Liverpool has more free museums and galleries per square mile than almost anywhere in Britain, two cathedrals you can walk into for nothing, and a waterfront that's a UNESCO-listed skyline.
It also isn't the Liverpool most guides describe. The Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum have been closed since January 2025 and aren't due to reopen until 2028. Tate Liverpool has moved buildings. A lot of "things to do in Liverpool" lists still send people to all three.
Here's what's actually open, what it costs, and how to do most of it for nothing.
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Key Liverpool Facts
Free national museums close on Mondays, except during school holidays when they open seven days
Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum: closed until 2028
Tate Liverpool: now at RIBA North, Mann Island, and still free
Universities: University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores and Liverpool Hope
The Free Museums And Galleries
This is Liverpool's real advantage. You can fill a week with culture here and spend nothing on admission.
Museum of Liverpool
At Pier Head, on the waterfront, and free. The city's own story ā music, football, port, people. It's the obvious first stop if you've just arrived and want to understand why Liverpool is the way it is.
Walker Art Gallery
Free, and the permanent collection has been free since the gallery opened in 1877. One of the best art collections outside London, ten minutes' walk from Lime Street.
World Museum
Free. Natural history, archaeology, space and a planetarium, on William Brown Street next to the Walker. Easy to do both in one afternoon.
Tate Liverpool at RIBA North
The Royal Albert Dock building is closed for redevelopment, currently expected to reopen in 2027. The collection has moved to RIBA North on Mann Island, a few minutes' walk away, and the main collection is still free. It's a smaller space than the original, so allow an hour rather than an afternoon. Special exhibitions sometimes charge.
More free galleries to look out for
The Bluecoat ā contemporary art in the oldest building in Liverpool city centre, free
Victoria Gallery & Museum ā on the University of Liverpool campus, free, and genuinely under-visited
Open Eye Gallery ā photography, next door to Tate at Mann Island, free
FACT ā contemporary art and film centre off Bold Street, free
What's Closed Right Now
Worth knowing before you build a day around it, because most guides haven't updated.
The Merseyside Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum both closed on 5 January 2025 as part of a Ā£75 million waterfront redevelopment. The International Slavery Museum shares the Maritime Museum's Albert Dock building, so both went at once. National Museums Liverpool have them reopening in 2028, subject to funding, and some reporting suggests 2029.
The redevelopment will substantially expand the International Slavery Museum's footprint when it returns. In the meantime its online resources and education programmes are still running.
Tate Liverpool's Royal Albert Dock building is closed for its own refurbishment, with the collection at RIBA North as above.
The Waterfront
Even with two museums shut, the waterfront is still the thing to do in Liverpool.
Royal Albert Dock is free to walk around, and the Grade I listed warehouses are the largest collection of listed buildings anywhere in the UK. Pier Head gives you the Three Graces and the Museum of Liverpool.
The Mersey Ferry runs a roughly 50-minute cruise from Pier Head. It isn't free, but it's the cheapest way to see the skyline properly and it's a genuinely good hour.
Both Cathedrals Are Free
Liverpool has two cathedrals at either end of Hope Street, and both are free to enter.
Liverpool Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain. The Tower Experience costs Ā£8 and is the exception ā the cathedral itself costs nothing.
The Metropolitan Cathedral, known locally as Paddy's Wigwam, is a 1960s circular building with a lantern tower of stained glass that is worth seeing on a bright day.
Walking Hope Street between the two takes about ten minutes and is one of the better free things to do in the city.
What The Paid Attractions Cost
So you can budget properly:
Attraction | Price |
|---|---|
Beatles Story | Ā£20 |
Anfield stadium tour | Ā£24 |
Royal Liver Building 360 | Ā£18.50 |
Liverpool Cathedral Tower Experience | Ā£8 |
Check each one for student rates before you book ā several offer them and it's rarely advertised prominently.
Top Tips For Things To Do In Liverpool
Don't go on a Monday. The free national museums close on Mondays outside school holidays. This catches people out constantly.
Check what's open before you plan. Maritime, Slavery Museum and the original Tate building are all shut. Guides published this year still list them.
Do the William Brown Street pair together. Walker Art Gallery and World Museum are next door to each other and both free.
Tate is at Mann Island now, not the Albert Dock. Free, smaller, an hour is plenty.
Walk Hope Street. Two free cathedrals, ten minutes apart, and the best street in the city.
The Victoria Gallery & Museum is on campus and free. If you're at the University of Liverpool you can go between lectures.
Ask about student rates on the paid attractions. Beatles Story, Anfield and Liver Building 360 are the expensive ones.
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