Here's the thing nobody tells you when you search this: Liverpool has two Beatles museums, not one. They're a fifteen-minute walk apart, they both charge around £20, and they are genuinely different experiences.
One is a polished, narrative museum at the Royal Albert Dock. The other is three floors of authentic memorabilia on Mathew Street, yards from where the Cavern Club stood.
This guide covers which one suits you, what each costs, and the substantial amount of Beatles Liverpool you can do for absolutely nothing.
Key Facts
The Beatles Story: Royal Albert Dock. Student tickets available
Liverpool Beatles Museum: 23 Mathew Street, L2 6RE. Open 10am–5pm daily
International Beatleweek 2026: 26 August – 1 September
The free stuff: the Pier Head statue, Penny Lane, Mathew Street and Strawberry Field's gates all cost nothing
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The Two Museums Compared
The Beatles Story | Liverpool Beatles Museum | |
|---|---|---|
Where | Royal Albert Dock | 23 Mathew Street |
Adult | £19–20 | £20 |
Student | Around £15 | £15 |
Style | Recreated sets, audio guide, narrative | Authentic artefacts, three floors |
Best for | Casual fans, first visit | Serious fans |
Audio guide | Included, 12 languages | Not the main focus |
The short version: if you know a dozen Beatles songs and want the story told well, go to the Beatles Story. If you want to stand in front of the actual instruments, go to Mathew Street.
The Beatles Story
At the Royal Albert Dock, and the more famous of the two. It walks you through the band chronologically with recreated sets — Hamburg, a full-scale reconstruction of the Cavern Club, Abbey Road's Studio Two — with a multimedia audio guide included in 12 languages.
The Cavern recreation is the highlight, built from period photographs and the memories of musicians who played the original before it was demolished in 1973. The Beatles played the original Cavern 292 times between 1961 and 1963.
Prices: standard adult admission is around £19–20, with student concessions at roughly £15. There's usually a Summer Saver running — in 2026 it was £17.50 adult and £14 for students, until 1 September.
Two practical notes. They don't accept cash on arrival, so book online in advance. And it's underground with limited ventilation, which visitors have found uncomfortable on hot days.
The Liverpool Beatles Museum
On Mathew Street, in a Grade II listed building next door to The Grapes — the pub the band drank in before and after Cavern gigs — and a few doors from the Cavern Club itself.
Three floors, over 1,000 authentic items. Guitars and drums from the Hamburg days, John Lennon's Sgt Pepper medals, the white cello from Magical Mystery Tour, Paul McCartney's bass amp, letters, and previously unseen footage.
Prices: £20 adult, £15 students, £15 seniors, £8.50 for ages 5–15, under-5s free. Open 10am–5pm daily.
The trade-off is presentation. The Beatles Story tells the story better for someone with a passing interest. This one has the real objects, and the location on Mathew Street is the thing the Albert Dock can't replicate.
Free Beatles Things To Do In Liverpool
You can spend almost £100 doing every paid Beatles attraction in Liverpool. You can also do a genuinely good Beatles day for nothing.
The Beatles statue at Pier Head
Life-sized, on the waterfront in front of the Mersey Ferry terminal, with the Three Graces behind it. Free, and the most photographed Beatles landmark in the city. In summer there are usually buskers playing Beatles songs nearby.
Mathew Street
Free to walk. The Cavern Club exterior, the John Lennon statue leaning on the wall, the Cavern Pub and the whole Cavern Quarter. Busy, touristy and worth an hour.
Penny Lane
The street from the song, in south Liverpool. The shelter in the middle of the roundabout is there, along with the barber's shop, a mural by illustrator Susannah-Rachel Gorman, a John Lennon statue by Laura Lian, and a Penny Lane street sign personally signed by Paul McCartney.
Strawberry Field's gates
The red gates are free to photograph from the road. The exhibition and gardens inside are ticketed, but the gates — the ones from the song — cost nothing.
The childhood homes, from the outside
Mendips at 251 Menlove Avenue in Woolton (John) and 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton (Paul) are both National Trust properties requiring a paid, pre-booked guided tour to go inside. The exteriors are free to view.
Be respectful — these are residential streets, and George's and Ringo's childhood homes are still lived in by local families.
St Peter's Church, Woolton
Where John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time on 6 July 1957, at the Woolton village fête. The churchyard also contains the Eleanor Rigby grave. Free, and an eight-minute walk from Strawberry Field.
The Museum of Liverpool
Free entry, on the waterfront, and it has several Beatles exhibits including early memorabilia and material on the Cavern years. The cheapest Beatles museum in Liverpool is the one that isn't a Beatles museum.
The Cavern Club Is Free On Mondays
Worth knowing: entry to the Cavern Club is free on Mondays from 8pm for Ian Prowse's Monday Club. Entry charges apply at other times and vary by day.
Opening hours run midday to midnight Monday to Thursday and Sunday, and midday to 1am on Friday and Saturday. The cloakroom is £2 an item.
During International Beatleweek, 26 August to 1 September 2026, there's an all-day-and-night pass for £10.
What Everything Costs
Attraction | Adult | Student |
|---|---|---|
The Beatles Story | £19–20 | ~£15 |
Liverpool Beatles Museum | £20 | £15 |
Cavern Club (Mon from 8pm) | Free | Free |
Beatles statue, Penny Lane, Mathew Street | Free | Free |
Museum of Liverpool | Free | Free |
Strawberry Field gates | Free | Free |
Paid extras worth knowing about: the National Trust childhood homes run a combined ticket, daily from March to October, advance booking essential. The Magical Mystery Tour coach runs two hours from the Albert Dock. The Casbah Coffee Club in West Derby is toured by the Best family, and it's where the Quarrymen played in 1957.
Top Tips
Pick one museum, not both. They cover the same story. Beatles Story for the narrative, Mathew Street for the objects.
Always ask for the student rate. Both museums do one, at around £15, and neither advertises it loudly.
Book the Beatles Story online. They don't take cash at the door.
Do the free south Liverpool loop. Penny Lane, the childhood home exteriors, Strawberry Field's gates and St Peter's Church is half a day for the price of the bus.
Go to the Cavern on a Monday if you want in for nothing.
The Museum of Liverpool is free and has real Beatles material in it.
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