Why Liverpool is Worth a Visit for Beatles fans and non-Beatles fans alike
Written: Aug 08 '02 (Updated Aug 08 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: the Beatles, nightlife, cheaper than London, friendly people
Cons: not as pretty as London
The Bottom Line: "[Liverpool] is in my ears and in my eyes." Definitely worth a trip if you are already in England.
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| beckytcy's Full Review: Liverpool |
As a Beatles fan, one of the places in England I was most excited about visiting was Liverpool, the birthplace of all four Beatles. Some of my friends in London were perplexed as to why we would want to visit this industrial city. But I had two reasons: The Beatles and Liverpool accents . Fortunately, my friends Katy and Dinny were as enthusiastic to visit Liverpool as I was, so we decided to stop there on the way back from Scotland. We had a wonderful time there and were sad to leave. Unfortunately, we could only spend one night in Liverpool, but it was packed with fun.
Note: I posted this review yesterday, but it was apparently under the wrong heading, so I removed the original one as Epinions just added a category for Liverpool. Thank you everyone for your feedback.
Liverpool is traditionally an industrial city, but it has made efforts in the past few years to beautify the city, especially the harbor area, knowing that the city's musical history would attract tourism.
Near the Albert Dock, there are several trendy restaurants and bars alongside tourist attractions including The Beatles Story, the Museum of Liverpool Life, the Maritime Museum, and a branch of London's famous Tate Gallery . On your walk to the Albert Dock from downtown Liverpool, you will pass a Yellow Submarine sculpture, which is a perfect photo-op. Also, near the Albert Dock you can embark on a "Ferry 'cross the Mersey" River just like in the song.
The Beatles Story costs around $10 to see memorabilia and anamatronic figures of the Beatles. We figured that it wasn't worth paying for since many of the pubs have Beatles memorabilia and are more authentic. It also has an extremely over-priced gift-shop.
At the entrance to the Beatles Story, some guy in a suit called me "love." If you have never been called "love" by someone with a Liverpool accent, let me tell you, it is a beautiful thing. After the woman at the till in the gift shop called Katy and Dinny, "love," I was inspired to challenge them to a contest to see who could get called "love" the most times. However, the outcome of this competition is in dispute since a homeless man called me "love," but my friends claimed that it was a collective "love" to all of us. So, officially, it ended in a draw.
"He was looking right at me!" I protested.
"But he was wall-eyed!" Katy claimed.
Other things to see
Check out the Philharmonic Pub which was a hangout of John Lennon. When John became extremely famous, he lamented the fact that he could no longer have a quiet pint at the Philharmonic.
Another John Lennon hangout is the Jacoranda where John and Stu Sutcliffe painted a mural.
Liverpool built a giant Anglican Cathedral a few years back. It's fairly pretty, but certainly not as nice as older cathedrals such as St. Paul's in London or the Salisbury Cathedral. But, it's worth stopping in if you happen to walk by. You might also want to check out the modern Catholic Cathedral. Its round shape makes you think it might take off into outer space at any moment. The church is filled with interesting, modern art renditions of scenes in Jesus' life.
The Walker Art Gallery had a cool exhibit of art by Paul McCartney while we were there.
We wanted to go to the Cavern Club to see the place where the Beatles performed many times in their early years. Unfortunately, this venue is open only on weekends and is more of a discotheque most of the time. Across the road, however, is the Cavern Pub which features live music every night. Outside the pub is a statue of John Lennon and the names of all the performers who have ever played at the Cavern. There are also plaques commemorating gold and platinum albums by Liverpool artists, most of which are pretty cool (apart from Atomic Kitten ...)
Fortune smiled upon us at the Cavern Pub as both of my reasons for going to Liverpool were satisfied-- the night was full of Beatles and accents!! The pub had lots of Beatles memorabilia around, and the duo playing at the Cavern Pub that night featured Gavin, who plays George in a Beatles tribute band called The Blue Meanies. He looked like a cross between a young George Harrison and Hugh Grant, I swear!! Gavin and his bandmate were doing a soundcheck when we walked in and then took a break to get drinks at the bar. As the assertive one in our group, it was my job to go up to Gavin and ask him what time the show was going to begin. That's all I had to say and he talked to us for the rest of the night. They played Beatles covers and some other songs including Radiohead, and after their sets, Gavin would come over and sit at our table. He told us about meeting Paul McCartney (Paul said to him, "You look a bit like a young George Harrison," and Gavin said to Paul, "You look a bit like Paul McCartney.") and his adventures travelling around America. After last call at the Cavern, Gavin and his mate even took us to a karaoke bar a couple doors down Matthew St!
The point of this story is that we found Liverpudlians to be more friendly than Londoners, since the Liverpool isn't as inundated by American tourists as the capital is. So, Americans are almost a novelty! Someone at a Liverpool pub said to me, "I'm trying to keep you talking because I like your accent." Funny, because that's the only reason I was talking to him, too.
The Embassie Hostel
As budget travellers, we stayed in a hostel which cost only 13 pounds per person per night! It was in a quiet location (a bit far away from the main parts of the city, but it only cost around 5 pounds to get a taxi back after going out at night) and is run by a very nice man named Kevin. According to Kevin, young travellers often plan to stay one or two nights and end up staying for a couple of months or even move to Liverpool. And it's easy to see why. He has penty of anecdotes and information about the Beatles and provides unlimited tea, toast and jam for guests. He even has peanut butter "for the Americans." We must have eaten about 5 pounds worth of toast, which made this hostel an even better value! Kevin's "claim to fame" is that he entered a music competition in the 1950s and placed 3rd. John Lennon placed 5th.
Kevin can tell you how to get to Paul's childhood home (a few miles from the city center) and Penny Lane or can arrange for you to go on a Beatles-themed tour.
The hostel is clean and has separate rooms for women and men. We felt a bit like Annie as we slept in our metal bunk beds, but they were actually quite comfortable. The room was fairly empty (just us and an Australian girl) so we all got bottom bunks. During the summer, when more tourists go to Liverpool, you would probably have to queue for the bathrooms, but with so few guests when we were there, we didn't have a problem.
Check out their informative website at www.embassie.com
Transportation
Liverpool is fairly small and easy to walk. Taxis are easy to find at night if you don't want to walk in the dark. They are also MUCH cheaper than London cabs. The train station, Lime Street Station, is centrally located. If you are planning your trip in advance you can get great deals on train tickets from Virgin Trains by purchasing tickets from their website www.virgintrains.co.uk. However, you must not alter your travel plans or try to use the same ticket on different days or they will charge you a huge fine, as we learned the hard way. But if you plan things right (which we didn't) you could get a return from London for around 10 quid ($15).
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
beckytcy
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Member: Becky
Location: Boston
Reviews written: 277
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