Arinza Apartment

Around the area

Getting to and around Liverpool

By air, rail, sea or road, Liverpool is very easy to find but much harder to leave…
Liverpool John Lennon airport is nine miles south-east of the city centre. The Airlink 500 bus service runs to the city centre at least every 30 minutes (£2.50 one way), and the new Liverpool South Parkway train station is nearby, with regular bus
services to and from the airport. A taxi to the city centre takes around 20 minutes and costs roughly £10.

The Mersey travel network makes getting around the Liverpool region by train or bus easy, whatever your individual needs.

Visit www.merseytravel.gov.uk or call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 to plan your journey. Off-peak day tickets and weekly, monthly or yearly passes are available.

The S2 and S3 city centre circular buses run every 15 minutes and cost just £1 per journey (free if you’ve got a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly ticket).

Lime Street is the national railway network station, and there’s a National Express coach station too.

The Mersey Ferry runs regularly between Liverpool’s Pier Head, and Seacombe and Woodside in Wirral. And the new cruise liner facility sees many ocean-going liners calling into port.

On foot is a great way to really immerse yourself in all the city has to offer. In Liverpool’s compact city centre, most key attractions and venues are within easy walking distance.

Museums and Galleries

Liverpool has more museums than any other UK city outside of London.

World Museum Liverpool - formerly Liverpool Museum - opened to the public in April 2005 following a massive £35m project. Now double the size, new features include expanded galleries and improved facilities such as the World Cultures gallery, the Bug House where visitors will encounter giant model insects, a new Aquarium and the Weston Discovery Centre, Clore Natural History Centre and Treasure House Theatre with their thrilling hands-on experiences.

The National Conservation Centre is unique in presenting the work of conservation staff to the public. Housed in the former Midland Goods Railway depot on Queen Square in the heart of Liverpool, the centre was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1996.

Merseyside Maritime Museum is in a former bonded warehouse, part of the historic Albert Dock on the banks of the River Mersey. The museum, opened in 1980, tells the story of one of the world's greatest ports and the people who used it. The museum's collections reflect the international importance of Liverpool as a gateway to the world, including the city's role in the transatlantic slave trade and emigration.

HM Customs & Excise National Museum holds the national collection of the Department of Customs and Excise, one of the most important collections of its type held anywhere in the world. It includes an extensive display of tools of the job, prints, paintings and photographs relating to the work of the Department of Customs and Excise. Other items look at the ingenious and often dangerous world of smuggling, prohibited goods and concealment.

Tate Liverpool is one of the largest galleries of modern and contemporary art outside London and is housed in beautiful converted warehouse in the historic Albert Dock.

The Walker holds one of the finest collections of fine and decorative art in Europe. It has inspired and delighted visitors for over 120 years. Set in the Cultural Quarter of Liverpool's World Heritage Site the building was designed by architects Sherlock and Vale and opened in 1877 with an endowment from Alderman Sir Andrew Walker.

The Museum of Liverpool Life closed on Sunday 4 June 2006 so that preparations for building the new Museum of Liverpool could begin. Opening in 2010, the Museum of Liverpool will be a bigger and better version of the former museum, which had been a popular waterfront attraction since 1993.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight Village, Wirral, holds one of the most beautiful collections of fine and decorative arts in the country. It was founded in 1922 by William Hesketh Lever, the first Lord Leverhulme, in memory of his wife. The gallery displays works collected by Leverhulme throughout his life.

The Open Eye Gallery is a photographic and media arts exhibition centre based in Wood Street in the city centre, whilst FACT, also in Wood Street, plays host to arts and film media exhibitions.

Nightlife

Liverpool's innate sense of cool was not left behind in the swinging 60s.

The city boasts a vibrant night scene with a plethora of live music venues, clubs, restaurants, cafes, and a wide variety of drinking bars ranging from traditional public houses to the latest designer-chic cafes and theatres.

Alma de Cuba is one of the city's latest venues. Situated in a 200-year-old Polish Church on Seel Street in Liverpool city centre, the spectacular Cuban and Miami-inspired bar and restaurant has to be seen to be believed.

The lounge lizard in you may prefer the Living Room on Victoria Street or Baby Cream in the Albert Dock, the favoured destination of the cocktail crowd. With more than a dozen bar and restaurant outlets, the Albert Dock attracts about four million people each year.

If you prefer a more sedate evening Liverpool boasts many fine real ale pubs such as the Ship and Mitre. Or you may wish to check out the Victorian splendour of the Philharmonic Hotel and Dining Room, with its room named after Brahms & List and famous Italian marbled gents' toilet!

The city has a range of restaurants to suit every purse and palate. You can have the world on a plate from the exotic St Petersburg Russian Restaurant to the Pan American Club.

As a performing arts centre, Liverpool is second to none. The Playhouse, Everyman and Unity theatres offer new cutting-edge productions and have long been producing innovative new material.

The more traditional Empire Theatre has recently been expanded to produce shows on a West End-scale.

