Travel in Liverpool
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Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England, famed for its music, sport and nightlife.
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Understand
Liverpool is a city with a great cultural heritage and was recently awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2008. 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 and, more recently, Atomic Kitten. In addition, the city posseses the largest national museum collection outside of London and has a fascinating and turbulent history as a great world maritime centre.
Get in
By plane
Liverpool is served by Liverpool John Lennon airport. Around one hundred flights arrive daily from within the U.K. as well as mainland Europe. The airport is particularly well-served by low-cost airlines including Easyjet and Ryanair. For a complete listing of airlines and destinations, see the Summer (http://www.liverpooljohnlennonairport.com/flight_info/summer_destination.html) and Winter (http://www.liverpooljohnlennonairport.com/flight_info/winter_destination.html) timetables.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is located in the suburb of Speke around eight miles to the south of the city centre. Immediately outside the arrivals area you will find a taxi rank and bus stops. Taxis to the city centre cost around £8 (Approx. ?12, US$14) for the 20-minute journey.
Several bus routes go directly to the city centre from the airport:
- The No. 500 Airport Express runs every 30 minutes and takes around 45 minutes to reach the city centre. Cost is £2/?4 Adults, £1/?2 Children and £5/?10 Families.
- The No. 80A, run by Arriva, runs every 15 minutes and takes 45 minutes to the city centre. Cost should be slightly lower than the above and, since the bus stops more frequently, you will get a chance to bump into some of the colourful locals.
- The No. 82A, also run by Arriva, runs every 30 minutes and takes around 40 minutes to the city centre.
Although Liverpool John Lennon Airport is more convenient for Liverpool, nearby Manchester Airport serves a wider variety of destinations and is just a short train journey away from Liverpool. See the next section.
By train
Liverpool is served by Liverpool Lime Street station which is located in the heart of the city centre. Trains arrive frequently from all parts of the U.K.
Liverpool is only about two-and-a-half hours from London by train - there's a train about every hour - and it's not so expensive to get there. You can get a saver ticket for £52.10 on the day of travel or for as little as £22 if you book a couple of weeks in advance.
There is a direct train from Manchester Airport to Liverpool every hour at peak times (around 06:30-19:30). In addition, it is possible to reach Liverpool by changing at Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Oxford Road.
By bus
- National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com/), the U.K.'s largest scheduled coach company has a bus station a short walk from Liverpool City Centre.
- Megabus (http://www.megabus.com/) operates a fleet of ex-Hong Kong buses on its network across the U.K. There is one bus daily from London to Liverpool. Prices range from £1 (?1.46) to £11 (?16) depending on how far in advance you book.
Get around
Liverpool City Centre is small enough to walk around, but black cabs are plentiful if you are feeling lazy. Buses run out from the centre regularly, and there are local trains to get you to the outskirts. If you want to get around quite a bit using public transport, see if a Saveaway ticket will save you money. Available from stations, post offices and travel information centres they are available for different zones and are valid for a day's travel on bus, train and ferry (for the ferry you need to have zone E).
See
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.
- St. George's Hall 1 (http://www.stgeorgeshall.org/), Lime Street (near the station). A mammoth of a Greco-Roman-style building which was built by wealthy merchants for the people of the city. Inside it has one of the best church organs in Europe, while on the outside it has a selection of classical murals which were thought quite shocking in their day (due to the shameful female nudity).
- Liverpool Museum 2 (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/livmus/), (near St. George's Hall) - fine building and well worth a visit. Contains an excellent collection of British rocketry exhibits as well as the best Egyptological collection outside London.
- Liverpool Central Library, (near St. George's Hall). A fine building.
- Walker Art Gallery 3 (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/), (near St. George's Hall), open daily 10am-5pm, entry free - one of the finest collections of fine and decorative art in Europe, inspiring and delighting visitors for over 120 years. New galleries mean even more fantastic items are on display from Renaissance masters to contemporary innovators.
- Royal Liver Building, (on the riverside). 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 6 feet larger in diameter than that of the clock tower at Westminster.
- St. Nicholas and Our Lady Church, just off the riverside, 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). One of the more sophisticated places in Liverpool - old warehouses converted into shops, apartments, restaurants and pubs. Also home to the Merseyside Maritime Museum.
- Merseyside Maritime Museum 4 (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/maritime/), (at the Albert Dock) - a museum 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.
- Tate Liverpool 5 (http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/), (on the Albert Dock). A fine modern art gallery.
- Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (Catholic) 6 (http://www.liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk/) is affectionately known by the locals as Paddy's Wigwam. Visit on a sunny day - the stained glass ceiling looks fantastic!
- Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican) 7 (http://www.liverpoolcathedral.org.uk/) which, though it doesn't look like a wigwam, 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.
