Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Liverpool

[Ehab16]

Think of Liverpool and you immediately think of The Beatles and Liverpool Football Club and their famous Anfield stadium (one of the country's largest). And, of course, there's that unique Scouse accent.

The Liverpool culture capital has always been known for its cultural offerings, with a fantastic literature, arts, theatre, poetry, and music scene.The city also has many handsome historic buildings, as well as numerous gardens and parks, museums, and recreational facilities.

Liverpool also has the distinction of being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The designation that covers six locations in the center of Liverpool including Pier Head, Royal Albert Dock, and William Brown Street. The city is also a popular shopping destination, particularly around trendy Liverpool One, a 42-acre site dedicated to serious retail therapy.

Liverpool was hailed Capital of Culture for the year of 2008. The Liverpool culture capital has always been known for its cultural offerings, with a fantastic literature, arts, theatre, poetry, and music scene.

To learn more about why this vibrant city is one of the best places to visit in England, read about the most popular tourist attractions in our great city: 

 1. ANFIELD: LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM  

No trip to the city is complete without a visit to Anfield Stadium, home of Liverpool Football Club. The LFC Stadium Tour is a truly memorable experience for all, whether you're a fan of the beautiful game, or interested in the history of the Club and the city of Liverpool itself. 

THE LFC STADIUM TOUR: 

See areas of the stadium: the state-of-the-art Home Team dressing room, Away Team dressing room, Press Room, Player’s tunnel and This is Anfield Sign, as well as stunning pitch and city views from the highest level of the Main Stand.

You’ll use multimedia audio handsets to fully immerse yourself and take your tour at your own pace.

The tour includes The Liverpool FC Story, the Club’s interactive museum and The Steven Gerrard Collection.

The LFC Stadium Tour – the city’s must-see visitor attraction.

Address:   Anfield, Liverpool L4 0TH

Link: https://stadiumtours.liverpoolfc.com/

2. The Beatles
 

Liverpool is famous as the birthplace of The Beatles. Various tours offer fans the opportunity to follow in their footsteps, taking in such famous destinations as Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. Tours also usually include The Beatles Story in Albert Dock and the rebuilt Cavern Club, where they made their debut in 1961.

Other Beatles related sites include the Cavern Walks (murals by Cynthia Lennon); The Beatles Shop; and 20 Forthlin Road, McCartney's former home. It was here the band wrote and rehearsed many of their early songs, and the property is now open to the public and features Beatles memorabilia and photos.

Also of interest to fans are John Lennon's childhood home at 251 Menlove Avenue, along with the Casbah Coffee Club in West Derby. Opened in 1959 by the parents of Pete Best, the Beatles' first drummer, as a venue for upcoming local bands, the Casbah became a regular haunt of the Fab Four and remains much as it was in its heyday.

Address: Britannia Vaults, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool

Official site: www.beatlesstory.com

 
3. Royal Albert Dock
 

The superbly restored Royal Albert Dock was the first such facility in Britain to be built using only bricks and iron. At its heart is an impressive five-story-high block of buildings surrounding the harbor basin where cotton, tobacco, and sugar were once unloaded. These enormous Victorian structures are built around an arcaded walkway, their cast Tuscan columns once serving as capstans for moored ships.

Today, these decoratively restored warehouses house luxury apartments, designer boutiques, restaurants, cafés, and museums. They now stand as prime examples of gentrification, a phenomena which can also be witnessed in other places to visit in the UK such as London, Manchester, and Glasgow, where once decaying inner cities are restored to provide recreational amenities.

Royal Albert Dock is also home to a number of first-rate tourist attractions. These include The Beatles Story with its memorabilia, photographs, and films of the Fab Four; the International Slavery Museum, just yards from the dry docks where 18th-century slave ships were repaired and fitted; and the Border Force National Museum, which tells the story of smuggling and contraband from the 1700s to the present day.

Address: 3-4 The Colonnades, Liverpool

Official site: www.albertdock.com

 
4. Tate Liverpool
 

An acclaimed branch of the Tate Gallery, Tate Liverpool, has been established in the Albert Dock. As chance would have it, the London Tate Gallery – established at the end of the 19th century with a legacy from the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate – found space in the warehouses where raw sugar was stored before being refined.

