Where do I start? There is so much do see and do in this amazing city, we were spoilt for choice and had only three days to cram everything in.
Having spoken with various Liverpool contacts, we managed to whittle down the vast list of tourist attractions in Liverpool to the following. We hope to inspire you to visit these and many more on your own trip to ‘The ‘Pool’.
The Beatles Story
The Beatles Story, located at the Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool, is the world’s largest permanent exhibition purely devoted to telling the story of the lives and times of The Beatles, and it’s superb.
We were transported on an incredible immersive journey of how four young lads from Liverpool were propelled to the dizzy heights of fame and fortune from their humble childhood beginnings.
Replicas of the Mathew Street, Abbey Road Studios and The Cavern authentically capture the early ’60s, allowing you to personally experience the very places that helped make The Beatles the greatest band in the world. These also make for excellent Instagram content.
Multimedia guides are included and are available in twelve different languages including Italian (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Korean). These exclusive guides are packed with information, imagery, video interviews, beautifully narrated by John Lennon’s sister, Julia Baird, making the whole experience authentic and very personal.
H&N Verdict: Absolutely brilliant! Make sure you spend time in each area to fully immerse yourself in the story being told by Julia.
The Fab4 Cafés
Evoking the spirits of the 1960s with hints of Abbey Road and Revolver under the Cavern Club-style arches, sit back and enjoy a speciality coffee and select from a range of fantastic pastries and sandwiches in the Beatles-themed Fab4 Cafes, situated at the main exhibition at the Albert Dock and a second cafe at the Mersey Ferry terminal at the Pier Head.
The Fab4 Stores
The Fab4 Store has one of the largest collections of official Beatles merchandise and souvenirs in the world. You’ll find a Fab4 Store at the end of the exhibition at the Royal Albert Dock, and it’s free to enter. Choose from a comprehensive selection of gift ideas, such as belts, hats, wallets, umbrellas, bags, t-shirts, games, clocks, decorations, magnets, badges, soft toys, postcards, stationary, music and DVDs. Why not even pick up an exclusive Beatles Story souvenir that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
The Discovery Zone
Children of all ages are invited to experience The Beatles Story’s Discovery Zone. Learn more about the Beatles’ lives, times, music and influential legacy using interactive screens, a giant floor piano and sing your favourite Beatles songs on karaoke on the mini Cavern Club stage!
The Discovery Zone is open 11am-3pm Saturday & Sunday, and during school holidays.
Royal Albert Dock
Iconic in style; immense in ambition. Liverpool’s docks dominated global trade in the 19th century, with the Albert Dock at their heart. To this day the Mersey continues to play a central role in the city’s cultural life, with the Dock an integral part of the World Heritage waterfront.
When it opened in 1846, Albert Dock changed the way the docks worked forever. Its warehouses were fireproof and secure; traders could do deals before their import taxes were due; hydraulic cranes hauled heavy cargoes across the flagstones. The speed with which ships unloaded and turned around was cut in half.
Its serene waters stretched the size of three football pitches, and construction cost the equivalent of £41 million today. From maritime to the arts, the Mersey has always played a central role in the city’s cultural life, and the Dock’s vast size stamped its imprint on the waterfront of today.
Today this famous tourist attraction in Liverpool is home to shops, museums, restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels.
H&N Verdict: We walked around it many times during our stay and found something new of interest each time. Unfortunately The Tate had just closed for refurbishment – a great reason to go back when it reopens.
Strawberry Field
Strawberry Field and the original Victorian house were gifted to The Salvation Army in 1934. In 1936 it was opened as a children’s home for girls later accepting boys. From then on, for nearly 70 years, it gave some of Liverpool’s most vulnerable children a refuge from turmoil and unhappiness – a safe, calm and spiritual home.
It was on these grounds that a young John Lennon, before Beatles fame, came to play, reflect and escape the post-War streets of Woolton. Those days spent playing in The Salvation Army grounds shaped him and inspired his work within the Beatles as an adult. Strawberry Field was later immortalised in the famous song, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ where he explored those more innocent days of escape that could counter the later complexities of a life lived in the public gaze.
