A 12hr Liverpool Itinerary

We barely scratched the surface of Liverpool and absolutely need to come back! Liverpool is one of those cities that instantly makes you feel welcome, even when the weather isn’t quite perfect. We packed a lot into just 12 hours, ate extremely well, drank excellent things and left already planning the return trip.

Here’s how we spent our day:

☕ 10:00 Arrival & Coffee at Albert Dock

We kicked things off down at Royal Albert Dock, parking at NCP Liverpool Central (£17.50 for 9.30am to 10pm) and heading straight for caffeine as Mike was in the need! Rough Handmade Bakery was exactly what we needed: great coffee, with absolutely unreal baked goods and a calm start before a busy day.

🚶‍♀️ 10:30 Exploring Begins!

From the docks, we wandered out further away from the car to allow ourselves a full itinerary that lead us back to the car to end the day!

We took in the dockside itself as we love being beside water! As we visited on a Monday & out of season, a lot of the Museums & Experiences were closed but we’ve added them to our list for our return. These include Museum of Liverpool, the British Music Experience and Tate Liverpool.

We then walk to the amazing Red Brick Market. When they say it’s home to around 100 different indie businesses, they are not lying! We spent an hour and half perusing all the tiny shops had to offer. There really was something for everyone, and we could have spent a whole lot longer there too! Highlights for me included Forever Emo, My Darling Death, Lemony Pickle, and Hope & Gloom.

We then back heading more inland to see some of the city’s most iconic sights, including Liverpool Cathedra,l which was beyond huge, and so very dramatic against the grey sky, St James Mount And The Gardens, which was beautifully eerie, and on to St Luke’s Bombed Out Church, which sadly was having work done on so we couldn’t get too close!

This stretch alone could take hours if you really let yourself linger, but we did our best to keep up the pace!

🍴 13:30 Lunch on Bold Street

By early afternoon, Bold Street was calling, and you know, we love the lure of an indie shop or two.

We stopped at Ropes & Twines for lunch, which is relaxed, wine-led and exactly the sort of place you want to sit and chat a bit longer than planned. We ordered a stunning Mortadella, Emmental Cheee, Pickle & Mustard Mayo grilled sandwich which we will 100% be making ourselves at home! I’d highly recommend this spot for pre or post dinner drinks too!

🛍️ 14:30 Shopping & Wandering

Post-lunch, we leaned into a proper mooch around Bold Street. Highlights included, Pop Boutique, Dig Vinyl and Route One. Even if you don’t buy anything, this area is just fun to explore.

🎸 15:30 Beatles Icons & City Classics

On the walk towards Mathew Street, we popped into Liverpool Central Library, it was absolutely stunning inside and a total hidden gem. I’ve never been in such a huge library before and if I lived in Liverpool, I’d be in there all the time!

Then it was time for the classics, you can’t go to Liverpool for the first time and not visit The Cavern Club and Mathew Street, right?! We had a couple of drinks in The Cavern Club and listened to two different performers. Yes, even at 15:30 on a Monday, they had live music as they have live music from open to close every single day!

Don’t forget to have a giggle at the Cilla Black statue too – it’s done this legend of a woman no justice whatsoever, but it’s great to remember her by!

🍺 18:00 Pre-Dinner Drinks on Dale Street

Before dinner, we headed to The Dead Crafty Beer Company, which is an absolute must if you like your beer interesting. Great selection, really lovely staff, and exactly the right energy for easing into Monday evening.

🍝 19:30 Dinner on Castle Street

So I had planned to have dinner at Bacaro, and honestly thought we’d wander in and just grab a table when we were ready, but no, it was rammed, and we weren’t even able to wait for a table it was that busy! It’s so not like me to book ahead, but we didn’t want to be tied to times whilst exploring, and that shot me in the foot!

It was back to the drawing board for dinner, and we needed to be quick as we were pretty hungry! We ended up in Pho, and we do tend to avoid chains as much as possible, but a lot was closed due to it being a Monday or just really expensive which we wanted to avoid as we’d already spent quite a lot. We had really great service in Pho and it was Mike’s first time having Vietnamese food so it kept it a little interesting still.

🍸 21:00 Evening Drinks at BoBo

We had planned to round things off at BoBo, also on Castle Street as it looked bloody perfect to end our day, but we were too late and they were just closing! We will certainly head back here when we return to Liverpool, but I’d still say, if you’re looking for a good glass of wine to end your day, this is the place just based on how lovely the staff were!

For a city that we only gave 12ish hours, Liverpool delivered big time. Great food, walkable streets, culture everywhere and a proper sense of fun. We left full, happy and slightly annoyed we hadn’t booked to stay overnight to cram more in the next day, but we will absolutely return for a full weekend next time!