LIVERPOOL, BEYOND THE BEATLES.
Thanks to the Beatles, thousands of visitors head to Liverpool every year to visit Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the Cavern Club and other landmarks tied to the Fab Four. Less well-known is the city’s claim to more museums and galleries than any other in
MORNING
Emerge from newly renovated Lime Street Station, served by nonstop trains from Manchester and London, and admire the grand sweep of Neoclassical St. George’s Hall. Built as a music festival hall and courthouse in the early 1800s, it reopened a decade ago after a $30 million renovation and now offers architectural tours and a cafe in addition to live entertainment. Across the street from St. George’s northern end lies the Walker Art Gallery, one of seven free museums in the National Museums Liverpool collection. Funded by a local brewer and mayor, it debuted in 1877 and has expanded its size and collections many times since. The major paintings, from Holbein to Hockney, and special exhibitions are on the second floor (first floor in Britspeak), but don’t miss the cafe surrounded by 18th and 19th century marble and bronze sculptures on the ground floor — the scones are culinary masterpieces.
MIDDAY
Go past the Central Library — itself worth a peek inside for its soaring staircases and old-school reading rooms — to start the pleasant 20minute walk downhill to the revived waterfront. Lined with stores and restaurants, the pedestrian zone of Whitechapel Street leads to the indoor/outdoor shopping and dining complex called Liverpool One; take note of where you might want to stop for dinner or a nightcap on your return. Plan lunch at your next destination, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, overlooking the Mersey River in one of several restored brick buildings on Albert Dock. The top-floor Maritime Dining Room serves a moderately priced, seasonal menu with a few local dishes such as scouse (lamb stew) and fish and chips with mushy peas (that’s considered a good thing); Sunday roasts and afternoon tea are especially popular. Once sated, learn about the city’s close connection with the sea, including World War II’s Battle in the Atlantic and the ill-fated Lusitania and Titanic cruise ships, through paintings, posters, ship models and other short-attention-span-friendly displays. The newest exhibition, “Black Salt,” on view through Sept. 2, 2018, examines the roles of seafarers of African descent in British maritime history, among them fighting with Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.
AFTERNOON
“Black Salt” forms a figurative bridge to the International Slavery Museum, on a separate floor of the maritime museum. Opened in 2007, the sobering galleries highlight some of the many horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the culture of the West African people caught in its trap and the contemporary legacy of slavery and civil rights movements. Although the displays could use more focus, the museum deserves praise for examining how Liverpool in particular benefited from the business of human bondage. Penny Lane, for example, takes its name from James Penny, an 18th century slave merchant. He told royal investigators that his slaves slept better on his ships than gentlemen did on shore; there’s no evidence he ever offered to trade places with them. After leaving the museum, it might be time for an ice cream or other treat from a food truck on Albert Dock. Then walk along the waterfront past Tate Liverpool (a Northern branch of London’s contemporary art museum) and the strikingly angular Museum of Liverpool to Pier Head, home to a summer festival and year-round ferries ’cross the Mersey. Facing west are the imposing “Three Graces”: the ornate Royal Liver, the Cunard and the Port of Liverpool buildings, emblems of the maritime mercantile district that was awarded World Heritage Site status in 2004. The ground floor of the Cunard Building, formerly the luggage room for its ocean liners, now hosts the British Music Experience. Arrive at least 90 minutes before closing time to wind through chronological displays that include photos, sheet music and iconic fashions from pre-Beatles skiffle bands all the way to Adele and other current hit makers.
EVENING
The St. James subway stop offers a convenient return to Lime Street Station, but if you have time to linger, return to Liverpool One, for shopping till 8 p.m. and dining till 11 p.m. The extensive Champagne and sparkling wine list at Browns Brasserie & Bar on Paradise Street makes it easy to toast a day well spent.