The 'This Is Anfield' sign
You touch it yourself before walking the players' tunnel down to the pitch: the peak of the tour.
Arne Müseler — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Arne Müseler from Salzburg, AT — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Arne Müseler from Salzburg, AT — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Arne Müseler from Salzburg, AT — CC BY-SA 2.0
A small sign above the steps down to the pitch reads 'This Is Anfield'. Bill Shankly hung it in 1972 to unsettle visiting teams, not to greet tourists, yet thousands of visitors now queue every week to touch it. That moment is what pulls people three kilometres north-east of Liverpool city centre: a ground that has housed Liverpool FC since 1892 and, since the Anfield Road Stand expansion of 2024, holds more than 61,000, making it England's fifth-largest football ground. The standard Stadium Tour & Museum is self-guided with a multimedia handset. It takes in the dressing room, the players' tunnel, the dugouts at the edge of the grass and finishes in the famous Kop, with the club museum and its six Champions League trophies included. Allow ninety minutes to two and a half hours if you read everything. The first surprise for newcomers is how intimate the bowl feels compared with television: the stands sit so close to the pitch that the reputation of the atmosphere suddenly makes sense. Adults pay £26 when pre-booked on the club's site, children under 16 £17, and a family ticket for two adults and two children is £77; walk-up prices are higher, and in the summer holidays advance booking is effectively compulsory because slots sell out early. Tours start at 10:00 with the last departure at 15:00; the museum alone is open 09:00 to 17:00 (£14 adult). The important caveat: on Liverpool home match days the standard tour does not run. Its replacement, the Matchday Tour at £28, operates only at selected fixtures and leaves out the dressing rooms. Match tickets themselves are near-impossible for non-members, so the tour is the realistic option for almost everyone. Buses 17, 26 and 27 from the city centre take around twenty minutes, or a taxi from Lime Street is about ten; drivers will find parking at neighbouring Stanley Park on non-match days. The route works for children and pushchairs, with lifts available and the climb to the upper seats optional. Outside, the Shankly and Paisley statues, the Shankly Gates and the Hillsborough memorial are free. If nobody in your party follows football, this is an expensive two hours; if someone does, they will remember it longer than half the museums of the trip.
You touch it yourself before walking the players' tunnel down to the pitch: the peak of the tour.
The tour ends in the stand where the famous noise comes from, and the pitch is closer than television suggests.
Six Champions League trophies and the whole club story; visitable on its own for £14.
Anfield Road, Liverpool L4 0TH
If anyone in the family loves football, yes: it is one of the best stadium tours in England and works well with children. If nobody does, see the statues and memorial outside for free and skip the tour; it is an expensive two hours that will mean little to you.
Book the tour at least a few days ahead; July and August slots sell early and walk-up prices are higher. Watching a match is another matter: league tickets go to members and season-ticket holders, and you will not find them at a sensible price outside official channels, so treat the tour as your realistic alternative.