From the legendary Beatles to the LibDem conference, Liverpool is flying high

By FRANK BARRETT, MAIL ON SUNDAY TRAVEL EDITOR


On the rise: Liverpool attracts visitors from around the world


Wander into Waterstone's bookstore in the elegant new Liverpool ONE shopping centre and just inside the entrance you will find the usual promotional shelves labelled 'Staff Favourites' and 'Just In'.

But alongside them is a literary show of civic immodesty that seems jarringly out of place in a sober bookshop: a big section labelled 'Liverpool Legends'.

While most branches of Waterstone's content themselves with a small selection of local-interest books, perhaps focusing on a city's haunted houses or strange pub names, in this Liverpool store there are dozens of biographical tomes - each one a life story of a famous Liverpudlian.

The same section also has compendiums of famous Scousers, listing every local who has made good from Red Rum and Ken Dodd to Cherie Blair and Frank Hornby, creator of Hornby model railways, Meccano and Dinky toys.

And it will be only a few minutes after arriving in Liverpool that you discover that on Saturday, the city will celebrate what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday, the cue for an outpouring of 'phoney Beatlemania' (in the immortal words of The Clash).

But it won't have escaped your attention that while Liverpudlians clearly believe they live in a city of heroes, there are many in the rest of Britain prepared to condemn the place as a nest of hubcap-swiping villains.


The LibDem choice: Liverpool took centre stage at the party's conference

So, if you're considering a short break - in a country that can offer the historic and architectural delights of Bath, Stratford upon Avon or York - why plump for Liverpool?

This sort of doubt must have been coursing through the minds of delegates to last month's Liberal Democrat conference held at the city's £164 million new BT Convention Centre on the Kings Waterfront.

Lib Dem delegates, who enjoyed a jaunt to Bournemouth last year, must have been mentally preparing for a few jolly days in the bracing seaside air when they discovered that their destination this autumn was to be Liverpool.

The choice probably came as even more of a blow to the political hacks assigned to report on the conference. A limited acquaintance with provincial UK cities no doubt sent them running for their Good Food Guides, worried that the Liverpool branch of Nando's would mark the high water point of the city's gastronomic excellence.

But while nobody is likely to mistake Liverpool for Vancouver or Valencia, this stereotypical image of the city is ludicrously wrong. Its leap forward may have been accomplished at a fairly stately pace considering that Albert Dock was redeveloped 25 years ago.

But you would be wilfully myopic if you failed to notice how dramatically Liverpool city centre has been transformed in the past decade.

This progress was recognised internationally two years ago when Liverpool won its place as the European Capital of Culture. And even now, in the face of a major recession, it's continuing to flourish.

What impresses about Liverpool on first sight is the extraordinary range of fabulous architecture. The huge slabs of buildings on the waterfront - dominated by the famous Liver Building - give this part of the city the feel of Manhattan.

In the days when transatlantic liners tied up in Liverpool, the two cities faced each other across the sea like bookends.


Road to fame: The legend of The Beatles is everywhere in Liverpool


The centre has its Art Deco splendours such as the Adelphi hotel but also the refined buildings of the 'cultural' quarter: St George's hall (for concerts) and the sublime Walker Art Gallery (wonderful preraphaelite works a speciality).

Two Liverpool claims oft repeated are that it has more listed buildings than any other city outside London and more Georgian houses than Bath.

Whether either of these lines is true actually doesn't matter; to the visitor they certainly seem true. Almost the first thing that anybody recently returned from Liverpool will tell you is: 'I had no idea it's so pretty.'


Treats in store: Coleen Rooney enjoys a spree at Cricket boutique


Another surprise is that it has so many museums and galleries, ranging from a museum that confronts the subject of slavery (like Bristol, Liverpool built a substantial fortune on the business of slavery) to the new FACT centre that focuses on film and new media such as digital art.

And so many cathedrals. The very modern-looking Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King (known locally as Paddy's Wigwam) is impressive.

The Anglican Liverpool Cathedral at Hope Street, built between 1904 and 1978, is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece created by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (also famous for designing the red telephone box and the power station that now houses the Tate Modern in London).

To get an unforgettable view of the city, take a trip to the top of the Cathedral's tower - 330ft high.

Another example of Liverpool's resurgence is a newly-opened 106-room four-star boutique hotel with rooms from £49 per night on Seel Street in the RopeWalks area of the city.

The hotel, called base2stay Liverpool, is pioneering a new style: for example, it has no bar or restaurant and encourages guests to order in their food. Its unique ambience has immediately won an enthusiastic following. The hotel has leapt to No1 position on Liverpool's Trip-Advisor hotel rankings and is nearly full most of the time.

Last weekend, for example, it appeared to be chock-a-block with Scandinavians over for the Liverpool match against Sunderland (a common saying in the city is that Liverpool supports Everton; Scandinavia supports Liverpool).

Robert Nadler, the man behind base2stay Liverpool, has become one of the city's most vociferous supporters since he first planned his new hotel here three years ago.
'What I love about Liverpool is that people are so passionate and proud of their city. It was starved of investment for 20 years but now it has come roaring back,' he said.

