Liverpool

I’ve been to Liverpool 7 times. The city centre is very compact, so staying anywhere in the centre is fine. How many people is ‘we?’

Are you looking for Beatles sights? For those, I can recommend tours and if you want inside the Beatles childhood homes, a tour is required, there’s no general public admission.

If no interest in the Beatles, then you won’t need an organised tour. The city centre is very walkable. There’s plenty to see, most of the museums are located on the Albert Dock and they’re all free except for the Beatles Story . The Museum of Liverpool is amazing. I happen to like Tate Liverpool, it’s mostly modern and contemporary art. I haven’t been to the Museum of Slavery, I’ve heard it’s excellent from my Liverpudlian friends, it’s just too hard of a topic for me to handle on a vacation. You can also take the Ferry across the Mersey. There’s a captured U Boat you can see.

Away from the Albert Dock, there’s the World Class Walker Art Gallery. There are two cathedrals: each very different. The Anglican cathedral is traditional while the Roman Catholic Cathedral is a very interesting modern cathedral. You may not like it, but you’ll never forget it. There’s also the bombed out church, a reminder of WW II hell, a church with its walls standing but the interior gone.

Dale Street is an excellent place for real ale at prices that’ll make you smile compared to London prices.

Liverpool One is an outdoor shopping area with major chain stores and restaurants. Rococo coffee is also there for an excellent local coffeehouse.

Bold street is full of more independent shops

There’s also the two football stadiums. Never seen Everton but Anfield is amazing.

Mathew Street is ground zero for Beatles fans, but is also fun for live music, not all of it is Beatles related.

Anyway, ask away with further questions.

There's also the World Museum. And LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) may have concerts/shows. Check the "What's On" section of their website. More generally, look at "What's On" for Liverpool for the dates when you're planning to be there.

https://www.visitliverpool.com/whats-on

Regarding the tour that "just did a drive by," I'm not sure if that would have been the Magical Mystery Tour bus, but if so we did it and enjoyed it immensely. For us, the enjoyment was not just in seeing the locations -- and you do get to debark in a few places, e.g. photo op at Strawberry Fields -- but in spending an afternoon with people from all over the world, of all ages, all reveling in the fun of being immersed in Beatles songs and knowledgeable, friendly commentary from the tour guide.

We also had a bite of afternoon tea in the Hard Day's Night Hotel from their "Any Time At All" menu. The walls are plastered with b&w photos from the Beatles' heyday, really something to see even if you are not big fans of the group.

Rather than relying on my memory, here's my trip report from September 2016. Just skip the Glasgow and Manchester sections (unless of course you're going there too): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016

Short version: I spent four nights and had a great time. When you say "two full days" do you mean three nights or two nights?

I didn't do a Beatles bus or taxi tour. Many prefer the Beatles taxi tours, precisely so you can skip stops not of interest to you and spend more time at others. Also, if you're taking the National Trust tour of John's and Paul's childhood homes (and you should - book in advance to avoid being shut out), then you can have the taxi skip these spots (they're far from the center and take some time to reach).

I did take the general Liverpool hop-on, hop-off tour (HOHO), and this was well worth the £9. At least at the time I did it, the one with the live guides was £1 cheaper than the one with a taped guide, so it was a win-win.

Definitely stay in the center (or since it's the UK, centre). Almost everything of interest is walkable from there in 10-15 minutes. I stayed on the outskirts of the center (if that makes sense), and it was a bit cheaper than staying right on the docks or in the commercial center (like the Liverpool One area).

One thing I forgot to add: in Liverpool, hotel prices go up on Fridays, way up on Saturdays and way down on Sundays. If you're coming for Beatles sights, I believe they are open every day. So, if you are flexible with which days you choose for your Liverpool excursion, you can save a lot of money.

Oh, and of course the hotel prices can be affected by football matches which can occur midweek. Sundays are almost always the cheapest night of the week at hotel throughout the U.K. I assume it’s because it’s a much smaller country than the USA and you don’t have people coming in the night before for a business conference on Monday.

If you want a specific hotel rec- I stayed at 30 James Street last summer and it was fantastic- the building was the Titanic's office building back in the day, and the hotel floors are decorated to look like the Titanic. https://rmstitanichotel.co.uk/gallery/the-hotel/

I’m going to take the RS Scotland tour in May and am thinking of adding a visit to Liverpool (probably after Scotland tour) so I’m very interested in this thread.

I’m a big Beatles fan so I’d love to hear about any feedback (good or bad) re Beatles tours and sights. Will visit John’s and Paul’s homes. Will be traveling on my own so not sure if a Beatles taxi tour would be too expensive and possibly less fun than sharing a Beatles tour with other fans.

Also interested in hotel suggestions. A Hard Days Night would be fun but a bit pricey. TIA.

By the way, Harold, thanks for your very interesting trip report.

@Valerie Make sure to book the National Trust tour of the Beatles houses well in advance, it uses an extended van so it’s limited in seating and make sure you book one leaving from the Jury Inn. The last one of the day leaves from Speke and that’s nowhere near the city centre.

I’d do the Magical Mystery Tour rather than the taxi tour unless money is no object. I quite like it and part of the fun is singing along to the Beatles music and answering the trivia question. You may want to remember the state of Illinois, just sayin’. It stops at George’s house, Paul’s house, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Field, time for a photo op. It also includes free Cavern admission for that day. Be sure to use a bathroom in advance.

The Beatles Story museum on Albert Dock is a bit pricey but fun to explore. It’s right next to the departure area for the Magical Mystery Tour..

Strawberry Field is now open to the public. That’s a separate tour. It also has a minibus that leaves from Albert Dock, you would need to buy bus tickets and admission tickets.

The Magical Beatles Museum is a new attraction on Mathew Street focusing mainly on the early Beatles period.

To see the Casbah club might be one reason to consider a taxi tour since you’d probably need a taxi both ways from the city centre otherwise. Depends on how big of a fan you are and how much Beatles you want.

The Hard Days Night hotel is quite nice. If you can get a good rate, go for it. The Ibis Styles on Dale Street also has a Beatles theme and is usually much less expensive, but it’s more of a budget hotel. I also like the Z Hotel which isn’t Beatles themed. It’s very modern with small rooms but super clean and modern. All 3 hotels are within 7 minutes walking of each other and convenient to Mathew Street where the Cavern is.

The Eleanor Rigby statue is on Stanley Street, right next to Mathew Street. My favorite Liverpool restaurant is right across the street from the statue, Casa Italia. Amazing Italian food.

If you want more restaurant suggestions or more Liverpool suggestions, ask away! I’ve been there 7 times and can’t wait to go back again.

@Dale thanks so much for the detailed information re Beatles sightseeing and Liverpool hotels. I just booked A Hard Days Night Hotel so that I don’t get shut out because it sounds like it would be such a fun place to stay. I might continue to consider some other Liverpool hotels in order to spend a little less but who knows if I’ll ever get back there so a little splurge might be worth it. I was able to book a nice enough but less expensive hotel in Edinburgh for my pre-tour 3 night stay so maybe it balances out.

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Really helpful!

Shawn