Let's Go Europe 2011: The Student Travel Guide
Page 33
TOKYOU NOODLE BAR
7 Berry St.
PAN-ASIAN
0151 445 1023
Simple but reliably tasty, this small Berry St. locale dishes out a wide variety of pan-Asian dishes at reasonable prices. Most of the cuisine is Cantonese, but the menu includes a mix of Japanese and Malaysian. Get your meal with either chopsticks or a fork at one of their communal wooden tables. We won’t judge.
Entrees £3.80-6.20. Open daily 12:30pm-11:30pm.
DELIFONSECA
12 Stanley St.
DELI RESTAURANT
0151 255 0808 www.delifonseca.co.uk
A bustling local favorite situated atop a deli, Delifonseca features local specialites of cheeses, hummus, spices, meats, and plenty of vegetarian options, displayed on a blackboard. No matter what’s in season, you’re going to get an excellent sandwich.
Down the street from Met and Cavern Quarters, between Victoria St. and Dale St. Granite building, bright green sign. Entrees £12 and under. Soups £5. Deli open M-Sa 8am-9pm, Dining area open M-Sa noon-late.
THE BEER HOUSE
41-51 Greenland St.
ETHNIC PUB GRUB
0151 708 3575 www.contemporaryurbancentre.org
This huge pub has a lively atmosphere, large tables for groups, a good selection of beers, and specialty curry nights. Traditional English options are supplemeted by all-day breakfasts, pastas, and main-course salads. Quaint wooden tables and chairs lend the place a Victorian feel, and SkySports blasts in the background, displaying your sporting event of choice.
Contemporary Urban Centre. Entry off Jamaica St. Open mic night on Su. Kitchen closes 9pm. Entrees under £10. Open daily 11am-11pm.
CAFE LATINO
28a Bold St.
CAFE, ITALIAN
0151 709 4217
Looking out on the frenzy of shoppers and artists of busy Bold St., this upstairs cafe presents simple but affordable meals. The Italian owners offer 10 kinds of pasta and nine types of pizza (£4).
Look for the sign hanging from the 2nd story. Up 3 flights stairs. Pizzas and pastas £4-5. Open Tu-Sa 9am-5pm.
NIGHTLIFE
Liverpool nightlife has changed dramatically since the days when Lennon and McCartney roamed these streets. With ever-increasing influxes of students (the student population of Liverpool currently stands at about 70,000), the post-dinner party scene has expanded drastically. Luckily for travelers, the pubs and bars here try to tailor their music and prices with the sking student budget in mind. Less felicitously, the newer arrivals lack a distinctive Liverpudlian feel. Chain clubs, Australian bars, and joints with Beyoncé blasting just don’t have that Fab Four charm.
Still, the students bring with them many perks. Keep an eye out for special mid-week promotion nights, when clubs offer cheap drinks and no covers. Also, unlike London, Liverpool has many bars and pubs that remain open until 4am to cater to their very young night-owl patrons.
THE PHILHARMONIC
36 Hope St.
PUB
0151 707 2837
With the Philharmonic’s beautiful woodwork, exquisite mosaic floors, ornate tiling, copper panels, and an excellent bar that serves quality local cask ale, it’s no wonder that John Lennon once complained that one of the worst things about being famous was “not being able to go to the Phil for a pint.” What is surprising, however, is that this clasically elegant bar has still remained a student haunt at heart, frequented by young people, older locals, and tourists alike. Make sure you check out the unique tiling of the mens’ washrooms. (If you’re of the female persuasion, ask at the bar for permission to avoid interrupting some poor guy.) Sadly, the women’s bathrooms aren’t up to the same standards because, when this place opened its doors at the turn of the 20th century, Liverpudlian women didn’t probe the pub scene the way they do now.
Across from Philharmonic Concert Hall. Draughts from £2. Open daily 10am-midnight.
THE PEACOCK
49-51 Seel St.
BAR
0151 709 2146
Classier and with more character than many of the generic Ropewalks haunts. This bar has brick walls, chandeliers, outside patio areas, and a roof terrace. Drinks are reasonably priced and a good rock music selection blasts downstairs, while the upstairs tends to dance music and frenzied partiers.
Ropewalks. St. Peter’s Sq. and Seel St. Open M-F noon-2am, Sa noon-3am, Su noon-2am.
HANNAH’S BAR
2 Leece St.
BAR, RESTAURANT, VENUE
0151 708 5959 www.barhannah.co.uk
While this bar’s recent renovation has given it a more posh vibe, it’s a student place in essence. Many local musicians of the present-day Liverpool music scene played their first gigs here. Perks include two stories of seating, cozy couches off to the side, a neat skylight roof, and an upstairs outdoor area where you can sit with your drink and enjoy nighttime views of the old church.
