Things to do in Liverpool
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Liverpool
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best all-round window, with a huge Grand National spike in April. May is best after National prices fall.
Festival season, peak Beatles and peak golf, with long June days for Crosby and Formby.
Connoisseur season with gigs back, River of Light and lower prices outside match weekends. October is best for value.
Cheapest and darkest, with Christmas markets, cosy pubs and cheap links golf for the hardy.
What's on
- Grand National 9-11 April
At Aintree, Liverpool's biggest party weekend with Ladies Day on 10 April and peak hotel prices.
- Sound City May
New music festival in May.
- Africa Oyé Usually a weekend in late June
African and Caribbean music celebration in Sefton Park, now ticketed.
- International Beatleweek 26 Aug-1 Sept
Late August Beatles festival when everything Beatles is rammed.
- Creamfields Aug bank holiday
Dance festival at Daresbury over the August bank holiday.
- River of Light late Oct-early Nov
Free waterfront light installations making an autumn weekend feel like an event.
- Chinese New Year Jan/Feb
Big celebrations by Chinatown's arch, the largest outside China.
- On The Waterfront Mid to late June
Pier Head festival stacking with Africa Oye in the best month.
- Anfield concerts June, when a stadium tour comes through
Stadium concerts in June add to the festival stack and hotel demand.
Best things to do in Liverpool
Royal Albert Dock
Restored dock ring with museums, bars and the essential first walk around the waterfront.
Pier Head
Waterfront promenade in front of the Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool Buildings.
Mersey Ferry
Short river sailing for the classic skyline view of Liverpool from the Mersey.
Anfield
Stadium tour and museum covering the tunnel, Kop, dressing room and six European Cups.
Magical Mystery Tour
Two hour Beatles coach tour of Penny Lane, Strawberry Field gates and childhood homes.
Cavern Club
Recreated basement club with live music from lunchtime and the right sweaty atmosphere.
The Beatles Story
The full Beatles museum on Albert Dock, best given two to three hours.
Strawberry Field
Quiet and reflective Beatles site in Woolton that many fans rate the most moving.
Where to stay in Liverpool
City Centre / Waterfront
first trip, all-round base
Everything central is a walk, with stations, ferry, arena and hotels at every tier.
Ropewalks
nightlife, food and boutique hotels
Bold Street restaurants at the door and bars nearby, still five to ten minutes from Liverpool ONE.
Georgian Quarter
quiet, couples and culture
Georgian terraces by both cathedrals and the Philharmonic, quieter at night with a hill to the centre.
Baltic Triangle
budget, creative and groups
Warehouse quarter with Baltic Market and Camp and Furnace, but a ten to fifteen minute walk to the centre.
Lark Lane / Sefton Park
repeat visitors and longer stays
Lovely local and leafy area by Sefton Park, but a bus or train ride from central sights.
Crosby / Waterloo
repeat visitors and longer stays
Coast focused base for Crosby and Formby trips, not a first weekend base for the centre.
Think twice about
- Croxteth, Norris Green, Kirkby and Northwood
Outer estates far from the centre with no visitor infrastructure and nothing a tourist needs.
- Anfield / Everton residential streets
Deprived residential streets around the stadiums with thin matchday only hospitality. Visit for football, sleep in the centre.
- Toxteth / Dingle
Few hotels and patchier late night streets make it the wrong base for a first time visitor, despite daytime assets.
- Kensington / Fairfield and the Islington / London Road fringe
Cheap beds here involve a rougher, further feeling walk in, especially at night, for usually a small saving.
Best restaurants in Liverpool
The Art School Restaurant
Paul Askew tasting menus of North West produce, booked for anniversaries and occasions.
8 by Andy Sheridan
Chef's counter tasting for about sixteen diners, thrilling and expensive.
Manifest
Small chef led Baltic restaurant with seasonal British tasting menus and counter seats.
Vetch
Intimate Hope Street tasting menus with Japanese and Nordic inflections, without the hush.
Maray
Middle Eastern small plates including the Disco Cauliflower, brilliant for groups and vegetarians.
