Following in the footsteps of the Beatles in Liverpool!

As you probably know, Liverpool is the birthplace of perhaps the most famous band in the world: The Beatles!

This city, with its rich industrial past and magnificent architecture, found itself at the heart of a musical revolution in the 50s and 60s, thanks to its port and immigration!

A new wind blew into Liverpool straight from America, bringing a new kind of music to Europe: Rock’n’Roll and Afro-American Blues.

The youth of Liverpool, discovering this influence for the first time in the world, were to experience an almost divine inspiration and see the formation of a group of 4 boys who would soon be known as the Fab Four.

Even today, more than 500,000 visitors flock to Liverpool to follow in the footsteps of their idols.

If you’re a Beatles fan too, here are the 10 places you shouldn’t miss when you visit Liverpool!

Start your discovery of the city by following our free itinerary, which will take you to the top 5 Beatles points of interest. You’ll also be given audio guides to explain what’s going on! Continue on to Penny Lane and the former Strawberry Field orphanage on the outskirts of town. Finish your day with a pub crawl, where the live music and atmosphere will propel you straight into the musical world that is so typical of England!

And if you prefer organised tours, hop on the Magical Mystery Bus, straight out of a Beatles song!

#1 The Beatles statue

Just a stone’s throw from Albert Dock’s, the city’s most visited site, stand the nonchalant silhouettes of the 4 boys in the wind! These 4 famous bronze statues, created by sculptor Andy Edwards and inaugurated in 2015, are a must-see in the city and a souvenir photo not to be missed!

Address: Pier Head, Liverpool

#2 The Beatles Story Museum

Visit this award-winning museum and immerse yourself in the life and work of the Beatles. It’s a must-see if you want to understand the scale of their story and legacy. It’s the world’s largest permanent exhibition dedicated to the Beatles.

Address: Britannia Vaults, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool
More info: https://www.beatlesstory.com/

# 3 The Cavern Club and the Mathew Street area

A true Liverpool institution, and self-declared “Most famous club in the World”, the Cavern is The place to be if you want to feel the Beatles vibe in Liverpool. It was here that the band got their start and played 292 times! They quickly made the venue famous, attracting many legendary bands since then. The club was demolished in the 70s and rebuilt identically in 1982. Don’t miss a concert there!

The rest of the district is also well worth a visit! Inside ‘The Grapes’ pub, for example, where the Beatles liked to go for a beer, you can see their favourite table (right next to the girls’ toilets, of course! ). You can also visit the Jacaranda bar, set up by Alan Whilliams, the band’s first manager. This club played a key role in launching their career and it was in its basement that they rehearsed. It is now a record label, bar, record shop and concert venue.

You’ll also find the Beatle shop in the area, ideal for taking home a souvenir.

Cavern Club address: 10 Mathew Street, Liverpool.
More info: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk

#4 The Eleanore Rigby statue

This melancholy statue, inspired by the fictional character from the song All the Lonely People, sits quietly on a bench in Stanley Street. Several emblematic objects have been hidden inside the statue!
This work by Tommy Steele is dedicated to all those who feel lonely.

Address: Stanley St, between Victoria St and Whitechapel st

#5 Penny Lane

“Penny Lane, is in my ears and in my head”.

Chances are you’ve got the song stuck in your head just from thinking about Penny Lane.
This song, with its distinctive sound, was written by Paul McCartney in 1966. The Beatles had just finished a world tour and decided to stop performing.

No longer having to play their songs live on stage, they could afford to create a new genre. It was in this spirit that the Beatles’ 8th album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was released. The two songs, “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Field”, were not released on this album, however, but as a double A-side to mark the occasion.

By this time, the songwriters were no longer living in Liverpool and two songs : Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields brought a touch of childhood and nostalgia to the album.

See Penny Lane:

• St Barnabas Church : where Paul McCartney sang as an altar boy.
• The Penny Lane road sign at the beginning of the street.
• The plaque signed by Paul McCartney
• The “Penny Lane” mural on the corner of Elm Hall Drive
• The imaginary statue of John Lennon
• Photos of the barber shop, as in the song

#6 Strawberry Fields

The other nostalgic song from childhood is Strawberry Field. John Lennon wrote it while he was in Andalusia on the set of “How I Won the War”, an anti-militarist film whose vision the artist shared.
Concerts were becoming more and more difficult to put on, particularly because of the screams from the audience and the new technicality they wanted to incorporate into their music, so the Beatles decided to put an end to them and devote themselves to recording. This was the Beatles’ Studio period.

The song Strawberry Fields is about a Salvation Army orphanage around which John played as a child and teenager. It brings his abstract vision of the world, in a dreamlike atmosphere reminiscent of the effects of LSD. These were the beginnings of psychedelic rock (see our article on San Francisco).

The Victorian-style building that housed the orphanage was demolished in 1960 and a new, more suitable building was inaugurated in 1973 (the John Lennon Court). On his death, John Lennon bequeathed a sum of money to the orphanage, and later his widow Yoko Ono did the same.
In 2005, the few children living there were sent to foster families and the orphanage was closed for good.

Today, the gate you see is a reconstruction, the original having had to be removed as it was too damaged by the incessant passage of the (very/too) many fans.

