Visit Liverpool: Beatles Heritage on the Mersey

Liverpool is where the band formed, and most of the sites are still standing. The Cavern Club on Mathew Street still runs live music daily. The Beatles Story at the Royal Albert Dock is the largest permanent exhibition about the band, with an audio guide in several languages. Beyond the centre, a Beatles tour or the Magical Mystery Tour bus takes in Penny Lane, Strawberry Field and the childhood homes.

The Royal Albert Dock puts several of Liverpool's attractions inside one set of warehouses: Tate Liverpool, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum. Walk north along the river to the Pier Head and the Royal Liver Building, then take the Mersey Ferry across to Seacombe for the view back at the skyline.

Liverpool has two cathedrals facing each other along Hope Street. Liverpool Cathedral is the Anglican one, the largest cathedral in Britain, with a tower you can go up for views over the Mersey. The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is the Roman Catholic one, a 1960s circular design known locally as Paddy's Wigwam. The Georgian Quarter between them has the city's best-preserved terraces.

Anfield runs stadium tours on non-match days, and Everton's new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock sits on the northern waterfront. For eating, Bold Street covers most cuisines in a few hundred metres and Baltic Market gathers independent kitchens in a warehouse. Liverpool nightlife splits between the mainstream bars of Concert Square and the warehouse venues of the Baltic Triangle.

The few streets around Mathew Street hold the Cavern Club, the Beatles statue, the Liverpool Beatles Museum and a run of bars playing sixties sets. It is loud and it is aimed squarely at visitors, but this is the closest you get to the city's music history on its original ground. Stay here if Beatles sites are the reason for the trip.

Red brick warehouses around a tidal dock, converted into museums, restaurants and hotels. Tate Liverpool, the Maritime Museum and The Beatles Story are all within a two-minute walk of each other, and the Pier Head ferry terminal is just north. Good base for families and anyone who wants museums on the doorstep.

The Ropewalks streets run long and straight because ropemakers once laid out cable there for the docks. Today the area holds the Bluecoat arts centre, FACT cinema, Bold Street's restaurants and the bars of Concert Square. Walk south and the Baltic Triangle takes over: warehouse clubs, Baltic Market and studio space in old industrial units.

Cobbled streets, Georgian terraces and both of Liverpool's cathedrals sit uphill from the centre. Hope Street runs between them and has some of the city's better restaurants, along with the Philharmonic Hall and the Everyman Theatre. Quieter than the waterfront and about a 15-minute walk from Liverpool ONE.

We recommend: the first-time city break

We recommend: two days on the music sites

We recommend: a slower two days by the river

We recommend: adding Chester and Port Sunlight

Direct trains from Lime Street take 40 to 45 minutes, roughly hourly. Chester has the most complete Roman walls in Britain, a two-tier medieval shopping arcade called the Rows, and a cathedral with a surviving monastic cloister. Easy to do in half a day.

About 35 minutes by train, with several departures an hour. Worth a day for the Science and Industry Museum, the Northern Quarter's record shops and bars, and the football museums. The two cities are close enough that some visitors split a trip between them.

Thirty minutes on Merseyrail from Liverpool Central. A Victorian model village built for Lever soap workers, with 900 listed buildings, a heritage centre and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. One of the closest and cheapest days out from the city.

Trains from Lime Street reach Llandudno Junction in about 1 hour 40 minutes with one change, opening up Conwy Castle, the Llandudno seafront and the edge of Eryri National Park. Driving gives you more range if you want the mountain roads.

Around two hours by car or train to Windermere, which makes for a long but manageable day. Lake cruises, fell walks and the Beatrix Potter sites are the usual draws. Better as an overnight if you want to get past the busiest villages.

About an hour and a half by train or car up the Lancashire coast. Blackpool Pleasure Beach, the Tower Ballroom and the promenade make it a straightforward family day out, and the Illuminations run along the seafront from late August to early January.