Built on Saint James' Mount, Liverpool Cathedral is the largest cathedral and religious building in Britain. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world. In terms of overall volume, Liverpool Cathedral ranks as the fifth-largest cathedral in the world and contests with the incomplete Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City for the title of largest Anglican church building. In addition to the sheer size, it has a very striking color, especially during sunset as it was built with red sandstone in the early to mid-twentieth-century.

The cathedral's belltower is the largest, and also one of the tallest, in the world, rising to a height of 330 ft. It houses the highest and heaviest ringing peal of bells in the world. One of the cathedral's stained glass windows shows the artisans who designed and built it — Bodley and Scott are both shown, sitting together. The organ, built by Henry Willis & Sons, is the largest pipe organ in the UK and has two five-manual consoles (one sited high up in one of the organ cases and the other, a mobile console, on the floor of the cathedral), 10,268 pipes and a trompette militaire.

Why You Should Visit:
Striking from the outside and not like your traditional church inside, where you may find a telephone booth, neon sign, "secret mouse", "whispering arch", plus concerts and interesting exhibits.

Tip:
Make sure you take the tour up to the top for the best view in the city, and also spend some time in Saint James' Gardens just outside, as some of the gravestones are really interesting.
There's also a lovely café upstairs (by lift) where you can look down at the nave whilst enjoying morning coffee or a reasonably-priced light lunch.

The Wheel of Liverpool is a transportable Ferris wheel installation on the Keel Wharf waterfront of the River Mersey in Liverpool. The wheel is in close proximity to M&S Bank Arena Liverpool, and was opened on 25 March 2010. The structure is 196 feet (60 m) tall, weighs 365 tonnes and has 42 fully enclosed capsules attached. The wheel had been planned for three years by the company Great City Attractions. They submitted a planning application which explained that it would increase tourism in Liverpool. A smaller observation wheel had been operational in the city, which was located at the Liverpool One leisure complex. This was dismantled because of the plans to open the Wheel of Liverpool. Construction was completed on 11 February 2010 at a cost of £6 million.

The wheel was closed for a short time following Great City Attractions going into administration. Freij Entertainment International purchased the attraction and it is currently operated by their subsidiary Wheels Entertainments Ltd. In October 2013, the Wheel of Liverpool was struck by lightning but did not sustain any damage.

Situated in Albert Dock, the Beatles Story is a museum where you can get in touch with the very beginning of the band's history, starting in the late 1950s. A large amount of exhibition space is dedicated exclusively to the band and its four young lads. Your themed adventure will start with audio guides narrated by Paul McCartney, where he tells you how he first met John Lennon, and by Julia Lennon, who discloses the “Living History” of the band. You'll follow the Beatles in their hometown, to Germany and the Star Club, back to Liverpool in the famous Cavern Club and the next stops: London, USA and USSR. In addition, you can visit the "Going Solo" halls, the interactive Discovery Zone, FAB4STORE-1 with a multitude of souvenirs and merchandise for you and your family, the specially-designed Starbucks Coffeehouse and even see some of the band's original instruments.

Why You Should Visit:
However expensive, the place is tastefully laid out and very well organized, and the admission fee does include a multi-lingual headset which adds quality to the visit.

Tip:
It can be difficult to get tickets on the day, so if you are planning to go then it would really be worthwhile booking online (that way, you also avoid queueing). Cheaper tickets available if you search the web for discounts/vouchers.

Albert Dock, a historic complex of docks and warehouses on the banks of the Mersey river, is Liverpool’s biggest tourist draw, attracting over 4 million visitors each year. It was built in the 1840s and designed by local architects Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick. The new dock was ground-breaking in two ways – one of the first dock complexes to allow direct unloading of cargo into warehouses, it was also the first UK development not to use wood in its construction. The complex was crucial to Liverpool’s rapid development as a global trade port, with ivory, sugar, silk and tobacco stored in its five vast warehouses.

The dock ceased to function for trade purposes after the outbreak of WWII, instead becoming a base for Royal Navy ships. In the post-war era, Albert Dock fell into disuse, before a redevelopment plan was drawn up in the 1980s. The dock itself was regenerated and hosted the Tall Ships Race in 1983, bringing a million tourists into the city. Gradually, the historic warehouses around the water were renovated and used for a wide range of new attractions. They now host a Maritime Museum, the world’s only dedicated Beatles museum, and Liverpool’s Tate Gallery.

Albert Dock houses the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in the UK and is the jewel of Liverpool’s historic waterfront area. Immediately west of the dock, you will find the Pier Head, a peninsula jutting into the river which houses the Three Graces – three of Liverpool’s most famous buildings, including the Royal Liver building. The ornamental birds on the Liver building have become a symbol for the city’s university, council, and eponymous football team, Liverpool FC.

Why You Should Visit:
Industrial heritage, museums (some are free entry), art galleries, countless shops, bars & restaurants – a focal point of Liverpool.
The only problem with this place is, it is too big to discover in a single day.

The city of Liverpool, and the surrounding county of Merseyside, both have a proud maritime museum. The region’s name comes from the River Mersey, a wide inlet from the Irish Sea which adjoins Liverpool. Access to the sea along the river allowed the city to become one of the world’s great trading ports during the Industrial Revolution. The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a celebration of Liverpool’s shipping history. It is located on Albert Dock, at the heart of Liverpool’s Mercantile Maritime City, an area of historic docklands that have been made a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The ground floor of the museum houses an exhibition on the shipping lines and companies that made Liverpool a global maritime trade centre. Other exhibitions show life in a port city in the modern day, including an interactive feature on Customs and Border Control, as well as a poignant tribute to the Titanic, the ocean liner which bore the city’s name on her doomed maiden voyage.

