The Liver Birds
Two copper birds, 5.5 metres tall, crown the towers and have become the symbol of the city itself.
CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jeff Buck — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Beep boop beep — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ank Kumar — CC BY-SA 4.0
The two clock faces on this building are bigger than Big Ben's, and the copper birds perched above them, five and a half metres tall, have become the emblem of the entire city, from football shirts to fridge magnets. The Royal Liver Building was finished in 1911 as the head office of an insurance society, and it was among the first large buildings anywhere built on a reinforced-concrete frame; at close to 98 metres it is still the tallest of the Three Graces, the trio that makes up Liverpool's famous waterfront at the Pier Head. First thing to know: the exterior is the point. The building is private offices, and its best angle costs nothing, whether from the Pier Head plaza, from the deck of a Mersey Ferry, or from the far bank at sunset when the stone turns the colour of honey. James Street station (Merseyrail, Wirral line) is about five minutes on foot, the Albert Dock museums about ten, so it slots naturally into a waterfront walk rather than being a destination on its own. If you want to go inside, the only way in is the guided Royal Liver Building 360 tour: a lift to the tenth floor, then 124 steps up, 71 of them on a narrow spiral stone staircase, with a projection show inside the clock tower before you step out on the fifteenth floor onto an open-air terrace with a full circle of river, city and the Wirral peninsula. The tour runs about 60 to 70 minutes. Adults (16+) pay £18.50, children aged 5 to 15 £13, and a family ticket is around £50, plus a £1.75 fee per online booking (not charged at the reception desk). Under-fives are not admitted, pushchairs cannot go up, and anyone who cannot manage the stairs is limited to the visitor centre on the ground floor (£2 on its own), where a drone film shows the same view. Tours start from 09:00 and run through the afternoon, with the last slot shifting with the season and sunset (around 16:30 in summer); operating days also depend on demand, and summer dates sell out days ahead, so book on the website before you build a day around it. Grey winter weather is no reason to skip it: the view holds up on most days, though the terrace is exposed and the river wind bites, so dress for it. The audio guide comes in six languages, and Arabic is not yet among them; the live guide speaks English.
Two copper birds, 5.5 metres tall, crown the towers and have become the symbol of the city itself.
After 124 steps you emerge onto an open-air terrace ringed by river, city and the Wirral.
Each clock face is over seven metres across, and a projection show inside the tower tells their story.
Pier Head, Liverpool L3 1HU
British Music ExperienceKnow one thing before you pay: this is not a Beatles museum. The Beatles are her1 minute walk4.6
Pier HeadTwo copper birds, each five and a half metres tall, have stood on the towers of 2 minutes walk4.6
Western Approaches MuseumOn 15 August 1945 Western Approaches Command was wound up and the Operations Roo3 minutes walk4.6
Museum of LiverpoolThe best photograph of Liverpool's famous waterfront trio, the Three Graces, is 4 minutes walk4.7
Liverpool Beatles MuseumThe man behind this museum is Roag Best, half-brother of Pete Best, the original7 minutes walk4.6With a single day in Liverpool, the outside is enough; it is the main event and it is free. The tour is worth it if you love high viewpoints and do not mind 124 steps on a narrow spiral staircase. With small children or a pushchair, skip it and take the Mersey Ferry instead, which gives you all three buildings from the water.
From Liverpool Lime Street it is about a 20-minute walk downhill to the river, or take Merseyrail to James Street and walk five minutes. The Albert Dock and its museums are ten minutes along the same waterfront, so the two fit easily into half a day.