Address: 2 Beaconsfield Road

#7 John Lennon’s childhood home

The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney are part of England’s heritage. Guided tours in small groups (for a fee) are organised every day by the National Trust.

The Trust wanted to represent the post-war world through the renovation of its two houses. From the wallpaper to the furniture, you’ll be plunged into the world of the post-1945s.

Mendips House, in Woolton, was John’s home from the age of 5 until he was 23. It meant so much to him that Yoko Ono said he had to walk past it every time he came back to Liverpool.

He lived there with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. It was in his childhood bedroom that he composed the song “Please, please me” and where the group, then called the Quarrymen, rehearsed for the first time in 1957.

The house can be visited today thanks to Yoko Ono, who bought it and donated it to the National Trust. Photography inside the house is prohibited.

Address: 251 Menlove Avenue

Further information: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Reservations required

#8 Paul McCartney’s childhood home

Paul McCartney’s family live 20 minutes’ walk from John’s, in a typical red-brick house in the working-class district of Allerton.
He lived there from 1953 to 1963, with his parents and younger brother Mike. In 1956, his mother died of breast cancer, which greatly upset the family.

The McCartneys had music in their blood! The grandfather played the tuba, the father played trumpet in a band and there is a large piano in the living room. Paul’s brother, who goes by Mike Mc Gear, also has a band. Just off the living room, you’ll find a small dining room where the boys used to compose and which was soon transformed into a rehearsal room.
Paul’s brother Mike is also an excellent photographer, whose work can be seen throughout the house.

Address: 20 Forthlin Road
Further details: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Booking essential

#9 Saint-Peter Church

Where it all begins…

Many stories begin with a meeting. The Beatles’ story is no exception, beginning with the meeting between Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

The latter was playing with his group the Quarrymen at Gardenfest, the big village festival in Woolton, on a stage set up behind the church.

The group covered North American rock’n’roll songs as best they could. Introduced by a mutual friend, the two boys met a few hours later on the other side of the road, before the band’s second concert.

Paul picked up the guitar and played Gene Vincent’s Be-Bop-a-Lula and Eddy Cochran’s Twenty Flight Rock. That was all it took for their shared enthusiasm to ignite and Paul joined the band. The date 6 July 1957 is commemorated on a plaque on the wall.

“It was on that day, the day I met Paul, that things started to happen”. John Lennon

In the churchyard, you can also see the grave of Eleanore Rigby, who inspired the song, although it has nothing to do with the invented character.

#10 The Magical Mystery Bus Tour

This 2-hour bus tour (guided in English) will take you to all the essential places of Beatlemania. You’ll discover where the boys grew up, where they went to school, the places that inspired them to write their songs, and so on. All in a psychedelically coloured bus, ending its tour at The Cavern pub. A standard ticket is included, but you’ll have to pay extra to see a concert or if there’s a special event.

• Meeting point : Magical Mystery Tour Ticket Office, Anchor Courtyard – Albert Dock, Liverpool.
• Information and bookings: www.cavernclub.org/the-magical-mystery-tour
• Prices in 2023: £19.95 per adult; £10 for under-16s, free for under-2s. Family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children: £50.
• Departures: daily except 25/12, 26/12 and 01/01
• Winter timetable : Monday to Thursday one departure at 11am and one at 2pm, Friday to Sunday one departure at 10am and one at 2pm.
• Summer timetable: every day, one departure at 10am and one at 4pm.

Sleep in Beatles world

Hard Day’s Night Hotel

Right next door to the Cavern Club, you’ll find the luxury Hard Day’s Night Hotel. Housed in a magnificent building typical of 19th century Liverpool, this hotel has chosen a Beatles theme to make your nights in Liverpool as beautiful as your days.

Address : Central Buildings, North John Street, Liverpool.
Rates 2023: from €95 for a luxury room.
Information and bookings: www.harddaysnighthotel.com

The Beatle Themed Hotel

This small hotel, housed in a classic Liverpool brick house, offers 7 rooms decorated in 100% Beatles style, and with lots of colour! You can’t miss it: a gigantic colourful mural adorns the outside walls! Please note that this house-hotel does not have a reception.

Address : 93 High Park St, Liverpool
Rates 2023: from €560 for 3 or 4 people
Information and bookings: +44 7359 500896

Art House Hotel

The Art House Hotel, located in Liverpool’s bohemian and alternative district, is not entirely dedicated to the Beatles. You can sleep in the Marry Poppins room or see the faces of Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn or characters from the film Grease. But the hotel does have two Beatles-themed rooms: the Yellow Submarine room and the John Lennon room.

Address : 1, Arthouse Square, 61-69 Seel St.
Rates 2023: from €80
Information and bookings: https://arthousehotelliverpool.co.uk/

Beatle Week

If you’re coming in August, don’t miss Beatle Week! In 2023, it will take place from 23 to 29 August.

For one week, the 70 best Beatles tribute bands come together in Liverpool to play their music in all four corners of the city. Other events, such as auctions, exhibitions and various shows, will also be taking place.

It’s the biggest Beatles event in the world.

Various packages are available for sale, offering different concerts and accommodation solutions.

More info: https://www.internationalbeatleweek.com/

Reservations recommended.