- Princes Road Synagogue 8 (http://princesroadsynagogue.org/) offers 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.
- Walker Art Gallery 9 (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/)
- Williamson's Tunnels. 10 (http://www.williamsontunnels.co.uk/) 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 a Williamson's Tunnels Heritage Centre open all year round, every day except Monday.
- Speke Hall 11 (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hbcache/property120.htm) is a wood-framed Tudor house, with parts dating back to the 1530s, set in large grounds.
- Croxteth Hall and Country Park 12 (http://www.croxteth.co.uk/)
Do
- Everton Football Club. The People's Club of Liverpool.
- Liverpool Football Club. Reigning European Champions and England's most successful football (soccer) club.
- Mathew Street Festival. Every year over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Liverpool plays host to Europe's largest free city centre music festival. Many city centre roads are closed to traffic and have large stages erected so that the several hundred thousand people who attend each year can watch a large selection of international pop/rock acts, completely free of charge.13 (http://www.mathewstreetfestival.com/)
- Liverpool Theatre -- The Empire plays host to a wide range of shows, including many UK tours of large-scale musicals. The Everyman and Playhouse theatres host a mix of locally produced and mid-scale touring theatre. The Unity Theatre produces a diverse range of work. There's also the Neptune and Royal Court theatres. For tomorrow's performers, see if anything is happening at LIPA (www.lipa.ac.uk), their student shows are always well worth seeing.
- The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the world's great Orchestras and are well worth listening to. Go for a pre-concert G&T in the Philharmonic Pub over the road then sit back and let the music carry you away.14 (http://www.liverpoolphil.com/)
- The Mersey Ferries. 15 (http://www.merseyferries.co.uk/) Immortalised by the hit song Ferry 'cross the Mersey by Gerry & the Pacemakers, the Mersey Ferries offer a fun day out and a great way to see Liverpool from afar.
- The Liverpool Playhouse 16 (http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/) is a theatre in Williamson Square which dates back to 1844. Over the years, the theatre has presented many famous actors including Michael Redgrave, Anthony Hopkins and Noel Coward.
- Western Approaches is a museum in the once top-secret nerve centre of World War Two Britain.
Learn
- The University of Liverpool (http://www.liv.ac.uk/). From the site: The University of Liverpool is one of the UK's leading universities. We are renowned for our teaching and research excellence. Our departments and schools are world-class and we have an outstanding reputation for student support. The University of Liverpool (http://www.liv.ac.uk/)
- Liverpool John Moores University (http://www.livjm.ac.uk/), previously Liverpool Polytechnic is Liverpool's new university.
- Liverpool Hope University College (http://www.hope.ac.uk), formerly a teacher training college, now also provides undergraduate degrees.
Work
Buy
Although the main shopping street in Liverpool is dominated by the same chain stores you'll find in any other large U.K. city, Liverpool has many distinctive shops of its own including:
- Quiggins 17 (http://www.quiggins.com/) is an alternative shopping centre which is definitely worth a look. The forty small shops inside sell goods ranging from alternative clothing to used furniture.
Eat
- Quynny's Quisine, Bold Street. Easy to miss as the entrance is a yellow door with stairs leading down. Caribbean food. Well kept secret until now ;)
- Kimo's, Mount Pleasant. Look for the entrance under a Green hoarding opposite the NCP Car Park on Mount Pleasant for one of Liverpool's favourite student eateries. It boasts a fine selection of western (a superb Club Sandwich) and arabic foods (Cous Cous, Kebabs). There is also a smaller branch near to the University of Liverpool.
- The Tea House, Bold Street. This modern Hong Kong-style Tea House is a great place to visit for some cheap but tasty Chinese meals, snacks and drinks.
Drink
For a good night out
There's a good selection of pubs, clubs and bars to suit a variety of music and atmospheric tastes. Friday and saturday nights are the busiest nights, although many bars are busy with students throughout the week! Mathew Street and Concert Square with nearby Wood St are the main two nocturnal focal points. There is a good mix with the locals and rather large student population. Most of the local ladies, as in most northern towns and cities dress rather scantily - despite the elements. On the whole it is better to dress smart for the majority of bars and clubs, especially those with customer selectors on the door. Notable exceptions are places like Le Bateau, the Krazy house, the Caledonian and other places of a similar alternative ilk. Like any major UK city , it is pretty safe out at night, although you will probably see an occasional 'dispute' over a young 'lady' and will most definitely be approached by beggars, especially adjacent to cash machines and fast food outlets. The local police have had a heavy presence on a saturday and friday night over the last few years to combat this and are largely succeeding. It is pretty busy getting out of the city centre at the end of a weekend night (especially at the start of university term time - September/October) but there are plenty of black hackney cabs which congregate at various txi ranks. The Merseyrail system works until about midnight, whilst there are a series of dedicated night buses which run from the main bus stations, usually for a flat fare. All modes of transport tend to become very busy from around midnight.
