For business meetings, both men and women wear suits. For social occasions ‘smart casual’ is usual, although some exclusive restaurants may insist on more formal dress.
Waterproofing throughout the year. Warm clothing is advisable at all times, and is essential for any visits to upland areas.

Liverpool has a well-deserved reputation as a party city and there are numerous traditional pubs, trendy bars and clubs for visitors to choose from.

Bars: There’s a lively scene around Concert Square in the center of town where a host of late bars and clubs offering loud music and plenty of cheap drinks promotions can be found. For those wanting to get dressed up in their finest glad rags and rub shoulders with the city’s elite, try Baby Blue or the Blue Bar and Grill, both on Edward Pavilion at Albert Dock . Baa Bar on Fleet Street is another trendy place that has a laid back style and is popular with young urbanites.

Clubs: The city has a big clubbing scene and Liverpool’s most famous club night is Cream at Nation off Slater Street; the club no longer holds its monthly nights but it’s well worth trying to make it to one of the one-off events of which there are usually three or four a year.

Cream has been so successful it’s spawned its own international brand with other Cream events taking place at clubs and venues all over the world. For something a little more laid back, try the Camel Club on Wood Street, which plays a good mix of urban music and is popular with the city’s large student population.

Live Music: The city is synonymous with live music acts and many visitors to Liverpool head to the famous Cavern Club (website: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk) on Mathew Street in the heart of the Cavern Quarter where The Beatles first made their name - although the modern day Cavern Club is actually a replica built on the same site after the original closed down and was demolished in 1973. But it’s still a great place to hear live music with local bands often performing afternoon sets at the weekend.

The Zanzibar Club (website: www.thezanzibarclub.co.uk) on Seel Street is another popular venue with an excellent reputation for its live music program. There are plenty of other small- to mid-size venues that put on live acts dotted around the city. Bigger music acts can be seen at the Liverpool Carling Academy on Hotham Street.

Music, Dance and Theater: The city has several top theater venues in or close to Hope Street in the center of town including the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and the Everyman and Playhouse theaters . Close to the main train station on Lime Street, Liverpool’s Empire Theater is the largest two-tiered theater in the UK. All have a packed year-round program of theater and dance productions. The Olympia on West Derby Road is one of the city’s largest concert venues with an interior modeled on the Moscow Kirov Ballet. For more music info, see ‘Nightlife’.

Comedy: Comedy is another important part of the Liverpudlian identity and the city has produced famous comics as diverse as Jimmy Tarbuck and Paul O’Grady - otherwise known as Lilly Savage. Many of the bigger comedy acts perform in the large theaters but some of the city’s up and coming talent can be caught at the Rawhide Comedy Club located on Roe Street, close to Lime Street train station.

Film: For quieter nights, there is no shortage of cinemas in the city; for mainstream releases take your pick from the Odeon on London Road, or Cineworld (UGC) on Montrose Way on the Edge Lane Retail Park slightly out of town. For art house releases, try the Picturehouse inside the city’s excellent FACT multi-media arts center that’s dedicated to film, art and creative technology.

Sightseeing Overview

Located on the northwest coast of England along the northern bank of the River Mersey, Liverpool is one of the UK’s major cities. It prospered during the 18th century on the triangular trade of slavery and grew to become an important mercantile port in the region. After 1807 when slavery was abolished and through to the 1930s, Liverpool developed as a major migration port from where millions of people looking for a new start set sail for Australia and the Americas. And many of the city’s sights reflect this incredible period in Liverpool’s history.

The famous Albert Dock was built in 1846 and was the hub of the city’s prosperous port activities. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dock has been extensively redeveloped and is now one of the city’s most cosmopolitan areas that’s home to numerous bars, restaurants and museums including the Tate Liverpool, The Beatles Story and the Maritime Museum.

North of Albert Dock is a trio of spectacular buildings (the Royal Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building) which were built in the early 20th century to impress upon visitors the importance of the city. Other principal attractions include the unusual Metropolitan RC Cathedral and the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, with its spectacular panoramic views across the city.

There is also an office in the arrivals hall of Liverpool John Lennon Airport and another office at the Merseyside Maritime Museum at Albert Dock (same telephone numbers and website address). All offer advice on the city’s attractions and help with finding accommodation.

Passes

In 2005 the city introduced a Live Smart pass (website: www.livesmart.tv) for tourists offering free or discounted entry to many of the city’s top attractions as well as unlimited travel on some of the city’s transport systems, including a circular sightseeing bus tour and Mersey Ferries. The card also entitles the bearer to selected deals at discounts at a number of shops, bars and restaurants around the city. One- and three-day passes are available. Passes are available from the tourist offices or direct from the website.

Key Attractions:

Albert Dock

When it was built in 1846, it was the first enclosed, non-combustible dock warehouse system in the world and the first structure in Britain to be built entirely of cast iron, brick and stone. It prospered for over a century before finally ceasing operating as a working dock in 1972 after which it was redeveloped into a thriving museum, bar and restaurant area. The Dock has the largest grouping of Grade I listed buildings in Britain and is home to many of the city’s top attractions.

