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Liverpool grew rich as one of the world's great ports, and its waterfront still shows it: the Royal Liver Building, the Albert Dock's brick warehouses and the Pier Head face the Mersey across a few minutes' walk. Today the city is better known for the Beatles, two Premier League clubs and a nightlife that punches well above its size.

The Albert Dock holds Tate Liverpool, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and The Beatles Story, and the Museum of Liverpool sits nearby on the waterfront. Inland, St George's Hall faces Lime Street station, the Cavern Club is still open on Mathew Street, and the city has two cathedrals at either end of Hope Street. The Ropewalks and the Baltic Triangle are where the bars, street food and live music are.

The centre is compact and easy to walk, many of the big museums are free, and hotels cost less than in London. Trains reach Manchester in under an hour and London in about two and a quarter, making Liverpool an easy weekend away or an add-on to a wider trip through the north of England.