- The Vines, Lime Street. A great pub to go to in terms of style.
- The Cavern Club, Mathew Street. Home of the Beatles. This is a sweaty hole of a place, but it's also a lot of fun - just watch you don't get beaten up by one of the vicious bouncers.
- Rubber Soul, Mathew Street. A Beatles-inspired bar.
- Abbey Road, Mathew Street. A Beatles-inspired pub.
- Barracuda Bar, Hanover Street. Sports bar with 23 TV screens and late licence most nights.
- Flanagan's Apple, Mathew Street. One of the original Irish pubs. Before Irish pubs started popping up all over the country - and now all over the world - Flannagan's was there with beer, whisky, barrels and great live music.
- Concert square, situated behind Bold Street, you'll find around here a range of the trendier bars, most of which are open till 2am Mon-Sat. They include Lloyd's, Walkabout, Modo and a minute away near Slater Street is Baa-Bar.
- The Krazy House, Wood Street. The club provides three floors...K1 with rock and metal, K2 with indie and K3 with Punk/R&B/Dance combined with constant cheap drinks (2 4 1) It attracts a crowd of skate punks, students and metal heads. Ull hear R&B and dance music on Thursday, punk and new wave on Friday and nu metal on Saturday nigh
- Le Bateau, Duke Street. The home of Liverpools premier alternative club night, Liquidation every Saturday, which is also the city's longest running weekly club night spread across 2 floors. Plus Adult Books on Tuesdays, Shoot The Messenger on Wednesdays, Indiecation on Fridays. Cheap drinks every night, plus a Royal Rumble pinball table. Very friendly, and popular with a mix of locals and students all year round.
- The Caledonian, Catharine Street. Underground, alternative music venue in a pub. DJs and live bands throughout the week. First Friday of every month is the infamous It's Not Bangin' with classic dub reggae, soul and disco playing. Well worth a visit.
Real or Cask Ale
Cask conditioned ale is the traditional form of beer in the UK and is (with some modern microbewery exceptions) unique internationally. In the 1970's, the larger brewers switiched from cask ale to keg beer. Keg beer is essentially 'dead' beer with added CO2 and NO2 and is more economical as it lasts for years, rather than weeks in the case of cask. Unfortunately it tastes rubbish. Thankfully, recent years have seen a revival in tradtional cask ale, and the European Capital of Culture has been in the vanguard of its urban renaissance. So to help you sample some traditonal british beer when in Liverpool, check the list below of a vast array of pubs, ranging from the traditional to the modern . For more information about cask ale, see the Wikipedia Article.
The best
- Rigby's, Dale Street. This cask ale pub dates back to Lord Nelson and has recently been refurbished by the Isle of Mann Okell's Brewery; it being their first UK mainland pub. Usually three guest bitters, the full range of okell's own brands and arguably the largest selection of bottled European and North American beers. Good Atmosphere, busy on weekend nights and also does bar meals.
- Fly in the Loaf, Hardman St. Also owned by Okell's. This pub was until recently a topless bar although it originally housed the Kirklands bakery. Similar selection to Rigby's, but the two usually do differ in guest beers. Located near to part of the campus of Liverpool John Moores University, the Fly in the Loaf has a good mix of students and local regulars. Bar meals and widescreen televisions for football.
- The Philharmonic. Corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street. This Tetley heritage pub opposite to the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is a tourist attraction in itself. Formerly a gentleman's club, there are two small snug rooms and a larger dining room to the back with leather sofas and an open fire. The gentlemen's toilets are grade 1 listed, and Ladies may ask permission to view them at the bar. Excellent food served both from the bar and in the dining rooms upstairs. Usual cask beers include Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Tetley's.
- Dr. Duncan's, St John's Lane. This is the premier pub for the local Cains brewery. It has a fine reputation and consequently is full of middle-aged professional drinkers. The pub has the full range of Cains beers, including Dr. Duncan's IPA which is harder to find amongst the Cains pubs. Rudimentary bar menu, but good busy atmosphere on the weekend.
- The Baltic Fleet 18 (http://www.wappingbeers.com/), 33 Wapping, just over the road from the Albert Dock. This unique pub is a great place to escape from the glossy and expensive bars on the Albert Dock. Serving good food and real ale at great prices and with a friendly atmosphere. The basement houses a small brewery called Wapping Beers so take the chance to taste one of their own beers as fresh as it comes.
