and-coming, shabby-chic zone with street art, mod bars, trendy eateries, and an edgy night scene.
The most interesting part starts on Jamaica Street where Paul Curtis, “Liverpool’s Banksy,” (along with other local artists) has decorated the Baltic Triangle with creative murals. The main attractions are his fun-loving Angel Wings and Abbey Road (painted for the 50th anniversary of that album) on Grafton Street. Both are just waiting for you as photo ops. On Jordan Street, check out the rotating statue exhibition, always good for a selfie. Across the street is a mural of Liverpool’s soccer coach Jürgen Klopp, a native of Germany who’s made Liverpool a top contender in England’s Premier League.
At the end of Jamaica Street is the popular Camp and Furnace, a cultural hub hosting events such as “Bongo’s Bingo,” singalongs, concerts, and a Beatles disco (67 Greenland Street, tel. 0151/708-2890, www.campandfurnace.com).
Across busy Parliament Street you’ll find Cains Brewery Village with a surprisingly good secondhand mall called Red Brick Vintage Market. For food, head to the Baltic Market, a warehouse full of alternative pop-up eateries that has done a lot to put the neighborhood on the map (closed Mon-Wed, 107 Stanhope Street).
Your best budget options in this thriving city are the boring, predictable, and central chain hotels—though I’ve listed a couple of more colorful options also worth considering. Many hotels, including the ones listed below, charge more on weekends (particularly Sat), especially when the Liverpool FC soccer team plays a home game. Rates shoot up even higher two weekends a year: during the Grand National horse race (long weekend in April), and during Beatles Week in late August—avoid these times if you can. Prices plummet on Sunday nights.
$$ Hope Street Hotel is a class act that sets the bar for Liverpool’s hotels. Located across from the Philharmonic on Hope Street (midway between the cathedrals, in a fun dining neighborhood), this stylish and contemporary hotel has 89 luxurious rooms with lots of hardwood, exposed brick, and elegant little extras. An extension, located in the former School for the Blind, has 50 additional rooms, a roof garden, a spa with a pool, and a cinema (breakfast extra—book ahead, elevator, some rooms handicap accessible, pay parking, 40 Hope Street, tel. 0151/709-3000, www.hopestreethotel.co.uk, sleep@hopestreethotel.co.uk).
$$ Hard Day’s Night Hotel is ideal for Beatles pilgrims. Located in a carefully restored old building smack in the heart of the Cavern Quarter, its contemporary decor is purely Beatles, from its public spaces (lobby, lounge, bar, restaurant) to its 110 rooms, each with a different original Beatles portrait by New York artist Shannon. There’s often live music in the afternoons in the lobby bar—and it’s not all Beatles covers. What could have been a tacky travesty is instead tasteful, with a largely black-and-white color scheme and subtle nods to the Fab Four (some rates include breakfast, elevator, internet-enabled TVs with music playlists, pay parking, Central Building, North John Street, tel. 0151/668-0479, www.harddaysnighthotel.com, enquiries@harddaysnighthotel.com).
$$ Sir Thomas Hotel is a centrally located hotel that was once a bank. The lobby has been redone in a trendy style, and the 39 rooms are comfortable. As windows are thin and it’s a busy neighborhood, ask for a quieter room (some rates include breakfast, elevator, pay parking, 10-minute walk from station, 24 Sir Thomas Street at the corner of Victoria Street, tel. 0151/236-1366, www.thesirthomas.co.uk, reservations@thesirthomas.co.uk).
$ Aachen Guest Accommodations is a family-run hotel with 15 modern, straightforward rooms in an old Georgian townhouse. The hotel is situated on a pleasant street just uphill from the heart of downtown (includes breakfast, a few rooms have shared baths, 89 Mount Pleasant, tel. 0151/709-3477, www.aachenhotel.co.uk, aachenhotel@btconnect.com).
$ Hallmark Inn Liverpool, nearly next door in a stately old Georgian building, has tight hallways and 82 small rooms with mod decor and amenities (breakfast extra—prebook, no elevator and six floors, pay parking, 115 Mount Pleasant, tel. 0330-028-3426, www.hallmarkhotels.co.uk, liverpoolinn@hallmarkhotels.co.uk).
Other Chain Hotels: At the Albert Dock, you’ll find a Premier Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Premier Inn has several other central branches, including downtown on Vernon Street and near the Liverpool ONE commercial complex on Hanover Street.
¢ Hostel: Run by the daughter of the Beatles’ first manager, International Inn Hostel rents 100 budget beds in a former Victorian warehouse (includes sheets, all rooms have bathrooms, guest kitchen with free toast and tea/coffee available 24 hours, laundry room, game room/TV lounge, video library, 24-hour reception, 4 South Hunter Street, tel. 0151/709-8135, www.internationalinn.co.uk, info@internationalinn.co.uk). From the Lime Street Station, the hostel is an easy 15-minute walk; if taking a taxi, tell them it’s on South Hunter Street near Hardman Street.
