Liverpool, once the British Empire’s second city, has, since WOrld War II been in decline. In recent years there has been a massive increase in investment with the city centre witnessing regeneration. In 2008 Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture throughout the year there were countless events ranging from world class music concerts to unique art exhibitions. Now the dust has settled what is there to bring in visitors to this wonderful city? Well there are definetely a number of new Liverpool hotels which cater for all tastes. In the article below I take a look at 3 visitor attractions in Liverpool.
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
Liverpool is renowned for having two cathedrals: the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral and the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. When John Charles Rye was appointed Bishop of Liverpool in 1880, ironically Liverpool did not have a cathedral at that time. Soon, after a lot of debate the powers that be decided that a cathedral was required. In 1902, they decided to hold an open competition for the design of the cathedral. The winning proposal was chosen in 1903, and astonishingly, was a proposal by student Giles Gilbert Scott, who had no preceding construction experience. Another architect, George F. Bodley, was assigned to work with Scott, and oversee all designs and building works. King Edward VII laid the foundation stone in 1904, and in 1910, the first part of the cathedral, the Lady Chapel, was completed.
Albert Dock
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, whom the docks were named after, opened the docks in 1846. The docks were extremely busy over the years, but regretably they were forced 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 selection of attractions, including the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Tate Liverpool.
Tate Liverpool
Found on the Liverpool’s waterfromt, as part of the Albert Dock complex, is Tate Liverpool. Since opening in 1988, the Tate, for a short time, was the largest gallery of contemporary and modern art in the United Kingdom, outside London. The Tate is a very popular tourist attraction in Liverpool, seeing more than 600,000 visitors through its’ doors each year. 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.
As well as the 3 tourist attractions examined above Liverpool has a great many more. Not only this there are a huge number more not too far away from the city, 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 bed & breakfasts in Liverpool as well as a selection of serviced apartments in Liverpool.
