Liverpool City Break - 3 Days

The simplest way to get your bearings is with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour around the city centre. Have an entertaining history lesson while saving your feet, then select the stops where you’d like to disembark to explore further. Several tours also offer an option to take a ferry across the Mersey (with, or occasionally without, a Gerry and the Pacemakers soundtrack)

12pm: Battle of the cathedrals.

Liverpool is home to two architecturally jaw-dropping cathedrals, and the good news is they live at opposite ends of the same street! Admire the Victorian Gothic splendour of the Anglican cathedral (be sure to climb the tower for impressive views of the city centre and the Mersey), then stroll down Hope Street to the Catholic cathedral to witness its modern light-filled atrium.

5pm: Beatlemania

No visit to Liverpool is complete without a sprinkling of the Fab Four. The Magical Beatles Museum has over 400 rare pieces of memorabilia spread over five floors. You can also book in advance with the National Trust to take the Beatles’ Childhood Homes tour to see where John Lennon and Paul McCartney grew up and wrote their first songs together.

9am: Get your footie fix

Liverpool Football Club’s Anfield stadium and Everton FC’s Goodison Park, which are both open for tours, take about 15 minutes to reach by car from the city centre. See the turf where some of the best perms of the 1980s made footballing history.

12pm: Head down to the docks

Head to the river to see the Three Graces — the Royal Liver Building, the Port of Liverpool Building and the Cunard Building — and Royal Albert Dock. The dock’s red-pillared warehouses are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and constitute the largest concentration of Grade I-listed buildings in the UK. While you’re down at the dock, immerse yourself in history and culture, too — it’s home to a plethora of museums and galleries, including The Beatles Story, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and Tate Liverpool

2pm: 360-degree views

The observation platform at St Johns Beacon is a unique way to see the Liverpool landscape from a splendid vantage point. Ascend 400 feet to take in amazing views of Liverpool’s Waterfront, the Wirral and North Wales.

5pm: Shop till you drop

With more than 170 stores, the Liverpool ONE shopping and leisure complex provides an excellent workout for your credit card. Fortunately, there’s also a multitude of bars and restaurants for a stiff drink after all that spending.