Liverpool has an exciting and quickly evolving culinary scene. As a rollicking, youthful city, it’s a magnet for creative chefs as well as upscale chain restaurants.
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
Hope Street, which connects the two cathedrals, is also home to a lively restaurant scene. For a fast and practical lunch, grab a salad or sandwich at the café at the Catholic cathedral.
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
$$$$ The Art School Restaurant fills the Lantern Room of a former Victorian home for destitute children with what is now a spacious and elegant dining hall. The service is formal, and the food is beautifully presented. Dressy, elegant, and a block behind the Philharmonic Hall, it’s a hit with the concert crowd. Chef Paul Askew, a high-powered bundle of gourmet energy, is French-trained but passionately modern English in the kitchen. The early fixed-price meal (£34 for three courses, served at lunch and 17:00-18:15) is affordable—the regular fixed-price offering (£75) and the enticing tasting menu (£95) are splurges. Considering the quality of the experience, while expensive, it’s a good value (Tue-Sat 12:00-14:30 & 17:00-21:30, closed Sun-Mon, reservations smart, a block off Hope Street, behind the big concert hall at 1 Sugnall Street, tel. 0151/230-8600, www.theartschoolrestaurant.co.uk).
$$ The Quarter serves up Mediterranean food at rustic tables that sprawl through several connected houses, with a few tables spilling onto the sidewalk with views of the Hope Street neighborhood—particularly nice when sunny. It’s youthful and cozy, serving pasta, pizza, and boards of meats and cheeses meant to be shared. They also offer breakfast and have carryout coffee, homemade cakes, and sandwiches in their attached deli (daily 8:00-23:00, deli open 12:00-15:00 only, 7 Falkner Street, tel. 0151/707-1965).
$$ The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, kitty-corner from the Philharmonic Hall, is actually a pub—but what a pub. This place wins the “atmosphere award” for its old-time elegance. The bar is a work of art, and the three sitting areas on the ground floor (including the giant hall) are enticing places to tip back a pint. While primarily a drinking pub, I’d eat here for the atmosphere. The restaurant seating is upstairs, but the ambience is on the ground floor (food served daily 11:00-22:00, bar open until late, corner of Hope and Hardman streets, tel. 0151/707-2837).
$$ Bread and Butter is a cozy little restaurant serving a French-inspired menu. Look for daily specials and enjoy a cold pint in their beer garden (Tue-Sat 12:00-23:00, Sun 13:00-19:00, closed Mon, 23 Hope Street, tel. 0151/709-7612).
$$ Cuthbert’s Bakehouse is a charming café and teahouse located two blocks down from the Liverpool Science Park. This is your best bet for an afternoon tea (£18 Cuthbert’s classic, reserve in advance by phone). They also have an impressive range of tasty homemade cakes and sweets; check out their specialty—red velvet cake (Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00, Tue until 20:00, Sat until 19:00, Sun from 11:00, 103 Mount Pleasant, tel. 0151/709-9912).
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
A few blocks southwest of Hope Street is Liverpool’s thriving Chinatown neighborhood, with the world’s biggest Chinese arch. Lots of enticing options dishing up Asian cuisine line up along Berry Street in front of the arch and Cornwallis Street behind it.
$$ Mei Mei Chinese Restaurant serves Cantonese to an enthusiastic local Chinese clientele. It’s dressy, with a big enticing menu and a hardworking staff (daily 12:00-22:30, 9 Berry Street, tel. 0151/707-2888).
$$ Yuet Ben is one of Liverpool’s most established Chinese restaurants (Wed-Sun 17:00-23:00, closed Mon-Tue, facing the arch at 1 Upper Duke Street, tel. 0151/709-5772).
$ Tokyo Noodle Bar is a cheap and simple diner featuring tasty noodle and rice dishes (Cantonese, Japanese, Malaysian, and so on) with service that’s fast and furious (daily 12:00-22:45, 7 Berry Street, tel. 0151/708-6286).
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
While primarily a nightlife zone, this gentrified area (between the pedestrian Liverpool ONE and the Hope Street neighborhood) also has a smattering of unique restaurants. Focus on Bold Street, lined with fun eateries.
$$ Leaf, with a wonderful energy, is my favorite on the street. Like Liverpool, it’s a little bit of everything—sharing dishes, fresh bakery items, salads, vegetarian plates, soups, sandwiches, fun cocktails, and lots of tea—all driven by the simple philosophy: Where there’s tea, there’s hope. It’s a chaotic, industrial-minimalist space with noisy acoustics. Grab a table and then order at the counter (daily 9:00-22:00, 65 Bold Street, tel. 0151/707-7747).
