Since it’s almost time for me to leave this amazing city (the tears are coming), I thought I should start writing some posts about the place before I do go. Even though I’ve lived here for three years, I’ll admit it wasn’t until my second year of living here before I visited my first museum.
But I’ve since come to realise that I’m only here for a short time and I want to see and do everything possible before I move away for a long time and only visit on certain occasions.
Some of the things on this list I may not have done yet, but am planning to do before I leave. Most however, are things I have done and would recommend as a ‘Must do’ if you ever find yourself visiting the city.
1. Visit all of the museums
Is it fair to group them all under one bullet point? Well, I’m going to do it anyway because there are too many to list separately and the majority are pretty great.
I’ve been to every museum in Liverpool (#Cultured) except for the Beatles museum. I’ve always wanted to go but it costs around £12 to get in and the other museums are free so…
The museums I would recommend most are the World Museum (which is right next to the Walker Art Gallery – I would recommend doing both!), Museum of Liverpool and the Tate.
2. Go to a football game at Anfield or Goodison
I’ve only put Everton there to be nice to the Toffee fans, but if you’re in Liverpool on a match day and somehow miraculously get your hands on some tickets, I would always recommend going to a home game – whether that’s watching Everton or Liverpool.
Liverpool (in my personal opinion) is the best football team in the world and their fans are even better. Just make sure you get there early enough to hear You’ll Never Walk Alone. Goosebump material.
I was lucky enough to see two home games in my first year at university and another in my final year. I was here when we won the Champions League and it was undoubtedly the best weekend I ever had in Liverpool.
If you miss out on a match game you could do the stadium tour instead.
3. Do the Beatles Mystery Tour
This is something that still remains on my own bucket list, as I’ve only recently got into The Beatles and the history they have in the city. Nowhere Boy is one of my all-time favourite movies, especially when I’m hungover, and I recently went to see the movie Yesterday which made me realise just how many iconic songs The Beatles did have.
When I worked in a bar on London Road, some of the customers used to tell me about sneaking out of their houses when they were younger to go and listen to The Beatles in the Cavern Club before they were really famous and that their cousins used to go to the same schools as John and Paul, but I never really caught on to just how big the band was. I guess One Direction was The Beatles of my era.
But since I live in the home of The Beatles, I want to see all the iconic spots – where Paul and John grew up, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby’s grave and everywhere else they mention.
4. Eat somewhere on Bold Street
Liverpool is very much an independents city and are very much about supporting local independents and family owned companies compared to national chains.
Bold Street is one of the best streets in the city, full of independent and cultural eateries. For a spot of breakfast head to Leaf, Bold Street Coffee or the Little Shoe – or have a look at my full list of breakfast places in Liverpool here. If it’s an evening meal you’re after, I always recommend Mowgli – the best Indian food you’ll ever have.
5. Have a night out in Concert Square or Matthew Street
You can always find me in Concert Square on a night out, but from what I’ve heard, Matthew Street can be a fun location too. Concert Square is what it says on the tin – a square full of bars and clubs open until 4am and if you walk a few minutes, you’ll find some clubs that are open until 6am if you have the stamina.
As for Matthew Street, not to be ageist or anything, but it is favoured towards the older generation and you can find a lot of hen parties, stag parties and birthday groups head towards the bars along there. And even though it seems to have an older clientele, there are a few bars around Matthew Street that actually open until 7am.
6. Visit the two Cathedrals
It might sound like a boring thing to do but the Anglican Cathedral and Metropolitan Cathedral are actually both beautiful buildings. The Metropolitan is the smaller of the two and more modern, with a lot of colour and stained glass windows.
The Anglican Cathedral is something you have to see up close to believe. You can see it from almost every part of the city, but it isn’t until you are standing in the grounds that you can appreciate its true size.
Of the two, I would recommend visiting the Anglican due to its vast size and amazing architecture. Plus, if the weather’s good, you should climb to the top of the cathedral and see the views of Liverpool from the roof – just try not to get blown off the top!
7. Visit the Baltic Triangle
Kind of like the Shoreditch of Liverpool, the Baltic Triangle is very arty and alternative with lots of street art (like the Klopp mural) and independent bars, cafés and antique shops.
The Baltic Triangle area is also home to the Baltic Market which I thoroughly recommend, the Peaky Blinders bar (it’s filmed right here in the city) and Ghetto Golf (a really cool mini golf experience).
The Baltic Triangle is also one of the best places to go in the good weather as there are a lot of bars with great beer gardens, like Constellations, Birdies and Parliament Street Collective.
8. Go for a walk along the docks
Something I do most evenings, the docks is one of the prettiest areas of Liverpool and you don’t actually realise how far along you can walk until you start. You can walk (or cycle) the entire way from Dingle to Princes Dock, and on a summer’s evening, it’s one of the prettiest walks to do while the sun sets.
It’s also one of the most picturesque areas of Liverpool too. I always finish my walk off at the Albert Docks, then down along the Pier Head to see the sun set against the Three Graces. You’ll find the Liver Building and the famous Beatles statue down there too.
9. Eat on Lark Lane then take a walk around Sefton Park
Something I love to do on a nice Sunday morning, go for a spot of breakfast at a restaurant on Lark Lane, then grab a coffee to go and head towards Sefton Park for a walk. It’s a stunning park with lakes, fountains, all the ducks you could want (and fear) and the Sefton Park Palm House which is also a must see.
This is particularly one of my favourite things to do in the winter when it’s a crisp, cold but sunny morning. During the year, the Palm House hold different events like movies, jazz concerts and more. Sefton Park itself has also started become something of a concert venue, hosting Cream Classical and LIMF just last weekend (Liverpool Independent Music Festival).
10. Take the ferry across the Mersey
Gerry and The Pacemakers sang about it, but it may not be something worth dancing about. A twenty minute journey that can take you from Liverpool to Birkenhead and back again, it’s not the most popular of destinations.
I used to work in Birkenhead and can say that the only good thing about it is the view you get of Liverpool. Although the ferry is something worth doing to learn a bit about the history of Liverpool and to get some good snaps of the skyline.
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