- The Dispensary,Intersection of Renshaw and Leece St. Another of the local Cains brewey houses. Charming Victorian bar area. Usually has two rotatng guest beers.
- The Globe, 17 Cases Street (Tucked away, adjacent to Clayton Square shopping centre, opposite the Ranelagh Street entrance of Central Station) A small (often cramped) traditional liverpool pub, with no-nonsense barmaids. Usually busy after 5pm and during the weekend, acting as a refuge for husbands abandoned by (or having escaped from) their shopping-mad spouses. Always a good variety of guests.
- Roscoe Head, 26 Roscoe Street
- The Lion Tavern, 67 Moorefields
- The Brewery Tap,
The Rest
- Wetherspoons, 1-2 Charlotte Row
- The Welkin, Whitechapel
- The Ship and Mitre, 138 Dale Street
- The Crown, 43 Lime Street
- The Cambridge, Corner of Cambridge Street and Mulberry Street at the heart of the University of Liverpool is a pub with a great atmosphere and is very popular with students and lecturers alike. However its reptoire of cask is somewhat limted, with the last time I checked sticking to the rather bland Burtonwood Bitter.
- Ye Crake, 13 Rice Street, was a favourite haunt of Beatle John Lennons uncle.
- The Pilgrim,
- The White Star,
- The Railway Hotel, 18 Tithebarn Street
- The Canarvon Castle, 5 Tarleton Street
- The Augustus John, Peach Street
- Pig & Whistle, 12 Covent Garden (Closed for refurbishment)
- Everyman, 5-9 Hope Street
- The Excelsior, 121-125 Dale Street
- Peter Kavanagh's, 2-6 Egerton Street
- Ma Boyles Oyster bar, 2 Tower Gardens
- Poste House, 23 Cumberland Street
Pubs to avoid
- Head of Steam, Lime St. Has an entrance into Lime St station as is housed in the former London Northwestern Railway Hotel. Part of a national chain. Has an impressive range of cask beers at first sight, but unfortunately the management do not know how to keep real ale. Avoid this pub like the plague unless you want U.K. fizz lager or soft drinks. And even then it's expensive to boot!
Sleep
- International Inn -- Cheap Hostel accommodation near to town from £15 per person. http://www.internationalinn.co.uk 0151 709 8135
- The Embassie Hostel -- This hostel features free coffee, tea, and toast (with jam and peanut butter), very comfortable beds (dormitory style), and a great mix of international travelers to befriend. The embassie is managed by a very friendly staff and led by their wonderful boss and hostel proprietor, Kevin (who tells a wicked good Beatles story or two).Prices vary by season. http://www.embassie.com/ 0151 707 1089
Stay safe
Liverpool has many of the problems associated with relative poverty and deprivation. A misleading reputation for a high level of crime persists amongst some in the UK, but the reality is that crime rates in Liverpool are low compared with most other large cities in the UK. You are no more likely to be a victim here than many other European cities - as long as you observe a few simple precautions. Don't leave valuables on display in an unattended car, for example. Try to stay aware of your surroundings, and be discreet with cash, expensive camera equipment and so on.
Scousers are gregarious people, but beware of the increasing number of people on the street who approach you with stories about needing money for a train ticket or similar. It's just a begging technique. Be especially careful if you wander off the beaten track and find yourself in some of the more deprived outlying districts.
Stay on the beaten track of a night time, stick to the many themed pub/bars and avoid some of the larger R&B and Dance clubs (these are more suited to streetwise locals or people who understand liverpool culture well). Be prepared to wait for a taxi of a night time but don't be tempted to walk back to your hotel unless you are central. Although Liverpool is a wonderfully friendly place, as with most major cities a slightly sinister side appears after hours.
A friendly manner and a polite smile go a long way in this city, but a sensible approach to travelling is, as always, advisable.
Cope
Get out
Birkenhead, across the Mersey, has a football club called Tranmere Rovers. Although this club has always lived in the shadow of Everton and Liverpool, it has a long tradition and a great family atmosphere - well worth a visit.
Chester is about 40 minutes away by Merseyrail. Chester is a beautiful historical city on the River Dee famous for its city walls.
Port Sunlight on the Wirral is about 20 minutes away by train. It was built as a model village by Lord Lever and contains the Lady Lever Art Gallery, a marvellously eclectic collection of objects, similar to the Burrell Collection in Glasgow.
West Kirby on the Wirral boasts a superb beach, only thirty minutes away by train. Trains depart every 15 minutes (peak time, 30 minutes other times) on the Wirral line from all four downtown Liverpool stations.
External links
VisitLiverpool.com (http://www.visitliverpool.com/) - Liverpool's Official Tourism Web Site
Merseytribe - alternative images of Liverpool (http://www.merseytribe.com/) - photos, ideas and blog