Liverpool

Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England, famed for its music, sports and nightlife.

Liverpool is a city with great cultural heritage and was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2008, with the famous Pier Head Waterfront being a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004. Liverpool is home to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is also renowned for being the birthplace of a wide range of popular musicians including The Beatles, Gerry & the Pacemakers, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Echo & the Bunnymen and many more. The city possesses the largest national museum collection outside of London and has a fascinating and turbulent

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history as a great world maritime centre. Liverpool is home to Europe's oldest Chinatown. The famous Grand National Horse Race takes place in the outskirts of the city (Aintree).

A great thing about Liverpool is the architecture. For so long it was neglected and run down, but these days most of the city centre is quite splendid.

    * Royal Liver Building, (on the riverside). Iconic symbol of Liverpool waterfront - this 1911 skyscraper still dominates the distinctive Liverpool skyline . This is the home of the legendary Liver Birds that sit atop the building looking out across to the Wirral. The river-facing face of the clock is six feet larger in diameter than that of the clock tower at Westminster.

    * St. George's Hall, Lime Street (near railway station). A mammoth of a Greco-Roman-style building which was built by wealthy merchants for the people of the

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city. It is arguably the finest neo-classical building in Western Europe, and has recently been thoroughly restored for Capital of Culture Year. Inside it has one of the best church organs in Europe. On the outside it has a selection of classical murals which were thought quite shocking in their day (due to the shameful female nudity). Free.

    * World Museum Liverpool, (near St. George's Hall). This is a fine building and well worth a visit. It contains an excellent collection of British rocketry exhibits, as well as the best Egyptological collection outside London. Free..  edit

    * Liverpool Central Library, (near St. George's Hall). This is another fine building, boasting a beautiful circular reading room. Free.

    * Walker Art Gallery, (near St George's Hall), ☎ 8798724. Daily 10AM-5PM. Currently displaying Ben Johnson's Liverpool Cityscape 2008 and the World Panorama Series. Free.

    * The Bluecoat, (School Lane), ☎ 7025324 (info@thebluecoat.org.uk). Daily 10AM-6PM. The Bluecoat is the oldest Grade 1 listed building in Liverpool’s city centre (dating back to 1717). Following a £14.5m redevelopment, it re-opened in March 2008, as a major landmark on the UK map of contemporary culture. With a new wing of galleries and a state-of-the-art Performance Space, the Bluecoat showcases talent across all creative disciplines including visual art, music, literature, dance and live art, and nurtures new talent by providing studio spaces for artists within a unique creative community. Free.

    * St. Nicholas and Our Lady Church, (just off the riverside). This is the city's parish church and home to the third Liver Bird (there are in fact three of them, not two).

    * Albert Dock , (on the riverside). This is one of the more sophisticated places in Liverpool and is situated in the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in the UK. Old warehouses have been converted into shops, apartments, restaurants, pubs, hotels, galleries and museums. For fan of the old This Morning show with Richard and Judy, this is also where the 3D island weather map was situated in the centre of the dock on the water. Free..

    * Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock. Dedicated to the maritime history of the city, complete with galleries on customs and excise and emigration to the New World. There are also a number of vessels to see, such as the Mersey river tug Brocklebank and the river cargo carrier Wyncham. Free..

    * International Slavery Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool (Within the Merseyside Maritime Museum), ☎ 0151 478 4499. 10AM-5PM. "Our aim is to address ignorance and misunderstanding by looking at the deep and permanent impact of slavery and the slave trade on Africa, South America, the USA, the Caribbean and Western Europe. Thus we will increase our understanding of the world around us." ~Dr David Fleming OBE, director, National Museums Liverpool Free.

    * Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock. A fine modern art gallery. A definite visit for arty folk. The Turner Art Prize was hosted here from Oct. 19, 2007 to Jan. 13, 2008. This was the first time the award was held outside of London. Free (charge for some exhibitions)..

    * The Beatles Story, Albert Dock. The Beatles originated in Liverpool. The Beatles Story is the only museum in the world that is entirely Beatles-themed, with exhibitions such as their instruments and other artifacts. Other attractions based on The Beatles include their homes, Penny Lane, commemorative statues, Strawberry Fields, and more. £12.25 (adult).

    * Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. Catholic. Affectionately known by the locals as Paddy's Wigwam or "the Pope's launching pad". Visit on a sunny day as the stained glass ceiling looks fantastic! Free..

