The gardens and cafe are great, si even if it's not a day to visit an art exhibit you still should…read moregive the bluecoat a go.

A beautiful Grade 1 listed building at the heart of the city centre, the Bluecoat is Liverpool's…read moremost ambitious and multi-disciplined arts centre. It's also the city's most stylish after a multi-million pound refurbishment and redevelopment programme a few years ago. The courtyard that once housed the Bluecoat cafe and bookshop has been made into a string of working studios for local designers like Purlesque and Landbaby to exhibit and sell their work whilst there's further studios for resident artists and creative businesses dotted throughout the building. There's also an Espresso bar on the ground floor, a restaurant on the first floor, a multi-purpose reception area, a gorgeous garden and various gallery exhibition spaces. As for the actual art, the Bluecoat runs bi-monthly exhibitions and installations by national and international artists and hosts literary events, poetry readings, live music, comedy nights, performance art and networking events. Admission to the building, shops and gallery is free and clearly, there's enough going on at the Bluecoat to keep visitors occupied for a full afternoon or evening.

Royal Albert Dock is one of the nicer parts of Liverpool city centre, with the old dock buildings…read morealong the river, consisting of many bars and restaurants including Miller and Carter, Lunyalita and Revolution. It is one of the most visited multi-use attractions in the country outside of London, and the collection of buildings (docks, warehouses) is the largest single collection of Grade I listed buildings anywhere in the UK. It can be a nice, relaxing place to have a walk around, getting away from the busy main parts of the city. I do think it could be laid out better with some signage and notes to the historic past, but I do understand there are some limitations in making changes due to the listed building status. 4* - A pretty cool and historic part of Liverpool city centre

The Albert docks are historical and have now been modernised and preserved to offer a plethora of…read morenice restaurants, shops and some museums, one of which is the tate, and the Maritime Museum and also the International Slave Museum. Here is some history about the docks - "Liverpool's docks dominated global trade by the early 19th century. When it opened in 1846, Albert Dock changed the way the docks worked here forever. Its warehouses were fireproof and secure; traders could do deals before their import taxes were due; hydraulic cranes hauled heavy cargoes across the flagstones. The speed with which ships unloaded and turned around was cut in half." Definitely a worthy and must see stop when you visit Liverpool.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery owes its existence to the fortune amassed by the 1st Lord Leverhulme…read morefrom his soap and detergents business, better known to us as Lever Bros. Lord Leverhulme actually began purchasing art in the late 19th century to advertise his 'Sunlight' soap brand, and from this commercial beginning he developed a substantial collection of British 18th and 19th century art, an extensive collection of ceramics (including Classical items as well as early Wedgwood), tapestries and antique furniture. The gallery itself was built in 1922 in memory of Leverhulme's wife. Set in the lovely surroundings of Port Sunlight village - itself an example of enlightened philanthropy, as it was built to provide high quality housing for Leverhulme's workers - the gallery is small, but the quality of the exhibits is high. The paintings include items by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Stubbs, Turner and Constable, and a substantial number of pre-Raphaelite works, with pictures by Leighton, Millais, Burne-Jones, Rossetti and Holman-Hunt. The ceramics include an outstanding collection of Wedgwood, high quality items of Chinese porcelain from the Ming, Qing and Kangxi periods, and Roman and Greek sculptures and vases. Other collections include some late mediaeval tapestries and English furniture from the 16th-19th centuries, considered the definitive period of fine English cabinet-making. The gallery has a small cafe and surprisingly good provision for children, including an 'artbase' trolley containing lots of materials for dressing up and drawing, and a selection of children's work sheets and gallery trails. The site is a short walk from Bebington railway station on the Merseyrail network (14 minutes from Liverpool Central, trains every 15 minutes), and has ample car parking on site. It makes for a delightful afternoon excursion from Liverpool, and admission is free.

The Lady Lever Art Gallery is famous for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings but also has other…read moreoutstanding collections. It is named after Lever's wife, and is based in Port Sunlight on the Wirral. Interesting fact: Lever built Port Sunlight village to house his workers. It houses a great collection of paintings as well as furniture, Chinese collections, tapestries, sculpture, Wedgwood and classical antiquities in a beautiful building. There are several rooms, centred around the main hall. The paintings on display include pieces by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Stubbs, Turner, Millais, Rossetti, Holman Hunt and Waterhouse. The gallery also includes a restaurant where the cakes are delicious and soup looks lovely.

Very interactive and interesting exhibits…read more FREE admission will get you into 90% of the actual museum. Variety of exhibits so it has a little something for everybody. The first floor was the Dive In! Aquarium. It had a very nice anemone tank and a variety of other tanks that had sea life. The second floor is the Bug space, and the beginning of the Natural History space. Both are very interactive and have plenty of kid friendly space. The Return of the Gods exhibit (which costs 8 GBP to visit) was on the third floor, but you could also see what I thought was the most interesting part of the museum which was the World Culture exhibit. The exhibits themselves are nice, but this museum has a novel approach to explaining how Liverpool got its items. Comedian Daliso Chaponda was narrating the process of how the museum procured the majority of its items through good ole colonization (kidding, not kidding). He brings to light the appropriation process through comedic discussion, novel and palatable. The 3rd floor also has the Egyptian Exhibit, which is very good. It's probably the jewel of the museum. The history of the pieces are well explained, and the mummies are displayed wonderfully, some in layers, some in narrative, and plenty of interactivity for the little ones. I didn't spend much time on the fourth floor (Dinosaurs) or fifth floor (Planetarium/Space). The fifth floor wasn't as impressive, but gave those genre's some space for those that are interested. It was the meh portions of the museum. If you have a few hours to burn, consider this museum a good choice for kids of all ages and interests.