The museum also offers a range of child-friendly, nautically themed events throughout the year, as well as a guided tour of Liverpool’s Old Dock, which lies close to the building.

Why You Should Visit:
Engaging for both kids and adults with lots of interactive exhibits; a fantastic place to learn about Liverpool's maritime history.
Even if you view the ocean as little more than a scary, jellyfish-packed beach-separator, a visit to this nautical relic-fest is advised.

Tip:
On the ground floor, there are lockers to put belongings in to save you carrying bags and coats about.
If you find you have a spare hour, get booked in for an entertaining and informative guided tour.
Afterward, you can go to the top floor café (opens around noon), grab a drink or a bite and look out at the fantastic views of the docks and liver birds.

The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool. It is part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004. As well as a collection of landmark buildings, recreational open space, and a number of memorials, the Pier Head was (and for some traffic still is) the landing site for passenger ships travelling to and from the city.

The site encompasses a trio of landmarks, built on the site of the former George's Dock and referred to since at least 1998 as "The Three Graces": Royal Liver Building, Cunard Building, Port of Liverpool Building.

The Museum of Liverpool is the newest addition to the National Museums Liverpool group, opened in 2011 replacing the former Museum of Liverpool Life. The intention is for the new venue to tell the story of Liverpool and its people, and reflect the city’s global significance. The museum is housed in a new purpose-built building on the Mann Island site at the Pier Head.

Exhibits from the entirety of National Museums Liverpool's collections are used for the Museum of Liverpool's displays. They tell the story of the city through items from collections of costume and decorative art, entomological and botanical collections and objects representing social and urban history, as well as oral testimonies, archaeological material, and photographic archives.

The Museum displays are divided into four main themes: The Great Port, Global City, People’s Republic, and Wondrous Place, located in four large gallery spaces. The Museum also features: Little Liverpool, a gallery for children under six; History Detectives, an interactive archaeology and history resource centre; a 180-seat theatre for community and audio-visual performances and meeting facilities. It also has a gallery called "City Soldiers" which tells the story of the King's Regiment.

Why You Should Visit:
Not only an outstanding piece of modernist design but also an amazing waterfront location, not to mention a surprising amount to learn about Liverpool's history.
Plus – helpful and friendly staff, gift shop, clean toilets on every floor, large affordable café, and even a separate room to use for indoor picnics when weather is poor.

Tip:
Use the lockers on the ground floor to save you having to carry any bags, then get the lift to the top floor so you can work our way down and not have to keep climbing stairs.
On the top floor, get into the exhibition room and walk straight till the end – there's a glass wall to enjoy the view of River Mersey and the Liver Building. The restrooms there have less of a queue, too.

Mathew Street is an unassuming side road in Liverpool city centre that houses a world famous musical attraction – the Cavern Club, the city’s most famous music venue and a place forever associated with the Beatles. The Liverpudlian four piece, considered by many to be the world’s greatest ever band, played at the venue several times in their early years. As a result, the street is visited by thousands of tourists each year, and is the centre of the Cavern Quarter, a bohemian area of arcades filled with must see attractions for Beatles fans.

In addition to the Cavern Club, which is still a hugely popular night-time venue, the street hosts a music festival each August. The largest free festival in Europe, the Mathew Street Festival plays host to dozens of tribute bands – with a Beatles act usually headlining. The street is also notable for the Grapes pub, often frequented by the Fab Four, and an unusual statue by Arthur Dooley, depicting the four band members in a religious pose. The statue, built into the wall on Mathew Street, bears the inscription ‘Four Lads who Shook the World’. The street was also believed to be visited by renowned philosopher Carl Jung; a plaster statue of the great Swiss thinker also stands on the street.

Opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club and later becoming a center of Liverpool's rock-and-roll scene in the early 1960s, the Cavern Club became closely associated with the Merseybeat music genre and, famously, regularly played host to The Beatles in their early years, initially as part of the weekday "beat sessions" at lunchtime.

The Beatles made their first appearance at the club after returning to Liverpool from Hamburg, Germany where they had been playing at the Indra and the Kaiserkeller clubs. There and then, on Tuesday, February 9, 1961, they were signed up as the club's resident lunchtime group, working in alternation with Gerry and the Pacemakers. Narrow, cobbled, uneventful Mathew Street thus began to lead an unexpected new life in daylight hours. At noon, Mondays to Fridays, a four-abreast line would begin to form at the Cavern's hatchlike entrance, growing by the minute until it stretched back past the warehouses and delivery trucks and piled-up fruit crates, eighty-odd yards to the junction with Whitechapel. Inside, there was no "security" whatsoever, and no alcohol was sold either at lunchtimes or at night, only coffee and soft drinks.

From 1961 to 1963, the Beatles made 292 appearances at The Cavern. By summer of 1963, "Beatlemania" was sprouting across England, and with girls demanding to see the Beatles and screaming just to get a glimpse of them, the group had to hide or sneak into concerts, and the small club could no longer satisfy audience demand. So on 3 August 1963, the Beatles made their final appearance at The Cavern.

In the decade that followed, a wide variety of popular acts appeared at the club, including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, The Hollies, The Kinks, Elton John, Black Sabbath, Queen, The Who, and John Lee Hooker.

Even if you're not that bothered about the Beatles, The Cavern is a must-visit experience when in Liverpool. The live music is still brilliant, and the door charge of £2.50 per person after noon is not much to pay for such a historic place.

Why You Should Visit:
To check out the most legendary cellar club on the planet that has been the beating heart of Liverpool’s iconic music scene for over seven decades, visited by millions of people from all over the world passing down its famous stairway.