    * Liverpool Cathedral. It may not look like a wigwam, but is so imposing that the architect of Lord Derby's tomb claimed that no self-respecting church mouse would live there. As a result, he incorporated a mouse into the design of the tomb - it's just under Lord Derby's pillow. Liverpool Cathedral is one of the finest examples in the world of Gothic revival architecture. On a clear day, the tower affords breathtaking views over Liverpool, Merseyside and beyond. Free..

    * Princes Road Synagogue (Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation). This is an impressive combination of Gothic and Moorish architecture by the Audsley brothers. The colourful interior has to be seen to be believed. Tours can be arranged through their web site.

    * Liverpool Town Hall. . Built in 1754, the Official Residence of Liverpool's Lord Mayor is an elegant stone building, having two fronts; one towards Castle Street, the other towards the area formed by the New Exchange Buildings. Each front consists of an elegant range of Corinthian columns, supporting a pediment, and are themselves supported by a rustic base. Between the capitals are heads, and emblems of commerce in basso-relievo; and on the pediment of the grand front is a noble piece of sculpture representing Commerce committing her treasures to the race of Neptune.

    * Victoria Gallery & Museum, (near the Catholic Cathedral). Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM. The University of Liverpool's museum comprising their art collection and artefacts housed in an amazing Gothic building which coined the term 'red brick university'.

    * Williamson's Tunnels. Heritage Centre T-Su. In the early 1800s, a Liverpool tobacco merchant, Joseph Williamson, funded the construction of an enormous labyrinth of tunnels under the Edge Hill area of Liverpool. To this day, nobody knows his reasons for doing so though many guess it as an act of philanthropy, using his wealth to provide jobs and training for thousands of Liverpool workers. There is also a Williamson's Tunnels Heritage Centre.

    * Speke Hall . This is a half-timbered Tudor house set on large grounds. It has parts dating back to the 1530s .

    * Croxteth Hall and Country Park.  edit This is one of Liverpool's most important heritage sites, one of "the finest working country estates in the North West" and was the winner of the European Capital of Culture 2008. The park is at the heart of what was once a great country estate stretching hundreds of square miles and was the ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the last Earl it was given to the City of Liverpool. The estate has four main attractions - The Historic Hall, Croxteth Home Farm, the Victorian Walled Garden and a 500 acre country park including the new Croxteth Local Nature Reserve. A new addition to what's on offer at Croxteth is the West Derby Courthouse. Dating from the reign of Elizabeth I, this is one of the oldest public buildings in Liverpool.

    * Sudley House, Mossley Hill Road, Aigburth. Free..  edit An art gallery which contains the collection of George Holt in its original setting. It includes work by Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, Edwin Landseer and J. M. W. Turner.

    * Fab4D Cinema, Pier Head.

    * Canada Boulevard, The Pierhead. Runs the entire length of the Three Graces frontage and consists of a boulevard of maple trees with plaques laid into the pavement listing the Canadian ships lost during the Second World war.

    * Pier Head. Harbour of Liverpool has played a very important role in modern history of the city. The wharf area drained by the Mersey River gives to the city an air of antiquity, which is quite strange and interesting because of the contrast between modern buildings and conventional buildings. The Pier Head has been considered as world heritage by UNESCO.

Comedy nights are featured on Friday and Saturday at Baby Blue, a nice club on the exclusive Albert Dock, which is known as a celebrity hotspot. Check online for more info and tickets.

Also for laughs, try Rawhide at the Royal Court Theater which showcases some of the best in regional and national comedy talent.

Every June or July there is a fortnight long *Liverpool Comedy Festival which takes place in venues across the city. One event not to be missed is the now legendary Drink up Stand up pub crawls which includes four pubs, four comedians, one compere (host) and a megaphone!

On the first Tuesday of the month the Fab Café on Hope Street hosts a comedy night with two or three local comics plus a compere.

Express Comedy. Based in Birkenhead across the river Mersey, Express Comedy has a stand-up comedy night called Laughter at the Lauries.

Guided Tours

For those in a hurry there are a number of operators offering guided tours, either using their own transportation or offering their services as "hop-on, hop-off Guides" on your coach or offering guided walks. The best way of getting an overview of the city, is by taking the City Explorer open-top bus run by Maghull Coaches. With 12 stops you can hop on and off all day. Qualified local guides provide the commentary and can answer your questions about the city. For Beatles fans, there is the Magical Mystery Tour which will take you around the places associated with the Beatles both in the city centre and in the suburbs. For a more tailored tour, there's Liverpool Entente Cordiale Tours. Their Liverpool tour guides can plan a walk for you or hop on your coach and guide you around the city. They offer tours in English or French. They can also locate guides Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian if necessary.

 

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