Visited the museum especially to see the current special exhibition on the Chinese terracotta army…read morewhich was well worth the cost of the tickets. The building contains a large cafe on the ground floor that was well stocked with good quality food and deserts, this area also has access to free Wi-Fi. The next floor has the Aquarium and treasure house theater. The 2nd (3rd in US) floor has the special exhibition and the Bug House. Next floor contains World Cultures, Ancient Egypt and Western Discovery Center (only open weekends & school holidays. 4th floor holds Dinosaurs, Endangered Planet and Clore Natural History Center. Finally the 5th floor holds exhibits on Space and Time along with a Planetarium - tickets needed from the information desk on the ground floor. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and could not be more accommodating, well worth the visit. I should also add the this museum is free except for the special exhibit which needs tickets purchased either online or at the entrance with limited time slots available each day.

The BME could very easily be a tourist trap type experience but I thought they did a good job…read morechronicling many eras and genres of music in British History. It starts with trad and skiffle and progresses to contemporary artists. The interactive screens were a nice touch and I loved seeing all of the memorabilia from my favourite bands. The gift shop had some surprising items and is worth a quick look, though I thought the cafe's selection could have been a bit fancier (perhaps just my personal taste.)

I was really looking forward to this, but perhaps I was expecting too much after having been to the…read moreMOPOP in Seattle a few times. Granted, the MOPOP costs twice as much. However , where I expected historical artifacts, the majority here were reproductions or were often "made for" an artist, or were clothes their fans wore, or were just album covers and the like. Cool stuff, but lacking the historicity I expected. They do have the guitar Andy Scott used to record "Ballroom Blitz," a bass Bill Wyman used on tour, and some handwritten lyrics from Freddy Mercury. I realize these types of acquisitions are costly, so I imagine they're still collecting. There is a cool stage--that eats up a lot of empty space when nothing is playing in it most of the time--where they show holographic performers. We saw Boy George, who I think is ok, and it was really great. Being into rock my whole life, I didn't need to read the story boards about the development of music, though some might enjoy them. There are some mildly fun interactive maps and graphics, and some engaging videos that you can experience as you stroll through. We didn't do the audio tour, so I can't comment on it. We spent a half hour at the end playing instruments they have there for you to mess with. Unlike the MOPOP, they all worked, and the guitars were in tune! As a guitarist, I was impressed that they had real USA Gibsons. I spent most of my time banging on an electric drum kit, however. My wife and 14 year old daughter spent the whole time on an electric keyboard, and had real fun doing it.

Free entry, which is really nice, but its a cool museum, and my kids really enjoyed it…read more Lots of entertaining hands on activities for the kids which was nice. They kids actually preferred this museum to others such as the London museum for this very reason. It's not a big place so probably can spend 2 hours or so there depending on how detailed you want to be. Surrounding area is nice to explore as well since it's by the water.

We stopped in here to look around at 10 am when they opened. We found it pretty interesting. It's…read moredefinitely a nice stop, but there's so much detail on Liverpool. You can easily go through it fairly quickly and we were in and out in less than an hour. There's some nice sections covering the Beatles and other music performers from Liverpool. There's also clean restrooms on every floor so if you're out and about it, it's worth a stop. They ask for 5 pound donation when you leave and I'd say it's worth every penny.

We thought the information in the museum was fabulous. They have an extraordinary headset and…read moreaudiovisual aid that you can listen to as you go through the exhibit. My only complaint is that there are so many people that it just is a huge draw for tourists and there's almost no way to get through this museum without you and 1000 of your best friends being there at the same time. My favorite room was near the end at the John Lennon / Yoko Ono white room. Really enjoyed our time through this museum and a lot of the original exhibits that they had. Would've been disappointed to have not seen this while in Liverpool.

Felt a tad bit touristy but I don't know how you could avoid that. So much of the Liverpool…read moreexperience is dominated by Beatles things so of course this museum goes all in. That being said, I thought they do a good job with each room being its own experience and sort of immersive. Didn't necessarily learn anything new but enjoyed myself nonetheless.

Highly ornate old building. If you have the chance to listen to a concert in here, it's worth it!read more

St. George's hall is the finest example of neo-classical architecture in the country. Visiting the…read moreheritage centre on St. Johns Lane brings the story of St. George's Hall alive with access to cells, crown court and a viewing gallery enabling visitors to experience the magnificent great hall. Throughout the year, there is a range of exhibitions, talks, markets, performances and events taking place. Full details can be found on their website. The stunning Victorian architecture of the great hall and the great organ are a must see. Entrance to this site is free for all and I would recommend visiting.