The ground floor of the 'Tate of the North" has exhibition halls and galleries dedicated to contemporary art as well as works on loan from the London gallery. Admission is free.

Address: Albert Dock, Liverpool

Official site: www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-liverpool

 
5. Merseyside Maritime Museum
 

The Maritime Museum in Liverpool is home to numerous fascinating exhibitions about the many thousands of emigrants who left Britain via the Mersey for North America between 1830 and 1930. The museum also boasts an impressive collection of artifacts related to seafaring in Liverpool, stretching back in time as far as its establishment as a fishing port in the 13th century.

This rich history is illustrated with model ships, workshops, and historic vessels. Equally fascinating are exhibits relating to the stories of the Titanic and Lusitania, two of the most famous – and tragic – passenger vessels in history (each had strong links with Liverpool).

Other popular things to do include visiting the nearby U-boat Story, which depicts life aboard a submarine during wartime, and the impressive Western Approaches museum, with its original map rooms and displays relating to the Royal Navy in WWII.

Address: Albert Dock, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/

 
6. Victoria Gallery and Museum
Art lovers should also check out The Victoria Gallery and Museum. Located in a spectacular red-brick building at the University of Liverpool, the museum – known locally as the (V&M) – includes large collections of sculptures and ceramics, along with an impressive array of paintings by the likes of Lucian Freud and J. M. W. Turner.

The facility also boasts a program of educational lectures and workshops, as well as a café and shop.(Check out events during your visit on their official website, below.)

Address: Ashton Street, Liverpool

Official site: https://vgm.liverpool.ac.uk

 
7. Pier Head
 

The Pier Head area of Liverpool includes the traditional trio of harbor buildings known as the Three Graces: the Port of Liverpool Building, the Cunard Building (named after Canadian Samuel Cunard, owner of the first shipping line from Liverpool-Halifax-Boston), and the Royal Liver Building (not open to the public).

It's also where you'll find the Titanic Memorial commemorating the "Heroes in the Engine Room" on the luxury liner that sank in 1912. Also located here are the Queen Victoria Monument; The Beatles Statue; and the Georgian Town Hall, built in 1754 with its lovely copper cupola crowned by a statue of Minerva.

Address: Pier Head, Liverpool

 
8. St. George's Hall
 

The façade of St. George's Hall on Brown Street is festooned with Corinthian columns and statues. Its sumptuously decorated Great Hall, boasting one of the world's largest organs, is often used for concerts. To the rear of the building, the splendid St. John's Gardens feature statues of prominent Liverpudlians.

The nearby Polytechnic Building is part of an imposing group of neo-Greek buildings that include the William Brown Library, the Picton Reading Rooms, and the Hornby Library. Also of interest is the impressive Bluecoat Chambers, built as a charitable school in 1717 and the city center's oldest building.

Somewhat newer (it was built in 1969) but worth a visit is Radio City Tower. Also referred to as St. John's Beacon, this observation tower offers superb views over the city.

Address: St. George's Place, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolcityhalls.co.uk/st-georges-hall

 
9. Walker Art Gallery
 

The Walker Art Gallery boasts a rich collection of works by Italian, Flemish, and French Masters from the 14th century to the present. These include masterpieces by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Rodin. Its display of English painting and sculpture, particularly of the 18th to 20th centuries, is unrivaled outside London and features works by Gainsborough, Hogarth, and Moore.

Of particular note is the poignant farewell scene at Liverpool's Pier Head, as depicted by John J. Lee, entitled Sweethearts and Wives. The John and Peter Moore Exhibition, an important display of contemporary British art, is held every alternate year.

Associated with the Walker Art Gallery, Sudley House is well worth visiting. Set in an early 19th-century mansion on Mossley Hill, it's home to a gallery containing artists such as Gainsborough and Turner.

Address: William Brown Street, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/index.aspx

 
10. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
 

The Catholic Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral reflects the high proportion of Liverpudlians of Irish origin living in the city. During the Irish emigrations of the 19th and 20th centuries, Liverpool was the principal port of embarkation for the United States, and many emigrants ended up settling in the city.

