Canary Islands Holidays

Once the second city of the British Empire, Liverpool has, since WOrld War II been in decline. In recent years there has been a marked increase in investment with the city centre witnessing regeneration. Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture for 2008 for the full twelve months there were numerous events ranging from music concerts featuring world renowned artists to exciting exhibitions of art. Now the dust has settled what is there to bring in visitors to this vibrant city? Well there are definetely a number of new hotels catering for all tastes with accommodation varying from inexpensive Liverpool bed and breakfast to first class 5 star luxury hotels. In the text below I take a look at three visitor attractions in Liverpool.

The Tate

Stood on the waterfront in Liverpool, as part of the Albert Dock complex, is Tate Liverpool. Since opening in 1988, the Tate, for a short space of time, was the largest gallery of contemporary and modern art in the United Kingdom, outside London. The Tate is an extremely popular visitor attraction in Liverpool, with more than 600,000 visitors through its’ doors each 12 months. The gallery is in one of the 5 converted warehouses orignally converted by James Stirling. However, the building had to undergo further refurbishment in1988 to create more gallery space. In 2007 the foyer was redesigned, giving the gallery a  more modern appearance and better proportions in the reception area.

The Albert Dock

Liverpool’s Albert Dock was named after Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, who opened the docks in 1846. The docks were {very busy over the years,~Over the years the docks were very busy}, but eventually had to close to shipping in 1972. For many years the docks lay quiet and derelict, until the 1980′s when they were redeveloped with funding from the Merseyside Development Corporation. The dock consisted of five warehouse buildings, all of which are Grade I listed, making the Albert Dock complex the largest set of Grade I listed building in the United Kingdom. The docks are now home to a variety of visitor attractions, including the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Tate Liverpool.

The Anglican Cathedral

Liverpool is celebrated for having two cathedrals: the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral and the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. When John Charles Rye was appointed Liverpool’s Bishop in 1880, ironically Liverpool did not have a cathedral at that time. Eventually, after a lot of deliberation, the powers that be agreed that a cathedral was essential. In 1902, they decided to have an open competition for the design of the cathedral. The winning proposal was chosen in 1903, and surprisingly, was a proposal by student Giles Gilbert Scott, who had no previous construction experience. Another architect, George F. Bodley, was appointed to work with Scott, and oversee all building works and designs. King Edward VII laid the foundation stone in 1904, and in 1910, the first part of the cathedral, the Lady Chapel, was finished.

As well as the three tourist attractions examined above Liverpool has a great many more. As well as this there are a great many more not too far away, perfect for a day visit. If you are planning to spend time in Liverpool you may wish to take a look at our web site which has a comprehensive list of Liverpool bed & breakfast accommodation.