Admittedly, Liverpool had not been at the top of my list of places to visit in England. It was only after my husband, Sam, suggested we visit, that we thought of planning a weekend there over a bank holiday. What a pleasant surprise when I learned the city was packed full of history, sights, and things to do!
Liverpool
As this blog is dedicated to exploring the history of the locations we travel to, it is fitting we start with Liverpool’s history that has helped make it the iconic city it is today. From its docklands to its music scene, Liverpool is proud of its story and is keen to tell it.
Liverpool is, of course, home to quite possibly the most iconic band ever—the Beatles. Retracing their steps along the famous Mathew Street or visiting the experience dedicated to telling their story are among just a few options of ways to explore this famous quartet.
Perhaps less dazzling but equally as awe inspiring, is Liverpool’s impressive shipping industry. Liverpool had and still has an astounding number of commercial (and non-commercial for that matter) docks accounting for a large fraction of England’s imports and exports. The stories of these docks through the wars and the stories of those who worked on them are fascinating reads. We could have spent hours inside the Maritime Museum (see our itinerary for more info!) reading what life was like for those in the various echelons of Liverpool’s maritime societies.
Liverpool’s maritime history connects it with some of the most famous moments in maritime history as well. The Lusitania and the Titanic are both ships whose stories intertwine with the city’s. The Lusitania, having been bound for Liverpool, was carrying quite a few locals aboard when it was sunk by a Nazi U-boat. The Titanic also carried Liverpudlians who made up most of her senior command, given that Titanic was registered in Liverpool.
Outside of her impressive history, Liverpool is now a very modern city, having been rebuilt after the wars. She lays claim to hosting the largest religious building in Britain which you may feel to be an appropriate way to spend a Sunday after a boozy Saturday night out around a few of Liverpool’s many bars or nightclubs.
We were also surprised by the food! It seems Liverpool is a secret foodie paradise. We were well impressed with the plethora of choice, especially of locally owned places, and with the quality. Every bite we ate was better than the last (not a comment made lightly from a hungry Cajun usually campaigning against bland British food!).
How to get there
We elected to drive up to Liverpool given the train strikes. With a baby, this was made a bit more difficult but the heaps of service stations along our route from London gave us plenty of chances to stop to settle our little one if need be.
Had there not been train strikes, we may have elected to take the train up from London, as it is a direct train from Euston Station aboard Avanti West Coast.
Additionally, Liverpool is serviced by an international airport, ferries, and, if you’re feeling particularly fancy, cruise ships!
When to go
Our trip was nicely timed during the August bank holiday and, surprisingly, was hardly busy at all. We had no trouble finding a room, booking dinner reservations, or finding seats/space at experiences. We barely even had to eat to take a photo with the famous Beatles statue!
The weather also was very cooperative and, while breezy and chilly in the mornings, always turned into the perfect English summer’s day.
If you’re looking to combine your trip with a beach day, there are some lovely beaches (allegedly) along the Mersey rail trains headed north.
What else to do
Liverpool is definitely a stag/hen do’s paradise. We saw many groups out for the night over the weekend and, honestly, it looked like a ton of fun! There seems to be a great culture around partying/drinking here!
For us, with a 3 month old, partying was looking a little different for us. And luckily, Liverpool was up to the task. As we could expect with any English city, Liverpudlians were incredibly gracious as we toted around our baby, even constantly complimenting him at our “fancy dinner night”. We had a bit of trouble finding changing stations that weren’t out of service, but it wasn’t for lack of availability and there was always another option available close by.
As mentioned above, if eating out is your idea of a good time, Liverpool touts some delicious options for all times of day and, to our delight, many of them were locally owned!
Where to eat
As stated earlier, we thoroughly enjoyed our food in Liverpool. As we were there for three nights, we enjoyed three dinners out and would recommend each. Equally, we found it easy to get a table without reservation, however I would always recommend reserving ahead just in case.
Meet Argentinian served us some delicious steak and chips paired with a large glass of red wine for myself and a cocktail for my husband. The ambiance was soothing (so much so that my son easily fell asleep with little effort) and the wait staff was friendly and helpful.
The Cavern Restaurant gave us the ability to get as close to a night out at the famous Cavern Club as possible with a 3 month old. Sat just across the road and its decor dedicated to honouring the famous joint, they were not just a tourist trap. They backed it up with delicious food options and a delightful drink menu as well. People watching from their large front windows was also quite a good time.
Bouchon was our ‘fancy dinner’ for the trip and, although they didn’t have any oysters when we arrived, we still enjoyed a very reasonably priced three course meal around a Sunday Roast for the main. The wait staff were incredibly kind and helpful (offering us compliments on our baby and coming for plenty of checkins).
Accommodation
We stayed on Castle Street (a super fun little street with plenty of bars/restaurants) and enjoyed the proximity to the city. As Liverpool is a relatively small city, getting a room in the centre was key and allowed us a short walk to anywhere we wanted to be!
Things to know
Some of the Beatles sites to see are outside of the city centre so you will either need to buy tickets to join a tour or make plans to drive there.
Price
Being from London (or just the general southern UK area) we found Liverpool to be quite reasonable in price and it was a pleasant change
Want to see exactly what we did in Liverpool? Check out our Liverpool Itinerary!