Building began in 1928, although it wasn't actually completed until 1967. Around its cylindrical tower is a huge "tent." Two hundred feet in diameter, it rises sharply to a funnel-shaped drum that stands 270 feet high, making the whole structure look like a huge lantern rising above the city.

Location: Mount Pleasant, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk

 
11. Liverpool Cathedral
 

The Anglican Liverpool Cathedral on St. James's Mount was consecrated in 1978, although services were held here in the 1920s. Also known as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool, this huge structure – designed by the same architect who created the country's iconic red telephone boxes – was built of red sandstone.

Atop its copper roof is a 330-foot-high tower containing a carillon with 2,500 bells, the largest weighing in at four tons. The cathedral's 9,704-pipe Willis organ is one of the largest in the world.

Also of interest is the Anglican Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, a parish church that dates back to the mid-13th century.

Address: St. James Mt, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

12. Museum of Liverpool
 

Opened in 2011, the Museum of Liverpool celebrates the city's unique geography, history, and culture using displays related to the port and its people. Collections include period costumes and decorative art, as well as objects representing the city's social and urban history, along with oral testimonies, archaeological material, and photos.

The museum is also home to the famous Lion steam engine, built in 1838 and star of the film The Titfield Thunderbolt.

While you're museum hopping, be sure to also visit the World Museum, with its fascinating account of how we humans have impacted the world we inhabit.

Location: Pier Head, Liverpool

Official site: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/index.aspx

 
 13.Liverpool ONE

With over 170 stores, bars and restaurants - Liverpool ONE is the ultimate shopping experience. With all your favourite high street stores as well as designer brands, there really is something for everyone. Here you’ll find the likes of Victoria’s Secret, Armani Exchange, The White Company, John Lewis & Partners and Beauty Bazaar Harvey Nichols – the only one in the UK.

And when you’re ready for a break from shopping, why not enjoy a delicious dining experience? with over 35 restaurants to choose from serving international cuisines – you’ll be spoilt for choice! Visit The Terrace, Hanover Street and everywhere in between.

Address: 5 Wall St, L1 8JQ Liverpool, UK.

Link: https://www.liverpool-one.com/

Courtesy of : shorturl.at/iwEK1

[Emilie]

Thanks for sharing so many ideas of things to do in Liverpool, @Ehab16!

I was lucky enough to come up for a few days 4 or 5 years ago, and although I crossed a few things off this list, there are a few more activities that I should come and check out sometime. Is this what you recommend guests do when they come and stay then? Are they in order of guest preference from your experience, or your own preference? I'm curious. 🙂

[Ehab16]

Hi @Emilie 🙂

Liverpool city has so much to give no matter whether you come for a weekend or for a whole week. Its a UNESCO world heritage city concentrating on its cultural and historical treasures from the eight museums to the two gorgeous cathedrals. 

Of course we must not forgot about the elephant in the room, sports fans can visit Liverpool football club which features many iconic highlights & featuring the club’s epic past and present, with behind-the-scenes access to areas normally reserved for players !

I didn't want to list all the main venues to see or activities to do in our great city, our gusts  should do their homework too ha.  I must also say Liverpool is swiftly gaining a reputation for the vibrancy and breadth of choice of its food scene, the city is rightly proud of its multiculturalism and this is reflected in the food on offer that represents every corner of the globe.

When Liverpool was bidding to become European Capital of Culture 2008, one of its biggest selling points – acknowledged by the judges – was its people, with their enthusiasm, warmth and love for their hometown.

In 2021 Liverpool was voted the kindest city in the UK in a survey by hotel chain Travelodge , while Conde Nast Traveller has twice ranked Liverpool as the UK’s friendliest city:

Links:

1-https://www.travelodge.co.uk/blog/news/8-10-us-brits-gooders/

2-https://www.explore-liverpool.com/liverpool-voted-2nd-friendliest-city-in-the-uk/

To answer your question, I listed the tourist attractions in my article in such order based on the feedback I received from my guests 🙂

I wanted to add Liverpool's nightlife to the list but I didn't want to come across as bias in the eyes of our readers but the city has something for everyone, from superclubs to pubs, a nice gay quarter to comedy venues on the waterfront, dance warehouses to concept bars; and everything is so close together that our visitors could easily explore.