We’re going to London for seven nights. We’re thinking of going to Liverpool as part of the trip. Any suggestions for what to do?
Oh, I should mention that this is a family trip with me, my wife and our two teenage sons coming along. And the reason that we’re considering Liverpool is that three of us are serious Beatles fans.
The Beatles museum at the Albert Docks is alright.
Nothing to do with the Beatles but I enjoy Chester.
Could you tell me more? Any specific things to do or see there?
Also, just to be clear, this doesn’t have to be a Beatles related trip. We’re open to day trips, even two or three days in other cities.
London resident here.
Can’t see any real burning reason to go to Liverpool unless you’re a complete Beatles nut. In London, you’ve got the Abbey Road studios to visit and can walk across the zebra crossing that was used for the album cover. It’s in a part of London called St John’s Wood, where Paul M has his main home.
It would take years to describe what there is to do in London in a week - it’s a vast VAST city packed with every manner of cultural attraction, historical site and entertainment of choice you could imagine. Perhaps you could give us an idea of your interests and we can make some suggestions. Otherwise, you need to start browsing a good guidebook to get a flavour and then maybe come back to us with some specific questions.
Chester is one of any number of picturesque medieval towns dotted around England, with some pretty old buildings and not a lot else (and there’s others much closer to London). I’m not sure everyone just shouting out places they’ve been to is really going to help you much - give us some of your interests.
It’s hard to say. As I mentioned two family members are teenage boys, one of whom is a serious Beatles fan, both of whom have varied interests.
My wife and I watched The Avengers ad nauseum so this time we’d like to see at least one of those quaint villages.
I guess anything that the boys might like would be helpful, and we can find the typical adult stuff though the guide books.
Liverpool’s a long way from London - two and a half hours by train - and train tickets are not cheap.
It’s misleading to simply state that without qualification. Book ahead for the right trains and they’re inexpensive.
Considering the exchange rate we just pretty much figure we’ll have to sell the house or tell the kids to forget about college…so the cost of the train tickets shouldn’t surprise us.
Also, we’re considering going straight from the airport to Liverpool, staying a couple of days, then heading to London.
I second SanVito’s opinion that unless you feel the need to make a sort of pilgrimage to the birthplace and all that, there is as much to interest Beatles fans in London as there is in Liverpool. The London Walks people, and no doubt their competitors, do Beatles-themed guided walks which are supposed to be good.
I don’t think you can go “straight from the airport to Liverpool” (not from an airport that serves the US, at least). You can fly to Manchester airport from Heathrow. From there it’s at least an hour to Liverpool, on a good day. Otherwise it’s a long journey into central London, with some Tube transfers, to get the train from there to Liverpool.
You could fly straight into Manchester then hop onto the train direct from the airport to Liverpool, of course 
Aside from the museum in the Albert Dock, the main thing that Beatles tourists in Liverpool seem to do is take the Magical Mystery Tour coach. Since the likes of the various childhood homes, Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields are scattered around the suburbs of the city, that provides a convenient way of seeing them.
There’s a reasonable amount of stuff to see about the city and its immediate surroundings. The Albert Dock. The two - rather contrasting - cathedrals. The Walker and Lady Lever art galleries are signficant collections, while Tate Liverpool mounts excellent exhibitions and also shows stuff from the national Tate collections.
Whether any of that will appeal to your teenage boys is something you’ll be a better judge of than me.
If you are going to be in Liverpool, then Chester is very easy to get to via a local train. As SanVito points out, Britain isn’t short of quaint historic towns, but Chester is one of the prettier (and older) ones and is certainly worth the detour if that appeals and you have decided to be in the area anyway.