Not to miss

World Museum

Natural history, science and technology are the themes of thes sprawling World Museum, whose exhibits range from birds of prey to space exploration. It also includes the country's only free planetarium.

This vastly entertaining and educational museum is divided into four major sections: the Human World, one of the top anthropological collections in the country; the Natural World, which includes a new aquarium as well as live insect colonies; Earth, a geological treasure trove; and Space & Time, which includes the planetarium. Highly recommended.

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King

The city's two cathedrals are separated by the length of Hope St. At the northern end, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King was completed in 1967 according to the design of Sir Frederick Gibberd and after the original plans by Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose crypt is inside. It's a mightily impressive modern building that looks like a soaring concrete tepee, hence its nickname, Paddy's Wigwam.

Speke Hall

This diagonally patterned Tudor home dates from 1490-1612, and is filled with gorgeously timbered and plastered rooms. The house contains several 'priest's holes', where the hall's sympathetic owners hid Roman Catholic priests during the anti-Catholic 16th and 17th centuries.

A marvellous example of an Elizabethan half-timbered hall, Speke Hall was formerly surrounded by thousands of acres of land, but these days all that remains is the drive and an oasis of meticulously maintained gardens; the hall's Chapel Farm became the nucleus of nearby Liverpool Airport. A bus runs from Lime St to Speke Hall, but the walk from the bus stop is about a kilometre and a half.

Tours to Paul McCartney's childhood home at 20 Forthlin Rd leave from Speke Hall, as well as from Albert Dock. The modest housing estate home is now a National Trust property and has been evocatively restored to its 1950s appearance, complete with assorted McCartney memorabilia. A particular highlight is the lounge room where John and Paul wrote early songs like 'Love Me Do' and 'I Saw Her Standing There'.