For cinema FACT, is one of Liverpool's newest visitor attractions. The state-of-the-art £10m centre houses galleries, cinemas, a cafe bar and a trendy bar and is dedicated to showcasing the work of international artists working in film, video and new media.

This is just a small selection of the numerous venues available to enjoy. For more information about Liverpool visit www.visitliverpool.com

Music and the Beatles

Liverpool is acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Hit Singles as "World Capital of Pop" for producing more number one hit singles than any other city around the globe.

Liverpool 's Wall of Fame in Mathew Street celebrates this achievement featuring 54 Liverpool Number 1 chart hits since 1952.

Merseybeat had a major impact on music across the world in the 1960s through bands like the Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

However, Liverpool's musical talent and innovation has been at the forefront of every genre in every decade since through bands such as OMD, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Christians, The Teardrop Explodes, The Mighty Wah, Frankie Goes to Hollywood , Lightning Seeds, Atomic Kitten and The Coral.

The Liverpool Summer Pops, Africa Oyé and the Mathew Street Music Festival are just some of the annual events which showcase the city's musical magic.

And as birth place of the Beatles, Liverpool is a Mecca for fans around the world. It is home to the world-famous Cavern Club in Mathew Street , where the Fab Four made their debut performance on 21st February 1961, and Brian Epstein first heard them play.

The Beatles Story visitor attraction enables fans to experience the most sensational story the pop world has ever known. Established in 1990, the experience is divided into 18 separate features and charts the success of the group from their early days in Hamburg right through to the eventual break-up of the band and their subsequent solo careers.

Visitors can also enjoy The Magical Mystery Tour. The daily two-hour tour starts from The Beatles Story and finishes at the world-famous Cavern Club. The tour will introduce you to the lives of the Beatles, their homes, schools, and birthplaces, Penny Lane , Strawberry Field and many other landmarks.

Opened in August 1994, The Cavern Pub is opposite the Cavern Club and is also owned and operated by Cavern City Tours.

The National Trust opened Mendips, John Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool , to the public for the first time in March 2003. Visitors can see the environment which spawned John's boundless creativity and in which he first started playing and writing music.

20 Forthlin Road was the former home of the McCartney family and one of the most important houses in the history of popular music. This ordinary terraced house was the home of Sir Paul McCartney right through the early Beatles years. This was where The Beatles composed and rehearsed their earliest songs and it was from here that The Scaffold was formed.

International Beatle Week is the biggest celebration of its kind in the world. Fans from all over the world flock into the city to celebrate the music of the Fab Four.

And work will start shortly on The Hard Day's Night Hotel, the world's first Beatle-themed hotel.

Shopping

Liverpool is a must for fashion. Designer boutiques in Cavern Walks and Bold Street cater for lovers of catwalk couture while those wanting to dress for less flock to the popular high street stores on the bustling Church Street .

Now the city's large-scale new retail developments - Liverpool One and the Met Quarter - are set to re-establish Liverpool as one of the country's top five retail destinations.

Liverpool One is the largest retail-led regeneration project in Europe and will set a benchmark for the next generation of international city centre development.

The £900m project on the Paradise Street site will provide around 1.65m sqft of retail space as well as new apartments, 3,000 car parking spaces, two hotels, a bus station and a multi-screen cinema. The first phase is expected to open in spring 2008.

Nearby, the Met Quarter in Whitechapel, housed within the shell of the city's old post office, offers 147,000 sqft of retail space, attracting some of the biggest names from the fashion world.

Albert Dock

For the most visited Liverpool attractions, visit the stunning Albert Dock which showcases the best of the city in a World Heritage, waterfront setting.

Situated in the largest group of Grade I listed buildings in the UK, the Albert Dock houses many award winning visitor attractions including Tate Liverpool, the famous Beatles Story, Merseyside Maritime Museum and the new International Slavery Museum. You can join a number of fascinating Liverpool tours, including the creepy Shiverpool Ghost Tour or a city and water tour on the Yellow Duckmarine. There are also a great selection of Liverpool bars and restaurants including the new Circo, Babycream, Blue, Est Est Est, Panamerican Club, Ha!Ha! Bar and Canteen, Vinea and Spice Lounge.

Aintree Racecourse & Visitor Centre

Home to the most famous horse race in the world, the Grand National; Aintree is more than just a race course. With an excellent nine-hole golf course and ideal facilities for special occasions, Aintree is well worth a visit (for more information visit http://www.aintree.co.uk).

Knowsley Safari Park

Opened in 1971 by the 18th Earl of Derby, Knowsley Safari Park was the first park of its kind to open close to a large city. With constant improvements over the years, Knowsley has become one of Merseyside's premier leisure attractions, winning several awards for tourism and animal husbandry. In 1994, it was voted Merseyside's Tourist Attraction of the year. Although the main attraction of the park is the Safari Drive , other attractions include the Sea Lion and Parrot show; the Reptile House and the Children's Farm. (For more info visit:
www.knowsley.com )

Location : Knowsley Safari Park , Prescot, Merseyside , L34 4AN
Opening Times : Open Daily. Summer 10am-4pm & Winter 10.30am-3pm

Copy Righted, 2007

Developed by MaxRez