![\"Liverpool\"](\"https:\/\/travelodgeblog.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/shutterstock_1035031876-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\nYou may like to plan your trip around one of the many cultural festivals that take place in the city throughout the year. These will help you navigate the place \u2013 and provide just the excuse you need to book a train ticket.<\/p>\n
International Beatleweek is a light-hearted affair that sees more than 70 bands from across the globe gathering to celebrate the Fab Four in venues city-wide. It\u2019s great fun for Beatles fans of all ages and nationalities, and typically takes place in August. Beatlemaniacs may also like to go fruit-picking in the many strawberry fields in Claremont; not only will you get a tick on your Beatles bucket list, but you\u2019ll also go home with a basket heaving with all manner of delicious fruit\u2026 that won\u2019t last forever!<\/p>\n
Also taking place in the summertime is the UK\u2019s largest contemporary arts festival, Liverpool Biennial. The festival spans across 10 weeks (normally during the summer through to early autumn) and introduces incredible artworks, performances and exhibitions to venues in and around the city.<\/p>\n
A romantic break in Liverpool could be built around one of the most dazzling night-time activities in the UK \u2013 the annual British Musical Fireworks Championship. Typically running from the end of September until around 3rd October, this is one of the UK\u2019s few fireworks competitions and it will blow your socks off, topping anything you\u2019ve seen before in terms of pyrotechnic displays. Synchronising fireworks with orchestral music makes the experience truly magical and if this festival doesn\u2019t cause a spark in your weekend, perhaps nothing will\u2026 book well in advance, though, as the event is justifiably popular.<\/p>\n
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A shopping trip to Liverpool makes Christmas shopping as breezy as a trip on the Mersey Ferry. The Liverpool One Centre has its own fab four \u2013 a quartet of shopping districts that cater to all retail tastes from designer to discount, trendy to traditional. While you\u2019re feeling festive, take the family to see a pantomime. Liverpool\u2019s theatres are fantastic, with the Liverpool Empire normally pulling in a powerhouse panto dame! This being Liverpool, there\u2019s also a rock\u2019n\u2019roll panto at the Everyman Playhouse.<\/p>\n
One Liverpool institution that\u2019s nearly as famous as the Beatles is the Grand National. Get dressed in your most towering millinery for this horse-racing extravaganza held every April. In total, 600 million people watch on television \u2013 but you could be watching the action unfold live from the Aintree stands. Alternatively, spend a long weekend in the city in May, to coincide with LightNight Liverpool, a one-night arts and culture festival that sees all the galleries, museums and public spaces open late, and offering free entry. It\u2019s a fabulous way to see the city, with giant projections onto the city walls and late openings at lots of bars and restaurants.<\/p>\n
There are lots of things to do in Liverpool<\/a> but museums are top of the bill for most visitors \u2013 outside the capital, nowhere in the UK has more cultural institutions and galleries to visit. They are mostly focused on or near William Brown Street, a magnificent Georgian avenue with museums and libraries lined up cheek by jowl. The Beatles\u2019 presence is unavoidable in the city \u2013 you may like to opt for the National Trust\u2019s own tour, which incorporates the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney \u2013 both now NT owned. The docks themselves are a must-see, and the Merseyside Maritime Museum is one of the best museums in the UK \u2013 offering a fascinating education in the trading history of Liverpool, as well as the role the sea has played in the identity of the city throughout its long lifespan. Finally, no footie fan should leave the city without fingering the grass at its great stadiums, Anfield and Goodison Park.<\/p>\n So if you\u00a0<\/span>are a fan of The Beatles or just fancy a trip across the famous river, then take a look at our hotels in Liverpool