Tate Liverpool

Part of the Tate family of museums, the Tate Liverpool is one of the largest galleries of modern and contemporary art outside of London. It displays works of art from the Tate collection as well as special exhibitions. Welcome talks can be arranged and there are family events each Sunday afternoon.

The Walker Museum

Opened in 1877, the Walker Museum was founded by local brewer and alderman Andrew Barclay Walker, and now houses a fine collection of sculptures and paintings dating back to 1300 through to the present day.

Beatles Story

A multilingual audio tour guides visitors through The Beatles Story, charting the success of the band from their early days in Hamburg through to international superstardom and their eventual break-up and subsequent solo careers.

Liverpool Cathedral

A visit to the largest Anglican Cathedral in Britain is worth it if only just for the stunning panoramic views available from the top the tower. Inside, visitors can marvel at the spectacular architecture which holds several records including the largest organ in the UK and heaviest bells in the world.

Further Distractions:

Liverpool Football Club

Winning the Champions League in 2005, Liverpool has once again ascended the ranks to reclaim their title as one of Europe’s great football clubs. Visitors can take a tour of the ground and the club museum, including the famous trophy room.

Everton Football Club

The blue side of the city have been overshadowed by the successes of their neighbors in recent years, but Everton is none-the-less one of the Premiership’s better teams and visitors can take a tour of the ground taking in the club’s rich history.

Croxteth Hall and Country Park

Once the ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton, Croxteth Hall and Country Park is one of the main heritage centers in the northwest. Visitors to the estate can tour the historic Hall, the Croxteth Home Farm and the Victorian Walled Garden. Access to the 202-hectare (500-acre) Country Park that surrounds the estate is free.

Districts of Liverpool include:

Aigburth, Allerton, Anfield
Belle Vale, Broadgreen
Childwall, Clubmoor, Cressington, Croxteth
Dingle
Edge Hill, Everton
Fairfield, Fazakerley
Garston, Gateacre, Grassendale
Hunts Cross
Kensington
Kirkdale, Knotty Ash
Mossley Hill
Netherley, Norris Green
Old Swan
St Michael’s Hamlet, Sefton Park, Speke, Stoneycroft
Toxteth, Tuebrook
Walton, Wavertree, West Derby, Woolton

The economy of Liverpool is beginning to recover from its long post WWII decline. Between 1995 and 2001 GVA per head grew at 6.3% annum. This compared with 5.8% for inner London and 5.7% for Bristol. The rate of Jobs growth was 9.2% compared with a national average of 4.9% for the same period, 1998-2002.

Like the rest of the United Kingdom the city has seen a large growth in service industries and has several major call centres. The activities of the port have left the site with a communications infrastructure that had for a long time exceeded requirements. Growth in the areas of New Media has been helped by the existence of a relatively large Computer game development community.

Tourism is a major factor in the economy and will be of increasing importance in the run up to the Liverpool years as European Capital of Culture. This has led to a great increase in the provision of high quality services such as Hotels, restaurants and clubs. The buildings of Liverpool not only attract tourists but also film makers, who regularly use Liverpool to double for many cities around the worlds and making it the second most filmed city in the UK.

There are three tunnels under the River Mersey: one railway tunnel, the Mersey Railway Tunnel, and two road tunnels, Queensway Tunnel and Kingsway Tunnel. There is also the Mersey Ferry, made famous by the song Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry and the Pacemakers. In fact the song is now played on the ferryboats themselves every time they prepare to dock at Liverpool.

In 2001, Liverpool Airport, situated near Speke in the south of the city, was renamed Liverpool John Lennon Airport, in honour of the late Beatle John Lennon. The airport’s logo consists of a sketch that Lennon had drawn of himself, and the words “Above us only sky”, lyrics from his song Imagine. The airport was the starting point for many Beatles tours in the sixties, and image of the boys boarding planes there were seen throughout the world. In 2002 716,000 passengers used the Port of Liverpool, with the Isle of Man and Ireland being the two most important passenger routes.

Liverpool is served by the Merseyrail urban rail network. The sections in the city centre are mostly underground. It has two lines: the Northern Line, which runs to Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby and Hunts Cross, and the Wirral Line, which runs through the Mersey Railway Tunnel and has branches to West Kirby, New Brighton, Ellesmere Port and Chester. The city’s main railway station for longer-distance services is Lime Street station. Trains from Liverpool operate to destinations including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Preston, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

Historically, Liverpool had an extensive tram network; however, this was dismantled in the 1950s. From 1893 to 1956, the Liverpool docks were served by the Liverpool Overhead Railway. A number of other railway lines, such as the Canada Dock Branch from Edge Hill to Kirkdale, no longer see passenger services, or have been removed completely, such as the North Liverpool Extension Line.

In 2001 a plan to build new a light rail system, Merseytram, was developed, although after central Government refused to underwrite the project, it was cancelled in November 2005 due to spiralling costs.

