In addition to our Beatles tour, Nik and I had a great time sightseeing in Liverpool. Some really old landmarks and historical sites all around the city.
Notable Sights in Liverpool
As we explored Liverpool on foot, we quickly realized the city offers much more than just Beatles history.
Liverpool Cenotaph
Located in the courtyard of St. Georges Hall is the Liverpool Cenotaph1A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost.. The city erected the memorial to honor those who fell in the First World War and later added additional information to also honor those from World War II2This adding on to existing memorials from the First World War to commemorate the Second War War is very common..
The panel below depicts mourners laying flowers and wreaths on a Stone of Remembrance, with rows of graves in a military cemetery behind them.
On the opposite of the cenotaph, pictured below, the panel depicts a stream of marching troops in the uniforms of the various armed forces.
Related: A Couple Days in Manchester
Equestrian Statue of Queen Victoria
In this same vicinity is an equestrian statue of Queen Victoria that was erected in 1870 and shows the queen riding side saddle.
Queen Victoria succeeded William IV in 1837 as monarch of the UK and Ireland, and in 1876 also became Empress of India. Her reign of 63 years and 7 months, longer than any other British monarch at the time, is known as the Victorian era. It was a period marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. And thus concludes your royal family history lesson for the day.
St Luke’s Bombed Out Church
Liverpool’s St Luke’s Church opened in 1832. During World War II, the city’s role as the largest working port on the west coast made it a critical target, resulting in some of the heaviest bombing outside London.
In 1941, a devastating seven-night bombardment known as the “May Blitz” battered the city, with bombs falling each night from May 1–8. A large fire tore through the building and although its masonry shell largely survived, flames destroyed almost all of the interior and roof.
After the war, various plans were proposed, including the clearing of the site to make way for a new road out of the city. However in the 1950s, it was suggested that the church ruins be preserved as a memorial to the casualties of WWII. The church’s interior remained largely derelict until the early 2000s when the space was transformed by a series of community arts and cultural events.
The ‘All Together Now’ statue, above, commemorates a moment of unity during the World War I. It depicts a British and German soldier greeting each other, with a football between them, recalling the Christmas Truce of December 1914. During this brief pause in fighting, soldiers along the Western Front left their trenches, shook hands, sang carols, shared food, and even played informal football matches in No-Man’s Land.
Chinatown Gate
The Chinatown area of Liverpool is home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe and is also home to the largest Chinese Arch outside of China.
Standing at 44 feet tall, the Chinatown Gate is one of Liverpool’s most spectacular sites and beautiful to see in person.
Intricate designs and symbolic details beautifully adorn the structure, including 200 dragons carved into the Arch. Twelve of them are pregnant, a traditional sign of very good fortune.
The arch was a gift from Shanghai, a city twinned with Liverpool and was shipped over, piece by piece and assembled in 2000.
Liverpool Cathedral
Though we didn’t get up close to the Liverpool Cathedral, we caught a glimpse from our Beatles bus tour. It’s the largest cathedral in Great Britain and the 5th largest in the world.
My picture doesn’t do justice to its immense size. Since we didn’t get a chance to explore the Cathedral in person, it’ll be on the agenda should we make a return visit to Liverpool.
Related: Our Liverpool Beatles Bus Tour
Eating and Drinking in Liverpool
Nik and I didn’t research many food or drink options ahead of time because we really thought we’d be back in Manchester for dinner. That idea went out the window after the few hours we spent at The Cavern Club because we were enjoying Liverpool so much.
The Bridewell
On the recommendation of our friends Nicole and Caddy, we stopped into The Bridewell. A spot owned by Caddy’s cousin, though he wasn’t there when we popped in.
A former police station houses this very cool bar. (Bridewell is a historical term for a jail, prison, or house of correction, named after the original Bridewell Palace in London.)
Old cells have been refurbished into side rooms for drinking, but the long hallway and old doors make it easy to picture the building in its former life.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
We had high hopes for The Philharmonic Dining Rooms as a dinner spot. The outside was gorgeous and the interior was too.
Once we went inside, they told us the kitchen wasn’t open yet and that they were revamping the menu, unsure when it’d be ready. It all just felt very off. So we had a drink and then moved on.
The Dog & Collar Pub
Spotted from our bus tour was The Dog & Collar Pub which caught my attention for its dog theme.
I’m not sure if it was the day of the week that we were there, a Monday, but the restaurant was pretty empty. There were only two other tables eating during our meal, so the atmosphere wasn’t particularly lively.
The food was ok. I had my first scotch egg of the trip and Nik and I shared the lamp chop appetizer and the fish & chips. The latter was very underwhelming, being more mushy than I was expecting.
That said, the dog theme did not disappoint in that sense with the door signs for the bathrooms.
Following dinner, Nik and I made our way back to Liverpool Lime Street for our train back to Manchester.
Safe to say Nik and I really enjoyed our day in Liverpool, especially the Beatles tour. Very much a city steeped with fascinating history and incredible architecture. It’s also a city undergoing great urban regrowth, especially in the area around the port. This growth, along with other development, is making Liverpool one of the most visited cities in the UK and I hope to make a return visit.
