Liverpool -International Beatles Week Aug 2017

We are going to Liverpool in May. So excited to experience all the Beatles stuff there. It will be our first time there. Beatles week sounds like great fun. Enjoy!

No, but I did make a Beatles pilgrimage to Liverpool and loved every minute of it.

The Beatles Experience museum at the Albert Dock is full of fascinating memorabilia and the audio guide is narrated by John Lennon's half-sister Julia Baird. I especially like the emphasis on the early years, before they were famous and when they were just coming to fame. It can get really crowded. I imagine during International Beatles Week there may be a long, long line to get in.

Street right near Beatles Experience (and Tourist Info office) is the starting point for the Magical Mystery Tour bus which you can (and should) book ahead online. Totally fab! About 2 hours, lovely knowledgeable and friendly tour guide and driver, visiting the homes of all 4 Beatles and Brian Epstein (from the outside) as well as Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, other landmarks.

Magical Mystery Tour ends at the street where the rebuilt Cavern Club stands, many stories below street level. You get a free entry voucher with your bus ticket. They serve only drinks, no food, and there's live music. On the same block is the Cavern Pub which does serve food, but I haven't been. The Hard Day's Night Hotel is around the corner and they have an "Any Time At All" menu from which we greatly enjoyed a late lunch.

I believe it is possible to book more in-depth tours (such as inside the McCartney house?) and I'm sure they'll be running full force during International Beatles Week though I can't vouch for them. If you are determined to visit locations related to other people who contributed to Beatles success (Pete Best, Freda Kelly et al.) it would take some digging as these folks are not part of the standard tour circuit.

Non-Beatles sights in Liverpool include the World Museum and the Cathedral.

Seeing the boyhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was the top highlight of my Liverpool visit. They are run by the National Trust and can only be seen on a tour. If you want to go during International Beatles Week--book your tour NOW, since it will certainly sell out (if it hasn't already). See www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles-childhood-homes.

I had a great time in Liverpool, which I saw in September 2016 along with Glasgow, Manchester, and Chester. My trip report is here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016. My report will give you some ideas for your non-Beatles time. You may want some just to get away from crowds, and the attractions were highly worthwhile; as a bonus, many are free.

T. beat me to it: book your tour of the John's and Paul's childhood homes as soon as you can. Rick mentions that these get sold out quickly on Beatles Week. They only run a few a day, and don't run any more during Beatles week; the tours are limited to about 14 people each. (These are private homes in residential neighborhoods, so they can't crank people through like a large museum). The limited numbers are part of what makes it such a good experience.

We too went to Liverpool for our own Beatles tour. We took the "Pool of Life" Beatles Day Tour which took us everywhere. Started with a tour of Aunt Mimi's house which had John's memorabilia, saw where George and Ringo lived and also went into Paul's house. We stopped at the school where John and Paul met and across the street in the grave yard is Eleanor Rigby's grave, went to Strawberry fields, the roundabout in Penny Lane, etc. But the best was going to the Casbah which is a house owned by Pete Best's mom where the Beatles played in the basement which she set up as a club for kids and his brother Rory Best gave a tour and had lots of pictures and stories about the early Beatles. It's a great tour because you see all the places that are important to Beatle fans.
We also did "Ferry cross the Mersey" and the Beatles museum down on the docks was good. Lots to see in Liverpool.