'People on the Continent, for example, see it as one of Europe's great renaissance cities - an example of what can be achieved with proper investment and careful planning.'

Almost uniquely in my experience of travelling around the UK, all of the people working at base2stay were local, all Liverpudlians keen to offer help and advice - each one clearly fired with a missionary zeal to extol the virtues of their city. And perhaps here lies the secret of its revival.

In the early Eighties, many thought it was dead. But Liverpool and its people never gave in.

So before you hop in the car and head off for that next weekend break in Bristol or Oxford, pause for a moment and give the jewel of the Mersey a little thought instead.

Truly, the Liver Bird has risen phoenix-like from the ashes. But in a city of heroes and legends, what else would you expect? Nothing ever happens here without a little legendary drama. Here are my five best reasons to visit Liverpool ...


Home of heroes: The statue of John Lennon outside the Cavern Club


The Beatles

Liverpool marks the 70th anniversary of John Lennon's birth with a busy programme of activities. On his birthday, October 9, an 18ft peace monument will be unveiled as part of a gala ceremony by his eldest son Julian and first wife Cynthia.

The monument will be in Liverpool's Chavasse park - a five-acre green space in the heart of the city overlooking the river Mersey.

Wacky celebratory ideas include 'Bed-In at the Bluecoat' (www.thebluecoat.org.uk), which runs from October 9 to December 9 at the Bluecoat galleries. The idea is that local people recreate John and Yoko's 1969 famous bed-in for peace.

Organisers are hoping for 62 different occupiers of the bed over 62 days. There are great Beatles tours and there is the excellent Beatles Story (www.beatlesstory.com) at Albert Dock, but the highlights for genuine fans are the National Trustmanaged childhood homes of Paul McCartney at Forthlin Road and John Lennon at Menlove Avenue.


The art
Running until November 28, the Liverpool Biennial claims to be the largest and most exciting contemporary visual arts event in the UK - and one of the best attended.
Liverpool is the pre-eminent city of art in the North, with the Tate Liverpool on Albert Dock and a thriving list of art galleries and exhibitions. Don't miss works by Hockney, Degas, Turner, Rembrandt ... and former Beatles bass guitarist Stu Sutcliffe at the Walker Art gallery.

The shopping
The Liverpool ONE shopping centre, which opened two years ago in the heart of the city, has transformed Liverpool as a place to shop with 160 boutiques and stores including John Lewis, Apple and Topshop.

In the Metquarter are fashion and beauty outlets including Jo Malone, Molton Brown, MAC, Gieves & Hawkes and Tommy Hilfiger.

The Cavern Walks is home to Vivienne Westwood and Cricket, a favourite haunt of Coleen Rooney and other football WAGs in search of ultra-expensive handbags.



On the waterfront: The historic Albert Dock is a great place to browse


The restaurants

Perhaps Liverpool's biggest transformation is in its restaurant scene. The Good Food Guide lists six top places: the excellent deli-cum-bistro Delifonseca

(www.delifonseca.co.uk); The London Carriage Works (www.thelondoncarriageworks.co.uk); The Side Door (www.the sidedoor.co.uk); 60 Hope Street (www.60hopestreet.com); Spire (www.spirerestaurant.co.uk); and Panoramic (www.panoramicliverpool.co.uk), the restaurant with the best views in the city as it's near the top of the Liverpool West Tower.

Other fun places to eat include Alma de Cuba (www.alma-de-cuba.com) and PanAm Bar at the Albert Dock.

The comedy
In the city where everybody fancies they're a comedian, you would expect there to be outstanding comedy clubs.

John Bishop, fast-rising UK comedy star, is a product of the Liverpool scene.
He said: 'I've got great memories of the Baby Blue comedy club (www.bluebarliverpool.co.uk) at the Albert Dock and rawhide (www.rawhidecomedy.co.uk) in the downstairs bar at the royal Court - and the Magnet on Hardman Street (www.magnetliverpool.co.uk).

'I progressed to the royal Court with my own one-man show and, after that, things got bigger and I had two nights at the Empire (www.liverpoolempire.org.uk).

'When you look at the history of places like the royal Court and the Empire, you do feel as if you're standing on the shoulders of giants - Ken Dodd and all the other greats - and you don't want to let that tradition down.'

Great places to stay
Liverpool is packed with all sorts of good hotels. For innovation and astonishingly affordable prices, star billing has to go to base2stay Liverpool (www.base2stayliverpool.com), which offers rooms from £49 per night, all with air-conditioning, mini-kitchens, bathrooms, free wi-fi, free music and games, and free internet all on HD televisions.

Another good option is the range of 'apartment hotels' such as the Colville Liverpool (www.colvilleliverpool.co.uk) with accommodation from around £130 per night, or Staybridge Suites (www.staybridge.com) from about £80 per night.

The major hotel chains are all represented. The new Hilton, which accommodated the big beasts of the Liberal Democrats during their conference, is attractively located near Albert Dock (and also alongside Chavasse Park, site of the new Lennon memorial). Novotel, Premier Inn and Travelodge are all good budget options.



source :dailymail