Liverpool is home to Britain’s oldest Black community, dating to the 1730s, and some Black Liverpudlians are able to trace their ancestors in the city back ten generations.
Many Chinese immigrants first arrived in Liverpool in the late 1850s as seamen working for the Blue Funnel Shipping Line. From the 1890s onwards, small numbers of Chinese began to set up businesses catering to Chinese sailors. Some of these men married British women. Some call Liverpool “the capital of North Wales”. In 1813, ten per cent of Liverpool’s population was Welsh. Famine sent two million Irish people to Liverpool in the space of one decade. By 1851, more than 20 per cent of the population was Irish. Many Liverpudlians today are of Welsh or Irish ancestry.

The Past
THE NEW YORK OF EUROPE

For periods during the 19th century, the wealth of Liverpool exceeded that of London. The first US consul anywhere in the world, James Maury, arrived in Liverpool in 1790. Among those who served the US as consul in Liverpool was the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. His friend, that other great American writer Herman Melville, visited Hawthorne in 1856. Melville was twenty years old when he first visited Liverpool. What he saw there, on the thronging docksides and filthy streets, was memorable enough for him to write a novel, Redburn.

Rejuvenation Of A Young City

The resident population of Liverpool on Census night (27thMarch 2011) was 466,415. Over a quarter of people living in the city are young adults (15-29) compared with 19.9% nationally, while almost half (45.4%) are aged 16-44. A great deal of rejuvenation has taken place since the unemployment of the Thatcher years. Liverpool’s growth rate has been  higher than the national average since the mid-nineties. The sturdy redbrick buildings of the Albert Dock area now house a complex of small shops, bars and restaurants as well as several museums in the old warehouse buildings

Music 
Pop & Pomp At The Phil

The city is home to the UK’s oldest-established orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Sir Edward Elgar dedicated his famous Pomp and Circumstance No.1 to the Liverpool Orchestral Society, and the piece had its first performance in the city in 1901. Even in the early 90s, walking around Liverpool at night with friends, I could hear music everywhere – the sound of hopeful bands rehearsing in warehouses. These were bands hopeful of becoming the next Beatles- or maybe just enjoying themselves.
What is it about pop music and Liverpool? How did the Beatles put Liverpool on the music map? How did Liverpool create the Beatles? Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn says Liverpool was the only English city in the late 50s that had a rock band scene. The Irish influence meant that all families had musical events in pubs where everyone had to take their turn. The fact that the Beatles became the first successful group from a provincial city and were such a phenomenon meant that record company executives went north looking for new groups and new groups tried to emulate the Beatles.The Cavern Club on Mathew Street is one of many tourist attractions related to The Beatles, and the location of Europe’s largest annual free music festival. The childhood homes of Paul McCartney at 20 Forthlin Road and John Lennon at 251 Menlove Avenue still entice a large number of international and domestic tourists.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s a punk scene centred on another club, Eric’s, also on Mathew Street. My late friend Roger Eagle founded and ran this club. There were protest marches when Eric’s closed. Recent plans to re-open the venue came under strong criticism from those who did not relish the prospect of a fond memory being museumised for current profit.
Various venues around Concert Square, Mathew Street, Hardman Street and Hope Street present current music. Current venues include the Echo Arena Liverpool, Masque, Kazimier, Zanzibar, O2

VISUAL ARTS

The Liverpool Biennial festival of arts runs from mid-September to late November and comprises three main sections; the International, The Independents and New Contemporaries and fringe events are timed to coincide. Liverpool has more galleries and national museums than any other city in the UK apart from London. The Tate Liverpool gallery houses the modern art collection of the Tate in the North of England.  National Museums Liverpool is the only English national collection based wholly outside London. The Walker Art Gallery houses an extensive collection of Pre-Raphaelites. The Ceri Hand Gallery opened in 2008, exhibiting primarily contemporary art, and Liverpool University’s Victoria Building was re-opened as a public art gallery and museum to display the University’s artwork and historical collections that include the second largest display of art by Audubon outside the US.

