Image courtesy of Visit Britain Liverpool Playhouse / Brian Roberts

City Centre, Liverpool

Creative Tourist

Last Updated 30 August 2016

Here’s the thing. Liverpool dates back to the 13th century but, in the city centre, you’ll struggle to find anything much older than 200 years. The creative hub that is the Bluecoat, a former school dating back to 1716, is one exception. Alongside an excellent gallery, café and courtyard garden, the complex boasts independent craft shops and the rated Bluecoat Display Centre. Another architectural OAP is the Town Hall, which dates to 1754 and stands at the centre of the seven streets that made up medieval Liverpool. Keep an eye out for the other beautiful structures in the area, including the Grade I listed Bank of England building, The Royal Insurance Building and the immense glass panes of Oriel Chambers.

Aside from architecture, the main attractions here are eating, shopping and theatre. Our top picks include Delifonseca, which boasts good food, fine wines and locally-brewed beer, the hard-to-find Jenny’s Bar, hidden beneath what appears to be a fish restaurant, and the Liverpool Playhouse, sister to the Everyman theatre on Hope Street.

Discover our top picks

Exhibitions 15 March–26 August 2019, from £2

Charles Rennie Mackintosh: making the Glasgow Style at Walker Art Gallery

Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool present one of the blockbuster exhibitions of 2019, dedicated to the life and work of the Glaswegian artist, architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh – father of the UK’s part in the international Art Nouveau movement.

Exhibitions 13 March–26 October 2019, FREE

Developing History at the Hardmans’ House

As one of Liverpool’s lesser known gems prepares to reopen its doors for 2019, we look forward to encountering a rare series of photographs only recently discovered by chance in the cluttered darkroom of the Hardmans’ former, perfectly-preserved home.

Families 23 November 2019–18 January 2020, from £15.00

Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto: Sleeping Beauty at Liverpool Everyman

Well, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to see Liverpool’s jukebox-sensational Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto, would it?

Cinema 11 August–1 September 2019, from £8

EMPIRE 30 at FACT, Liverpool

Picturehouse Cinema is teaming up with the UK’s best-selling film magazine for a joint 30th-anniversary celebration.

Cinema 8 September–6 October 2019, from £8

Vintage Sundays Presents: Film Noir at FACT, Liverpool

Noir is a place of innocence lost, populated by private eyes and femme fatales; all tangled around grim mysteries, and served up within ingenious, disorientating structures — discover it at FACT this September.

Literature 7 November 2019, from £15

Roger McGough at Liverpool Playhouse

Roger McGough launches his new collection joinedupwriting in his home town of Liverpool. Described as ‘exuberant’, the poems within range from forgotten friendships and the idiosyncrasies of family life to the trauma of war and contemporary global politics.

Exhibitions 6 July–13 October 2019, FREE

Grace Ndiritu: The Ark: Centre For Interdisciplinary Experimentation at Bluecoat

Grace Ndiritu’s new exhibition at Bluecoat is based on research created before, during and after her ambitious research/live art project – The Ark: Centre For Interdisciplinary Experimentation – which took the form of an experimental scientific and spiritual community formed at Les Laboratories Aubervillers in Paris in 2017.