Much like The Cavern Club, Penny Lane, The Grapes and The Beatles Story, Strawberry Field is a jewel in Liverpool’s Beatles’ crown. However, in spite of the hundreds of thousands of tourists that come to Liverpool each year, this important part of local history has been never been open to the public. Now the famous red gates are open to the public for the very first time.
H&N Verdict: Strawberry Field was closed on the day we visited, (we should have checked), so just did a drive by. There was a large crowd of people just taking photos of the gates – so we did the same. This is on our list for our next visit as we love its history and the effect it had on John Lennon. We want to know more.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Childhood Homes
There are organised trips to these childhood homes and it’s the only way you can gain access as they are owned by The National Trust. You can however drive to them and take photos of the outside for free.
251 Menlove Avenue is the childhood home of John Lennon. Built in 1933, this semi-detached property, belonged to John’s aunt Mimi and her husband and Lennon moved there in July 1946 at the age of five when his mother was persuaded that it would be better for his Aunt Mimi and George to take care of him. He remained there until mid-1963, when he was 22 years old.
In 1965 Mimi sold the property, taking away some of the furnishings and giving away others.
20 Forthlin Road is the house in which Paul McCartney lived for several years before he rose to fame with the Beatles, and it is labelled by the National Trust as “the birthplace of the Beatles”
The house was built in 1949 and the McCartney family moved into it in 1955 when Paul was at secondary school.
Unlike Lennon’s childhood home, 20 Forthlin Road does not have an English Heritage Blue Plaque and is currently ineligible to receive one. English Heritage issue a plaque once the figure has “been dead for 20 years, or has passed the centenary of their birth”.
H&N Verdict: If you are a true Beatles fan, visiting these childhood homes is a must. You really get a sense of their childhood and their humble beginnings. We found them to be interesting and a little bit surreal as you are walking in the footsteps of greatness which at times gave us chills.
Ferry Across The Mersey
This just had to be done! And do you know what? It was an unplanned trip, we had time to spare and it was bitterly cold, so we jumped on the ferry and were pleasantly surprised at the sights along Liverpool and Wirral’s waterfronts.
The history is fascinating and all you need to do is sit back, relax and take in the views. You’ll be captivated as the rich and fascinating history of these world-famous waterfront unfolds before you.
H&N Verdict: We were so pleased we did this trip. It wasn’t in our itinerary but it was so interesting. Word of warning – dress warm if you go in winter! It’s a bracing wind across The Mersey.
The Iron Men of Crosby Beach
Crosby Beach was wild and windy making Antony Gormley’s installation even more atmospheric.
100 cast-iron sculptures made from 17 different moulds taken from the sculptor’s own body, installed on Crosby Beach on the Mersey Estuary, all face the open sea, and evoke the relationship between the natural elements, space and the human body.
‘Another Place’ covers a distance of almost 3km, with the pieces placed 250m apart along the tide line, and up to 1km out towards the horizon. The movement of local tides and daily weather conditions dictate whether the figures are visible or submerged. It has become one of the most well-loved and widely recognised public art works in the UK.
The installation was brought to Crosby Beach by Liverpool Biennial in partnership with South Sefton Partnership in 2005 and has since been secured by Sefton MBC to remain permanently on the beach.
H&N Verdict: We walked the length and breadth of that beach, taking in as many of the sculptures as were visible at the time. Some were way out to see and covered completely by the tide, others just had a head visible, which was really strange to see. The ones on the beach were in varying stages of being buried by the sand, and some had t-shirts on as if to cover their modesty – (these are a naked representation of the artists body after all). Really pleased we made the detour to see this spectacle.
Iconic Statues
Many famous people originate from this magical city and their statues are dotted around, adding to the uniqueness of this glorious city. Here’s a few we found on our walkabout. John Lennon, Billy Fury and Cilla Black:
Our visit was packed with tourist attractions in Liverpool, but we soon realised there is so much more to see, three days is just not enough! So we will be back next year to soak up some more of this fabulous city.
See you there!
Some images supplied. Some images taken during the trip.
