Ropewalks and Chinatown, Liverpool

The Ropewalks is a part of Liverpool that combines old and new. Once crowded with warehouses and merchants’ houses (and later, slums), this area was built for the city’s seafaring trade; its long, straight streets were used to weave rope for sale to ships docked in port. The area has reinvented itself as the city’s “independent quarter”, and the mish-mash of historic streets and renovated warehouses, creative cafés and music venues makes it one of Liverpool’s best districts to explore.

At its heart is Bold Street, home to Japanese restaurant Miyagi (don’t miss the brownie spring rolls), Indian food at Mowgli, Bold Street Coffee, LEAF café and small plates at Maray. Shops-wise, don’t miss Utility, stocked with rather special homeware, and the long-standing radical bookshop News from Nowhere. Vintage lovers can also get their fix at 69a on Renshaw Street, which sells everything from dusty 1970s ceramics to pre-war telephones.

Looking for culture? Head to FACT, the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology, which includes an arthouse cinema, galleries, ground-floor café and first floor bar.

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