Liverpool need some suggestions
 

Hello, may be going to liverpool for 2 days midweek next week and looking for some restaurant suggestions and TO things daytime while my other half works.

Looking at staying in Albert Dock as he will be at ACC convention centre. Tried looking at map and it looks about 1/2 mile away...is this correct. i want to stay where I can walk out, go shopping or on a tour and then at night have a nice meal. Would Albery Dock hit the note midweek. Any interesting places to see would be appreciated.

I know about all the beatles tours and may take one but is there any other items you would recommend or that you liked!

Hi Siobhan,
The Albert Dock would be spot on for midweek, with plenty of things to do. The Tate Liverpool is on the site and definitely worth a visit and there are a couple of decent(ish) bars/restaurants there too, if you don't mind feeling a bit like an extra in an episode of footballer's wives...

Also worth a visit is the Bluecoat gallery (just off Bold Street, the main shopping street in the 'Pool) which normally has at least one interesting exhibition going on, and a superb second-hand book shop, which could help pass some time.

People watching is also a great way to kill some time as I guarantee that you will see fashions that you just don't get anywhere else (both good and bad) as well as a number of people who seem to think that orange is a natural skin tone and do everything to be as day-glo as possible.

The Williamson Tunnels have been on my TODO list for a few years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamson%27s_tunnels

http://www.williamsontunnels.co.uk/

The new shopping complex has just opened across the road from Albert Dock - Debenhams, George Henry Lees etc - called Liverpool 1 & Paradise Street bus depot is tagged on to it.

Albert Dock can be a bit of a dead end in the city but it is getting better. The new Echo Arena has concerts most nights now & you may be able to get a ticket.

Can't recommend any place to eat as I don't frequent the centre much now.

Cavern Walk to Bold Street are pedestrianised & not a bad walk to do. To the right of Bold Street is Wood Street & Concert Square which fills up at night.

The Merseyside Maritime Museum is at Albert Dock, along with the Tate. You could also try Western Approaches, the HQ for the "Battle of the Atlantic" during WWII.

Aside from the usual Beatles tours, I always ride the ferry once or twice. The shuttle is in the morning and afternoon hours, and takes 30 minutes. The tour is midday, and takes an hour. It's a lovely view of the city.

Oh, the Anglican Cathedral! I just remembered that. It's a good walk up from the river. It's a quiet spot, with a nice refectory, and you could also visit the Roman Catholic Cathedral at the other end of the street.

I favor the Mendips/Forthlin tour, if you want to do a Beatles tour. It's a great way to see how the locals lived during the Beatles' early years.

Hi SiobhanP - sorry if you get this too late for your trip, but it might interest you for your next visit:

would like to share with you my experience of the University City of Liverpool. I went last week with a friend and this is adapted from a presentation I gave for my course.

Famously the home of The Beatles, Liverpool is now the 2008 European City of Culture and its waterfront is a World Heritage Site.

I talked to another friend before setting off who hates cities, often believing them to be crowded, dirty and full of crime. The purpose of my message today is to explain how Liverpool far exceeded my expectations - I found it a clean, friendly and vibrant city.

We had planned our trip to make good use of our time - I surfed the Web to research places of interest. We also had a map from the Tourist Information Centre. The coach journey from Ulverston in Cumbria was just over two hours and we arrived in plenty of time to catch, no, not the Yellow Submarine, but the 12 noon Ferry Across The Mersey - from the Pier Head area near Albert Dock.

The highlight of the 50 minute guided tour of The Mersey was the view of the Royal Liver Building - 295 feet tall, 13 floors and was completed in 1911. We were told the story about the two famous Liverbird statues on top of the building. If the statues disappear, then that means Liverpool will cease to exist. The female faces out to sea to watch out for the men returning home, while the male faces inland waiting for the pubs to open - this made everyone on the boat chuckle! The fare was £5.30 each return, and well worth it - and we had glorious sunshine too. The school children weren’t disruptive and noisy; they were simply part of the background noise of people having fun. In the distance we saw the location of the two famous football grounds - for Liverpool and Everton.

My friend asked a crew member where we could find the best fish and chips and we were directed to The Lobster Pot, opposite Central station which was about a 15 minute walk. It was honestly the best fish and chips I have ever had, and only £3.50 each. We sat and ate them on a bench in the city centre, watching the world go by. We noticed how clean the streets are and how people were walking with a sense of purpose and a smile on their face. On our travels we saw several versions of the “Super LambBanana” sculptures - they are a showcase of creativity in Liverpool. We also saw mobile, yellow, - no, not yellow submarines, but telephone kiosks, an interesting advertising promotion.

We headed for the Liverpool One shopping centre, which although isn’t finished, is impressive - it opens fully in September. We had a quick visit to BBC Radio Merseyside for some souvenirs, and then on to John Lewis and Debenhams. My friend brought a watch and a teapot to take back to The States so she reminded me of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. All the shop assistants were pleasant and nothing was too much trouble. We saw a shop called “The Office” which in fact sold shoes!

After about an hour we headed back to the lively Albert Dock. We saw tall ships, yachts and canal boats. We went into The Tate Liverpool Art Gallery* – we hadn’t much money or time left so we just visited floor one and two which are free to enter. It was great to see some Modern Art for a change, including some Picasso – I never realised that he only died in 1973 – I always thought he lived a long time ago and not in my lifetime. We also saw work by Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol and some rather exciting cheese graters and similar kitchen items, which were wired up and buzzing and flashing - not at all what we expected. (Please DO NOT try this at home!)

Our last port of call was “The Beatles Story” shop where my friend bought some T-Shirts for family and I treated myself to some Yellow Submarine Socks and broach which I just couldn’t resist. On another visit I would like to learn more about The Beatles, their lives and homes and I would also like to visit the Maritime Museum where maybe I’ll find the Yellow Submarine, who knows. We made it back to the coach with five minutes to spare, having seen and learnt a great deal in just over five hours. We passed Aintree Racecourse, home of the Grand National, on the way out of the city,

To summarise, we had a great day, found Liverpool clean, vibrant and full of friendly, lively people proud to be a part of this city. My friend describes it as “diverse, happy and integrated”. I hope that those of you who haven’t been will give it a try.

* I hope you all find this interesting - I wanted to share my first impressions of Liverpool with you *

P.S. - Sorry for any typos - it won't let me edit :-)

Talk of the Liver Building reminded me of when I worked there. Some of the older staff would collect the pigeon eggs for their tea. Quite often we had pigeons flying round the office.
The Lobster Pot was our regular stop on Friday night pub crawls. Their chips were pretty good then as they are now.
Litter collection was a number one priority a few years ago - Bill Bryson once described Liverpool as having a litter festival - I don't think that is true any more.