As one of Britain’s best-known cities globally – thanks to its legendary music and footballing exploits over the decades – Liverpool has plenty of cultural sights to offer visitors. But there are also some fantastic historical highlights peppered around Merseyside as well and the best way to take them all in during your stay is on a guided bus tour. Bus tours in Liverpool range from providing general overviews of the city at large to specialist tours catering to fans of football teams like Liverpool FC, and supergroups like The Beatles, whose presence can be felt all across the city.
Liverpool has quite a compact city centre, with Albert Dock and the famous Cavern Club easy to reach on foot from the train stations. However, the football stadiums and many of the most important sights linked to the Beatles are spread all across the sprawling city and a coach or bus tour is the best way to move around. There are plenty of options available, and making the right choice can involve time-consuming research, so we have gone through them all to bring you the best, taking into account factors like the value for money, quality of the tour guides (where available) and the reviews of previous guests.
FROM: £8/per person
Sorry Everton (or Tranmere) fans, but Liverpool FC is undoubtedly the city’s most decorated football club in the last few decades. Bringing the Champions League and the Premier League trophies back to Merseyside has been a tremendous source of pride for the city. Fans of the exciting, attacking football for which Liverpool FC is well known may be glad to discover that there is a bus tour from central Liverpool out to Anfield Stadium that also takes in many of the city’s top sights along the way. After leaving the city centre, the bus will head towards the stadium, with stories about Liverpool FC’s decorated history provided by your guide during the journey. The tour drops off at the Kop, and the return journey is included.
From £11/ per person
For a comprehensive tour of the city’s main highlights, it’s hard to beat the customary hop-on, hop-off bus tours, such as this one from City Explorer Liverpool. With tickets valid for up to 24 hours and 14 different stops included along the way, it offers a great way to get to know the city properly while allowing you to save your energy between the highlights. On-board tour guides unlock the history and mystery of the surrounding streets as you drive along between stops such as Albert Dock, Liverpool Cathedral, The Cavern Quarter (home of the famous Cavern Club). One good stop at which to end your day is at Cain’s Brewery Village, with its bazaar of street food stalls and alcohol purveyors.
From £18/ per person
Many Liverpudlians will insist that you have not experienced Liverpool fully unless you have taken a ferry out onto the Mersey River. Gerry and the Pacemakers even sang a song about it and many of the city’s most cherished buildings, both historic and modern, line the UNESCO-listed waterfront and beyond. This is a great way to have the hop-on, hop-off bus tour, as mentioned in the above entry, with the addition of a 50-minute Mersey cruise, which departs from Pier Head, one of the stops on the bus route. All transportation is wheelchair accessible.
From £50/ per person
It’s estimated that around one million people make their way to Liverpool every year just to visit landmarks associated with The Beatles. The lads’ houses, the places that made their way into the band’s oeuvre, and even the legendary clubs where they got their first gigs are all hallowed ground today. The Cavern Club plays near-constant music, while Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields will hopefully be in our hearts forever. This comprehensive private tour incorporates a two-hour walking route in the city centre, then travels out to the harder-to-reach spots by Mercedes. One thing to note is that this tour is more expensive for only one person, but for between two and six guests in your group, the fee is £50 per person.
From £35/ per person
Yes, it may be set in Birmingham, but much of the epic gangster series is filmed in and around Liverpool still, making this an excellent bus tour for fans of the show on a trip to Liverpool. Thanks to its well-preserved Victorian industrial architecture, Liverpool has come in handy as a place to recreate scenes of that bygone era. Over four hours you will get to visit over ten locations featured in various episodes of the show, such as the homes of Polly and of Field Marshall Russell. This tour only departs on weekend mornings, although occasionally there are also Friday departures during the peak(y) season.
