Sights in Northwest England
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Priory Church
Immediately next to Lancaster castle is the equally fine priory church, founded in 1094 but extensively remodelled in the Middle Ages.
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City of Manchester Stadium
Manchester's best-loved team is the perennial underachiever, Manchester City. The team is based at the City of Manchester Stadium.
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Museum of Transport
This museum is packed with old buses, fire engines and lorries (trucks) built in the last 100 years.
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City Museum
A mixed bag of local historical and archaeological exhibits.
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Wishing Steps
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The Beatles Story: Elvis & Us
In a near perfect rock 'n' roll symbiosis, the Beatles met Elvis on August 27, 1965 at his home in Bel Air, California. The meeting of pop music's most iconic figures forms the basis of this exhibit atop the Pier Head ferry terminal. Want to gawk at the white Fender bass Paul played at the meeting? Stare lovingly at the shirt Elvis wore in Jailhouse Rock? Look at rare footage and examine a ticket to the '68 comeback special? Then this is the place to do it.
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Royal Liver Building
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Port of Liverpool Building
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Old Trafford
Home of the world's most famous club, the Old Trafford stadium is both a theatre and a temple for its millions of fans worldwide, many of whom come on a pilgrimage to pay tribute to the minor deities that others may know only as highly paid footballers. The tour includes a seat in the stands, a peek at the players' lounge and a walk down the tunnel to the pitchside dugout. The museum has a comprehensive history of the club.
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MediaCityUK
The BBC's new northern home is but one significant element of this vast, 81-hectare site. Besides hosting six departments of the national broadcaster (BBC Breakfast, Children's, Sport, Radio 5Live, Learning and Future Media & Technology), it will also be home to a bespoke set for the world's longest-running soap opera, the perennially popular Coronation Street (which broadcasts on ITV). There are no plans as yet to offer tours of the Corrie set, but you can visit the BBC's impressive set-up and see the (new) sets of some of TV's most iconic programmes on a guided, 90-minute tour that also includes a chance for kids to 'make' a programme in an interactive studio.
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Jurby Transport Museum
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Cunard Building
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Bridgegate
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Museum of Liverpool
Liverpool's storied past is explored within the confines of an eye-catching futuristic building designed in typical Scandinavian verve by Danish firm 3XN. Inside, it's all fizz-bang-wallop as you wend your way through an interactive exploration of the cultural and historical milestones of Liverpool - the railroad, poverty, wealth, Brookside (a popular 80s TV soap opera set in the city), the Beatles and football (the film on the meaning of the game to the city is worth the 15 minutes). The desire to tell all of the city's rich story means there isn't a huge amount of depth, but the kids will love it, as will anyone who doesn't want a doctoral dissertation on urban…
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Museum of Liverpool
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Manchester Museum
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Helmshore Mills Textile Museum
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Eastgate Clock
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Chetham's Library & School of Music
Built in 1421, this is the city’s oldest structure that’s still completely intact – and was where Messrs Marx and Engels used to study (by the big bay window in the main reading room). It's only open by prearranged visit, as it is part of a national school for young musicians.
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Knowsley Safari Park
Get up close and personal with baboons in the jungle, lions and tigers, zebras and rhinos...all from the comfort of your car on the 8km (5mi) route based on African game reserves. There is also a walkabout area, school, amusement park, reptile house as well as sea lion shows. Open for over 35 years, Knowsley also participates in international breeding programs.
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Haydock Park Racecourse
The best racecourse in the northwest and an important conference and exhibition centre, Haydock Park Racecourse hosts 30 days of high-calibre racing a year. There is a choice of four enclosures (and prices): the Premier Suite, and County, Tattersall's and Newton enclosures. The latter (the cheapest) has a children's play area and bouncy castle on Saturdays.
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Williamson Park & Tropical Butterfly House
Lancaster's highest point is the 22-hectare spread of this elegant park, from which there are great views of the town, Morecambe Bay and the Cumbrian fells to the north. In the middle is the Ashton Memorial, a 67m-high baroque folly built by Lord Ashton (the son of the park's founder, James Williamson) for his wife.
More beautiful, however, is the Edwardian Palm House, now the Tropical Butterfly House, full of exotic and stunning species. Take bus 25 or 25A from the station, or else it's a steep short walk up Moor Lane.
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University of Manchester
About a mile south of the city, the University of Manchester is one of England's most extraordinary institutions, and not just because it is a top-class university with a remarkable academic pedigree and a great place to party. It is also home to a world-class museum and a superb art gallery. Take bus 11, 16, 41 or 42 from Piccadilly Gardens or bus 47, 190 or 191 from Victoria station.
Manchester Museum
If you're into natural history and social science, this extraordinary museum is the place for you. It has galleries devoted to archaeology, archery, botany, ethnology, geology, numismatics and zoology. The real treat here, though, is the Egyptology section and its…
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Town Hall
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Sealife Centre
State-of-the-art sealife centre which features 2.5m-long sharks and a giant octopus.
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