Belzan
Neighbourhood bistro with seasonal small and large plates and natural wine, worth the taxi.
Mowgli
Original Indian street food restaurant with chat bombs, tamarind fries and swing seats.
Buyers Club
Courtyard bar restaurant off Hardman Street for fresh pasta, natural wine and DJs.
Outdoor things to do in Liverpool
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Bucket list Open links with towering dunes and an art deco clubhouse.
Royal Liverpool Golf Club
Historic Open links at Hoylake, a flatter and more cerebral test than Birkdale.
Formby Golf Club
Links threaded through pinewoods, rated by many visitors as a superb golf day.
West Lancashire Golf Club
Raw exposed links closest to Liverpool, noted for outstanding par threes.
Hillside Golf Club
Links next door to Birkdale with a back nine running through huge dunes.
Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club
Ryder Cup history links at a step below Open Championship green fees.
Formby Ladies Golf Club
Celebrated strategic short links in its own right, with lower fees than Formby.
Wallasey Golf Club
Wirral links where the Stableford scoring system was invented, below Hoylake fees.
Best hotels in Liverpool
The Municipal Hotel Liverpool - MGallery
Former municipal buildings turned five star hotel with atrium bar and spa.
Titanic Hotel Liverpool
Huge rooms in a Victorian dock warehouse with spa, Rum Bar and waterfront setting.
Hope Street Hotel
Original boutique hotel between the cathedrals, with spa and rooftop rooms.
Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre
Waterfront business luxury hotel next to the Three Graces at Pier Head.
Hard Days Night Hotel
Beatles themed luxury hotel on Mathew Street, fun but on a noisy street.
The Resident Liverpool
Converted warehouse with kitchenette rooms on the best nightlife street, set just back.
INNSiDE by Meliá Liverpool
Modern bright hotel with river views from upper floors, near Pier Head.
Hotel Indigo Liverpool
Dependable boutique chain hotel near Pier Head with a central base.
Is Liverpool expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | £60 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | £120 a person |
| Splurge | £260 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Anfield: weeks ahead
- Magical Mystery Tour: a few days ahead
- Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road: weeks ahead
- Bongo's Bingo: weeks ahead
- Royal Birkdale Golf Club: months ahead
- Royal Liverpool Golf Club: months ahead
- Formby Golf Club: months ahead
- West Lancashire Golf Club: months ahead
- Anfield tours and match tickets need weeks to months through official membership sales.
- Magical Mystery Tour needs a few days ahead, longer in summer and Beatleweek.
- Saturday dinner at the fine tier and at Maray and Belzan needs two to six weeks.
- Bongo's Bingo Saturdays, Grand National week and Golf Coast tee times need months.
- National Trust Beatles homes are small, seasonal and first to sell out.
Is Liverpool safe?
- The centre is busy and well policed, with visible homelessness around Lime Street, Church Street and Bold Street.
- Keep phones and bags zipped in crowds and late night bars, and watch drinks.
- Do not walk back from Anfield late at night through Walton or Everton. Take a bus or taxi.
- In the Baltic after midnight, walk back in a group or take a taxi between quiet industrial streets.
Liverpool travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Spending the whole night on Mathew Street instead of Ropewalks, Baltic and Georgian Quarter pubs.
- Unofficial football tickets and touted Beatles taxi tours. Use the club or agree taxi terms in writing.
- Treating Liverpool ONE as a destination. It is a shopping centre with no Liverpool specificity.
- Event weekend hotel surges. Check football, Aintree and arena calendars before booking flights.
- Doing three overlapping Beatles and pop museums in one day instead of one museum plus live music.
- Weather denial on the waterfront. Pack a waterproof shell and shoes for cobbles, not just an umbrella.
Getting around Liverpool: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre. Merseyrail runs to Crosby, Formby, Chester, Hoylake and New Brighton.
- Lime Street to London is about 2h15. Liverpool airport has buses and taxis but no station.
- Use black cabs or booked apps. Never take an unbooked car touting at night.
- Do not drive in the centre. Parking is pricey and matchday traffic locks the waterfront.
Who Liverpool suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Liverpool your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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