Liverpool
Liverpool has something of a worldwide reputation; it is based upon the incredible amount of music and musical performers that the city has produced over the past sixty years. Liverpool has become perhaps the biggest cultural centre in the North West of England in recent years. Like other well established cities in the UK it has a strong industrial past with the river at its heart, traces of its industrial past can still be seen as you travel around parts of the city. Even if you visit the city quite regularly you can still find things that you have never noticed before and can still be surprised by what you find here again and again. One thing that you will find here, all over the city are images of the city’s Liver birds, you will see their image wherever you go from the emblems on the teams football strips to all of the municipal architecture in the city.
Music
Music has to be the one thing above all else that people know the city for, absolutely everyone around the world knows that the Beatles hailed from Liverpool and the city is more than happy to use this musical heritage to encourage tourism into the city and to engage these visitors in activities and events across the city.
The Beatles and their career account for a large proportion of tourism into the city and there are various locations around the city that you can visit that are part of the history of the group; the most noteworthy of which is the Beatles Story exhibition which is a fabulous interactive and hands on exhibition that follows the history of the fab four both as a group and as individuals throughout their careers, from their humble beginnings in the Cavern Club to modern day successes. Die hard Beatles fans can also follow the life of the band by taking a tour that takes them around the city to many areas significant to the group and their music, places like Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane that they will recognise from the songs.
Museums and Galleries
There are plenty of more traditional museums in the city, each of which offers visitors a different aspect of life in the city throughout the ages, from the Maritime Museum through to the thought provoking International Slavery Museum, which offer themed exhibits that can be very hard hitting at times. The World Museum offers exhibits from all areas of the world from the ancient to the modern including some incredible contemporary works of art. If art is a passion of yours you will be thrilled to discover the galleries that the city has to offer. The Tate Liverpool is set to rival its counterpart in London. When the city was awarded the ‘City of Culture’ title in 2008 the city saw a lot of development and improvements to many of its cultural venues.
Other Attractions
Many of the old and historic building in the city draw tourists to them in their own right, especially the ancient and awe inspiring cathedrals. There are also some very pretty and spacious parks that make great places for an afternoon picnic, like Calderstones Park. Liverpool is a city with a great football tradition with two teams that play under in the city, Liverpool the team that takes the cities name and Everton, locally known as the ‘Toffee’s’. Tours are available of the stadium which will give you some idea of just how passionate the city is about its football. Add to the attraction a wealth of bars, cafes and incredible restaurants in which you can indulge in some fabulous food and excellent wine, before heading out to some colourful nightclubs and late night entertainment venues.
Of course you cannot visit the city of Liverpool without giving a passing nod to the two Liver birds which sit atop the Liver building, each bird is a spectacular eighteen feet tall and stands with its wings outstretched which allegedly symbolises the incredible indomitable spirit of the people of the city. Ancient legend states that if the birds were ever to take flight and leave the city, the entire city of Liverpool would simply cease to exist.
