Liverpool
From Imakoopedia
Liverpool is a city in Merseyside, England which most people have heard of because it's the home of The Beatles. The city has so much more to offer than just The Beatles though and as it's going to be European Capital of Culture 2008 it's currently undergoing a facelift.
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Understand
Liverpool is on the River Mersey. People from Liverpool are known politely as 'Liverpudlians' or, more commonly, as 'Scousers'.
There are three football clubs (what North Americans might call 'soccer teams') in and around Liverpool.
Get in
Liverpool is only about three 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.
If you're flying in you might land at Manchester Airport or John Lennon Airport just outside Liverpool. There's a very reliable local service that will taxi you from either place - Beacall Airport Service (Tel: 0151 334 4521).
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's local trains to get to the outskirts. If you want to get around quite a bit using public transport see if a saveaway will save you money. Available from stations and travel information centres they are available for different zones and are valid for a days 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 center is quite splendid.
- St. George's Hall, (near Lime Street 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, (near St. George's Hall). A 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, (near St. George's Hall). A fine building and well worth a visit.
- 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 greater in diameter than that of the clock tower at Westminster.
- 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). 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, (at the Albert Dock). A museum dedicated to the maritime history of the city, complete with galleries on customs and excise and emmigration 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, (on the Albert Dock). A fine modern art gallery.
- Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral (Catholic). Looks like a wigwam, but you can't have everything, can you? Visit on a sunny day - the stained glass ceiling looks fantastic!
- Liverpool Cathedral (Anglican). Doesn't look like a wigwam. 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.
Do
- Liverpool Football Club. Liverpool has the most successful football club in Britain. The last time they actually won the championship was over 10 years ago, but the history is there.
- Everton Football Club. There's also another team across Stanley Park.
- Matthew Street Festival, Matthew Street. Around August Bank Holiday. This festival is always fun with all sorts of bands from all over the world - but especially Beatles bands - playing in the pubs/bars and on the streets.
- Liverpool Theatre -- The Empire plays host to a wide range of shows, including many UK tours of larce-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.
Learn
Work
Buy
Eat
Drink
There's a good selection of pubs in Liverpool and the bars at night are cool. Matthew Street is a pretty cool area. The Irish pubs in Liverpool are mostly good.
- The Philharmonic. This is the most gorgeous pub in the country. Even the toilets in this place are luxurious.
- The Vines, Lime Street. A great pub to go to in terms of style.
- The Cavern Club, Matthew 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, Matthew Street. A Beatles-inspired bar.
- Abbey Road, Matthew Street. A Beatles-inspired pub.
- Flanagan's Apple, Matthew 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.
Sleep
- International Inn -- Cheap Hostel accommodation near to town from £15 per person. http://www.internationalinn.co.uk 0151 709 8135
Contact
Stay safe
Avoid Toxteth.
Cope
Get out
Birkenhead, across the Mersey, has a football club called Tranmere Rovers. Although this club has always lived in the shadow of Liverpool and Everton, 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.
External links
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