Museums · Liverpool · United Kingdom
4 best museums in Liverpool
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: calflier001, CC BY-SA 2.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick answer
Start with The Beatles Story, Museum of Liverpool and Walker Art Gallery. Together the 4 picks below take roughly 8–8 hours across 2 areas; 3 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 4
- Free entry
- 3
- Time to see them all
- 8–8 hours
- Areas
- Waterfront and William Brown Street
Museums in Liverpool
Museum · Waterfront
1.The Beatles Story
A walk-through exhibition in the vaults of the Albert Dock follows the band from their Liverpool childhoods and Hamburg years to Beatlemania and their solo careers, with a replica of the Cavern Club, original instruments and an audio guide narrated in part by family members.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Rainy day
Museum · Waterfront
2.Museum of Liverpool
The city's history museum at the Pier Head tells Liverpool's story through its port, migration, music and football, with galleries on the Overhead Railway, the city's working-class history and the Beatles.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Kids
- Rainy day
Gallery · William Brown Street
3.Walker Art Gallery
One of the largest art galleries in England outside London, the Walker on William Brown Street has paintings from the medieval period to the present, including a notable Pre-Raphaelite collection, Rembrandt and Rubens, and a family gallery called Big Art for Little Artists.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
.jpg){kind=link}
Museum · William Brown Street
4.World Museum
Liverpool's museum of natural history, world cultures and archaeology has a large ancient Egypt gallery, dinosaurs, an aquarium, a bug house and a planetarium.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
- Nature
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Waterfront | The Beatles Story and Museum of Liverpool | 2 hours + 2 hours |
| William Brown Street | Walker Art Gallery and World Museum | 1.5–2 hours + 2 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 4, 3 free, 1 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is The Beatles Story; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 2 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Waterfront): The Beatles Story → Museum of Liverpool, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (William Brown Street): Walker Art Gallery → World Museum, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 8°C (46°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still cold and damp; a good month for free museums, theatres and gigs.
- March: highs of 10°C (50°F), about 12 rainy days, quiet crowds. Lengthening days and changeable weather, with blossom in Sefton Park late in the month.
- January: highs of 8°C (46°F), about 14 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold, windy and grey, with dark afternoons; low hotel prices and quiet museums.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Waterfront and Royal Albert Dock — Restored Victorian docks, the Three Graces and museum quarter
More of Liverpool
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Liverpool?
The Beatles Story. A walk-through exhibition in the vaults of the Albert Dock follows the band from their Liverpool childhoods and Hamburg years to Beatlemania and their solo careers, with a replica of the Cavern Club, original instruments and an audio guide narrated in part by family members.
+Which of these are free in Liverpool?
Museum of Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery and World Museum.