Liverpool: Your Guide to a City Break

Ah, Liverpool. I couldn’t be much prouder to call it my home city and just looking at the skyline from my side of the water makes me smile. While in your mind you may associate it with ‘Scouse Birds’ primped to the eyeballs and little substance, I’m here to show you that the city has culture and some beautiful little quirks and hopefully, it might make you want to take a Liverpool city break!

While visiting as a tourist, the obvious choices are to walk along the waterfront and see the Liver buildings. However, boarding the ferry will give you much more spectacular views of the skyline and let’s be honest, it’s not every day you could take a short river trip and be back in time for hours of fun. The Museum of Liverpool is situated close by but I’d wholeheartedly recommend skipping it in favour of getting some cheeky snaps with several Superlambananas outside. When Liverpool was Capital of Culture in 2008, 125 of them were located around the city: I had so much fun that year trying to find them all but you can still see a few scattered around today.

There’s so much to see around the Albert Dock and to be honest, even I underestimated it. One of my particular favourites is a shop named Nauticalia filled with all kinds of sailing and pirate themed merchandise. Oh, I won’t forget about the best sweet shop in the city (filled to the rafters with all kinds of candy) and a milkshake/frozen yogurt bar. If you’re feeling a little more peckish, La Crepe Rit does an amazing breakfast option.

Now, it’s time to get a little less touristy and I’m taking you off the beaten track a little. Waking up with a whole day of exploring to do means only one thing: breakfast at Moose Coffee. With an all-American menu that will satisfy anyone, you can help yourself to an abundance of cooked breakfasts, pancakes, waffles and granola. It’s small and cute, sure, but the portions are massive!

I may be a little biased but I genuinely think that there’s few places better for shopping than Liverpool One. With everything so close together, it makes for a stress-free trip and three floors of Topshop are quite hard to beat. Maybe four floors of Primark come close? Plus, the Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar opened its doors here a few years ago and a trip inside is always a tranquil slice of heaven.

You might start to flag a little after a few hours intense shopping and my personal favourite place to stop for a lunch break is Rococo Coffee House. I reviewed it fully back in October (Rococo Coffee House Review) but in summertime, my obsession with their hot chocolate has been replaced with the amazing strawberry and banana smoothie. Probably my favourite (and prettiest) place in the city to have a relax and natter with friends.

Next, it’s time to head up Bold Street. You’ll find lots of quirky boutiques and shops to have a rummage around in and at the top, St Luke’s Church. Locally known as the ‘Bombed-out Church’, it was badly damaged in the Blitz in 1941 and remains a shell of a building as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the war. You may get lucky though: often, exhibitions are held there and it’s pretty spectacular at nighttime too. If you’re a bit artsy, the Baltic Triangle is the place for you too: with lots of quirky eateries and art exhibitions, you’ll find a whole lot of culture to be raved about.

Dinnertime. Does it feel like I’m rushing you? There’s just so much to see and do! You can find a whole host of popular restaurants on top of Liverpool One – it’s lovely to sit outside on a sunny day – and I’m a huge fan of Bryon Burger which is located opposite Urban Outfitters. However, if we’re looking a little more local, The Hub Alehouse and Kitchen is a good bet for a buzzing atmosphere without a steep price tag. Along the same street, you can find Sapporo Teppanyaki where you can grab a bargain with the early diner menu: three courses cooked before your eyes for £16.95.

There are also a host of restaurants and bars around the Albert Dock: some of the best have to be Pan Am for cocktails with the girls or Smugglers Cove if you’re a rum fan. They do love the pirate theme down there. Living here, it’s sometimes hard to appreciate how great Liverpool is for nightlife. But if you head back into the centre of town, you’ll find a lot of clubs around Concert Square and most are free to get in. Start classy with a few drinks in the beautiful converted church that is Alma de Cuba, than see where the night takes you.
You’re probably exhausted just from reading this post but I hope it’s made you want to visit Liverpool just a little bit. I truly love the city and am always excited to explore more of it!