In Liverpool primary education is available in various forms supported by the state include secular, Church of England, Islamic, Jewish and Roman Catholic. Currently no specific Islamic secondary education is provided.

One of Liverpool important early schools was The Liverpool Blue Coat School was founded in 1708 as a charitable school, it continues today. Liverpool College is the leading private school. Another of Liverpool’s notable senior schools is St. Edward’s College, a former private high school located in West Derby.

Liverpool has three universities, the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University. It also has a university college, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, which has re-located to Ormskirk in South-West Lancashire. Liverpool John Moores University is one of the polytechnics given university status in 1992 and is named after the owner of the Littlewoods retail group. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine was founded to address some of the problems created by trade, today it continues as a post graduate school and is one of only two institutions on planet Earth that house the de facto standard anti-venom repository.

The University of Liverpool awarded the first ever Philosophy PhD in Robert Pirsig’s Metaphysics of Quality to Anthony McWatt in July 2005. The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts which was set up by Sir Paul McCartney in 1996, to train artistes and technicians, in the building which formerly housed the Liverpool Institute for Boys.

The built environment of Liverpool contains over 2,500 listed buildings (of which 26 are Grade I listed and 85 are Grade II* listed). It is the inheritance of high-minded public spirit since the late 18th century, largely with Dissenter impetus, resulting in more public sculpture than in any UK city aside from Westminster, more listed buildings than any city apart from London and, surprisingly, more Georgian houses than the city of Bath. Many well-known architects are represented in Liverpool, including Peter Ellis, Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, John Foster, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Frederick Gibberd.

Liverpool’s wealth as a port city enabled the construction of two large cathedrals, both dating from the 20th century. The Anglican Cathedral, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, has the longest nave, largest organ and heaviest and highest peal of bells in the world. The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral was initially planned to be even larger; of Sir Edwin Lutyens’ design, only the crypt was completed. The cathedral was eventually built to a simpler design by Sir Frederick Gibberd; while this is on a smaller scale than Lutyens’ original design, it still manages to incorporate the largest panel of stained glass in the world.

In 2004 Liverpool’s waterfront was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the justification being the city’s importance in the development of the world’s trading system and dock technology. The docks are central to Liverpool’s history, with arguably the most well-known being Albert Dock: the first enclosed, non-combustible dock warehouse system in the world and the first structure in Britain to be built entirely of cast iron, brick and stone.

Restored in the 1980s, it is the largest collection of Grade I listed buildings in Britain. Part of the old dock complex is now the home to the Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool Life and the Tate Liverpool. Other relics of the dock system include the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, which at the time of its construction in 1901, was the world’s largest building.

The Pier Head is arguably the most famous image of Liverpool, the location of the Three Graces, three of Liverpool’s most recognisable buildings. The first is the Royal Liver Building, built in the early 1900s and surmounted by two bronze domes with a Liver Bird (the symbol of Liverpool) on each. The second is the Cunard Building, the former headquarters of the Cunard shipping company. The third is the Port of Liverpool Building, the former home of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board which regulated the city’s docks.

Away from the river, the area around William Brown Street has been labelled the city’s ‘Cultural Quarter’, owing to the presence of the William Brown Library, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum Liverpool, just three of Liverpool’s many neo-classical buildings. Nearby is St. George’s Hall, perhaps the most impressive of these neo-classical buildings, was built to serve both as a concert hall and as the city’s law courts. Also located in this area are Wellington’s Column and the Seble Fountain.

Liverpool’s Town Hall dates from 1754 and has a beautifully-designed interior.

The term Red Brick University, applied to many British universities dating from a similar period, was inspired by the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Building, noted for its clock tower.

Some of Liverpool’s landmarks are better known for their oddness rather than for their role. Williamson’s tunnels are architectually unique as being the largest underground folly in the world. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms are noteworthy for their ornate Victorian toilets, which have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

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Liverpool has two Premier League football clubs: Everton F.C. at Goodison Park and Liverpool F.C. at Anfield. Both teams have enjoyed a considerable amount of success, with Liverpool having won 18 league titles, the European Cup five times and the FA Cup six times, while Everton have won nine league titles, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup once and the FA Cup five times.

Aintree Racecourse to the north of Liverpool (actually in the adjacent borough of Sefton) is home to the famous steeplechase, the Grand National. One of the most famous events in the international horse racing calendar, it is held over a number of days in early April of each year. In addition to horse-racing, Aintree has also hosted motor racing, including the British Grand Prix in the 1950s and 1960s.

Liverpool Harriers, who meet at Wavertree Athletics Centre are one of five athletic clubs. Liverpool has a long history of boxing that has produced John Conteh, Alan Rudkin and Paul Hodkinson and hosts high level amateur boxing events. Park Road Gymnastics Centre provides training to a high level. The City of Liverpool Swimming Club has been National Speedo League Champions 8 out of the last 11 years. Liverpool Tennis Development Programme based at Wavertree Tennis Centre is one of the largest in the UK