Sites To See
Liverpool has a rich architectural heritage and is home to many buildings regarded as amongst the greatest examples of their respective styles in the world. In 2004, UNESCO granted World Heritage Site status to several areas of the city centre. I would like to see UNESCO recognise the utter magnificence of the toilets in The Phil.
“The Phil” is the local name for The Philharmonic Dining Rooms, a public house at the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street, diagonally opposite the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. It is a Grade II listed building. The interior has decorations executed on repoussé copper panels with plasterwork mosaics, and items in mahogany and glass on musical themes. Two of the smaller rooms are entitled Brahms and Liszt. Of particular interest is the high quality of the gentlemen’s urinals, constructed in a particularly attractive roseate marble.
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral, Britain’s biggest church, which rises from a sandstone bluff overlooking the Mersey.
Sir Edwin Lutyens (architect of New Delhi) planned for the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, on Mount Pleasant, to be even larger than the Anglican cathedral. Sir Frederick Gibberd eventually provided a simpler design. Locals call it “Paddy’s Wigwam”. Poet Roger McGough called it “God’s new Liverpool address”.

Getting Around & Getting Away

There are good public transport links around the city and to outside attractions like Antony Gormley’s art installation, Crosby Beach, Southport, Chester and North Wales.
Merseyrail is Liverpool’s local urban rail network. The Northern Line runs to Southport, Ormskirk, and Kirkby to the north of the city and Hunts Cross to the south.
The Wirral Line has branches to New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port. The City Line links Lime Street to St Helens, Wigan, Preston, Warrington and Manchester. Within the city centre, the majority of the network is underground, with four city centre stations and over 6.5 miles of tunnels.

Thanks to Liverpudlians Craig McIntosh, Nick McParlin and Philip Gorry for their inside knowledge

Getting There

Liverpool was the site of the UK’s first provincial airport, operating from 1930, and was the first UK airport to be renamed after an individual – John Lennon. Formerly known as Speke Airport, RAF Speke, it is seven and a half miles south of the city centre. Liverpool’s position on the River Mersey, close to the mouth into the Irish Sea, has contributed to its rise as a major port within the UK. In addition to the Port of Liverpool’s role as a major cargo terminal, the port also provides a base for ferry and cruise services.

Where To Stay

In the past five years, Liverpool’s bed count has skyrocketed, and there are stylish boutique city hotels aplenty. Some guides recommend a self-catering apartment as more convenient than a hotel. Posh Pads at the Casartelli on Hanover Street has generously proportioned suites. The Casartelli building is a replica of an 18th-century Liverpool landmark – a bow-fronted building that once housed a business manufacturing scientific instruments and later became a wine warehouse before falling into disrepair.
The Hope Street Hotel is a boutique hotel with large, light rooms, wood floors, friendly staff and excellent restaurant. It is directly opposite the famous Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and just a short walk from the cathedrals, shops and central tourist attractions.
Hard Day’s Night is perhaps not a good choice of name for a hotel but this one is cashing in on Beatlemania. The hotel is close to both Mathew Street (where the Cavern Club is) and the heart of the shopping in the City, a ten-minute walk to both Lime Street station and the Docks.

EAT: A UNITED NATIONS OF FLAVOURS

One can sample many cuisines in Liverpool: Brazilian, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Japanese, Greek, Italian, Persian, Lebanese, Cuban, Middle Eastern, North African, and Mexican. The Trip Advisor website lists 917 Liverpool restaurants. The top ranking one is an Indian restaurant called Yukti. At number five is Spire on Church Road, which serves excellent Modern British and European food at sensible prices.

BUYING

The Liverpool One development catapulted the city back into the top five retail destinations when it opened in 2008. Metquarter has fashion and beauty outlets such as Jo Malone, Molton Brown and MAC. Gieves & Hawkes and Tommy Hilfiger cater for males. Cavern Walks is home to Vivienne Westwood and Cricket, which sells expensive handbags and designer clothes. Lark Lane has bohemian boutiques and street markets.