Until then, wander along the riverside from the southern end of the revamped Albert Dock to Pier Head , via the excellent Maritime Museum (0151 478 4499, .uk) and the grandiose Port of Liverpool, Cunard and Royal Liver buildings. Take a hike When they open in summer, the Joseph Williamson tunnels at Smithdown Lane (0151 709 6868) will offer a route through Liverpool you’re unlikely to have taken before. For something cheaper, the new International Inn (South Hunter Street, 0151 709 8135, ) has beds in en-suite dorms for £15 Or, call the city’s accommodation hotline (0845 601 1125). This is none other than the former Speke aerodrome terminal (0151 494 5000, ), where pseudo Art Deco doubles in the former Liverpool airport terminal start at £90 normally but £60 now, thanks to a weekend promotion until September. Another good option, if you don’t mind being out of town, is the Marriott Hotel Liverpool South.

If you want to be closer to the waterside, the Holiday Inn Express (Britannia Place, Albert Dock, 0151 709 1133) is clean and efficient, with doubles from £70. Check in The Adelphi Hotel (Ranelagh Place, 0151 709 7200, ) is the grand, if slightly faded, dame of the Liverpool hotel scene, with doubles from £95. It opens 9am to 5.30pm on Saturdays and from 10.30 to 4.30 on Sundays, or at the Albert Dock (open from 10.30am to 5.30pm daily). For maps, walking tours, details of special city passes and more general information, visit the Tourist Information Centre at Queen Square (0151 709 5111, ).

The Anglican cathedral , Radio City tower and Royal Liver Building are conveniently tall Liverpool landmarks. Get your bearings From a knot of pedestrianised streets, fringed by Lime Street rail and Queen Square bus stations and the Beatles-oriented Cavern quarter at its centre, Liverpool spins out to the Albert Dock in the west, Europe’s oldest Chinatown in the south, Liverpool and Everton football grounds to the north and the university to the east. From John Lennon, the Airport express 500 bus runs every half hour to the city centre (£2 single, 0151 236 7676). And, if you can’t find a flight to Liverpool John Lennon airport (0151 288 4000, ), Manchester airport is only an hour away.