Other Bold Street Eateries: Along with trendy tapas, Middle Eastern, and Italian restaurants, look for these $ places: The Cat Café (where you can actually munch and sip with a cuddly cat, #10 at the bottom of the street), Johnny English for traditional fish-and-chips (at #60), and the wildly popular Mowgli Indian Street Food (at #69 next to Leaf, also downtown location).
$$$ Wreckfish Bistro is dynamic and friendly with an open kitchen and a small, woody, and romantic dining area serving modern British cuisine. Despite its name, the menu is not particularly fishy. The food, while unpretentious, is beautiful in its fresh simplicity. The meals will entice you to come back—and back (daily 12:00-14:30 & 18:00-22:00, reservations smart, corner of Slater and Seel streets, tel. 0151/707-1960, www.wreckfish.co).
$$ Cowshed does char-grilled steaks and ice-cold cocktails in a rustic townhouse. You can eat at the bar or at a table in an inviting room in back. The service is refreshingly efficient (Tue-Thu 17:00-22:00, Fri until 22:30, Sat 12:00-22:30, Sun 12:00-22:00, 104 Seel Street, tel. 0151/708-7580).
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
$ Mowgli Indian Street Food Restaurant, a phenom in town, hustles delicious traditional Indian dishes on little tin plates. Eat family-style, enjoying two or three plates per person. While it’s trendy and set in an elegant location across from Town Hall, the prices are great—and the service is fun (daily 12:00-22:00, 3 Water Street, tel. 0151/236-6366). They have a second location in the Ropewalks District.
$ Ma Egerton’s Stage Door is an enjoyable pub tucked away next to Lime Street Station. In addition to good ales, this place also serves well-priced pizzas and a tasty homemade beef scouse (the traditional stew brought to Liverpool by Norwegians, known as lapskaus in Norway). With its proximity to the Empire Theatre’s stage door, the pub has been frequented by artists such as Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, and, of course, the Beatles (daily 11:00-late, 9 Pudsey Street, tel. 0151/345-3525).
Liverpool ONE: This huge modern shopping center, right in the heart of town, is filled with British chain restaurants. The upper Leisure Terrace has a row of some popular chains, all with outdoor seating. If you want to dine on predictable mass-produced food, you’ll have a wide selection here.
(See “Liverpool Hotels & Restaurants” map.)
The eateries at the Albert Dock aren’t high cuisine, but they’re handy to your sightseeing. A slew of trendy restaurants come alive with club energy at night, but are sedate and pleasant in the afternoon and early evening. For lunch near the sights, consider the $ Tate Gallery café (daily 10:00-16:30). $ The Pumphouse Pub, with the tall brick chimney overlooking Canning Dock at the north edge of Albert Dock, is a touristy place for pub grub with a noisy interior and great harborside tables outside (£8 lunch deals, daily 11:00-21:00). $$ Gusto is a chain restaurant with a fancy and spacious interior, serving a wide selection of pasta, pizzas, steaks, and fish. Best seats on a warm day are on the back side overlooking the Albert Dock (Mon-Fri 12:00-23:00, Sat 10:00-23:30, Sun 10:00-23:00, Edward Pavilion).
Note that many connections from Liverpool transfer at the Wigan North Western Station, which is on a major north-south train line.
From Liverpool by Train to: Blackpool (4-5/day direct, 1.5 hours; hourly with change in Wigan and/or Preston), Keswick/Lake District (train to Penrith—2/hour with change in Wigan or Lancaster, 2.5 hours; then bus to Keswick), York (hourly direct, 2 hours), Edinburgh (at least 2/hour, 4 hours, most change in Preston, Wigan, or York), Glasgow (1-2/hour, 4 hours, change in Preston and possibly elsewhere), London’s Euston Station (3/hour, 2.5 hours, more with changes), Crewe (3/hour, 45 minutes), Chester (4/hour, 45 minutes). Train info: Tel. 0345-748-4950, www.nationalrail.co.uk.
By Ferry to Dublin, Republic of Ireland: P&O Irish Sea Ferries runs a car ferry only—no foot passengers (up to 5/day, 8.5-hour trip, prices vary widely—roughly £150 for car and 2 passengers, overnight ferry includes berth and meals—roughly £290, 20-minute drive north of the city center at Liverpool Freeport—Gladstone dock, check in 1-2 hours before departure, tel. 01304/448-888, www.poferries.com). Those without cars can take a ferry to Dublin via the Isle of Man (runs mid-June-Aug, www.steam-packet.com), or ride the train to North Wales and catch the Dublin ferry from Holyhead (www.stenaline.co.uk).
By Ferry to Belfast, Northern Ireland: Ferries sail from nearby Birkenhead roughly twice a day (8.5 hours, fares vary widely, tel. 0344-770-7070, www.stenaline.co.uk). Birkenhead’s dock is a 15-minute walk from Hamilton Square Station on Merseyrail’s Wirral Line.
Leaving Liverpool, drive north along the waterfront, following signs to the M-58 (Preston). Once on the M-58 (and not before), follow signs to the M-6, and then the M-55 into Blackpool.