Right next to St. Luke’s Church. Open M-F 11am-2am, Sa 10am-2am, Su 10am-12:30am.
BAR CA VA
4a Wood St.
BAR
0151 709 9300
This trendy bar tempts the Liverpool youth with its cheap drinks, funky decor, and excellent alternative DJs. Liquor lovers will be smitten: tequila is only £1 a shot and comes in loads of crazy flavors. If the conversation begins to tire, let your eyes wander to the old movie posters, magazine articles, concert fliers, and record covers that plaster the walls from ceiling to floor.
Free Wi-Fi. Open daily 1pm-late (1-2am depending on the crowd and the bouncer’s discretion).
MODO
1 Concert Sq.
BAR, CLUB
0151 709 8832 www.modoliverpool.co.uk
Busy, young, well-established, and trendy, with a huge outdoor beer-garden area Modo is super-popular in the summer and sometimes even gets full mid-week. Beware large crowds and slow service on warm weekend days. If you decide to brave it, bring friends and try a 4-pint cocktail pitcher (£10).
Concert Sq. is between Wood St. and Fleet St. Lots of drink deals: 2-4-1 house cocktails £3 (except F and Sa after 8pm), £4.95 cocktails, £8 for pitcher of cocktails or lager pitchers or bottle of wine (except F and Sa after 8pm), £1 chasers, £2.50 double vodka and NRG (except F and Sa after 8pm). Open M-Th noon-2am, F-Sa noon-3am, Su noon-2am.
THE ZANZIBAR CLUB
43 Seel St.
CLUB
0151 707 0633 www.thezanzibarclub.com
Students flock to hear live music at Zanzibar Club, which features eclectic acts, club nights, and good drink offers. An exotic feel keeps the venue in touch with its chosen name.
Corner of Slater St. and Seel St. Open W-Sa 7:30pm-1am.
JUPITERS
10 Hackins Hey
BAR
0151 227 5265
Karaoke is the specialty of this GLBT bar at the edge of Liverpool’s gay district. Jupiters boasts reasonably priced drinks, large TVs for sporting events, and pool tables. Popular nights are “Thursgays” and “Sungays.”
Serves food. Free Wi-Fi. Open M-Th noon-11:30pm.
G BAR
1-3 Eberle St.
CLUB
0151 236 4416 www.g-bar.com
Well-liked by both students and drag queens, this gay-friendly spot is a popular late-night post-clubbing venue. The commercial dance music keeps pumping all night long, and the three floors include a cozy “Love lounge” for canoodling upstairs.
Off of Dale St., by Moorfields Rail. Cover £2-7. Cocktails £3-5. Open Th 10pm-4am, F 10pm-5am, Sa 10pm-8am, Su 10pm-3am.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture in 2008, and it doesn’t let anyone forget it. The city prides itself on its art and music offerings, ranging from Beatles reincarnations to a thriving indie scene to world-class orchestras and theaters.
PHILHARMONIC HALL
Hope St.
CLASSICAL MUSIC
0151 709 3789 www.liverpoolphil.com
This famed Art Deco co
ncert hall stands in the place of the building that burned down in a fire in 1933. While mostly associated with Classical music, this building also has put on contemporary concerts, film screenings, and comedy shows and has hosted Frank Sinatra and the Beatles. There’s a plaque dating from the 1912 commemorating the famed Orchestra who perished on the RMS Titanic, because they were contracted for the voyage by music agents from Liverpool.
Between Myrtle St. and Caledonia St. (and between the 2 cathedrals). 3hr. tours available. Tours 15. Box office open M-Sa 10am-5:30pm.
EVERYMAN THEATRE
5-9 Hope St.
THEATRE
0151 709 4776 www.everymanplayhouse.com
The Everyman has basically been Everything, from a chapel to a cinema to a boxing arena to a theater space. It was here, for example, that sculptor Arthur Dooley, an ex-boxer, was rumored to engage in a fight with art lecturer Arthur Ballard, also a former boxer. Today, though, the theater puts on its own productions and promotes native Liverpool playwrights, as well as welcoming outside shows from Britain and the world.
Corner of Hope St. and Oxford St./Mt.Pleasant, across from Metropolitan Cathedral. Student discounts available. Tickets £5-50. Standbys (day of) for under 26: £5. Ticket office open M-F 10am-6pm (11:15am-7:30pm on performance nights). Closed Sa unless there’s a performance.
LIVERPOOL PLAYHOUSE
Williamson Sq.
THEATRE
0151 709 4776 www.everymanplayhouse.com
The counterpart to the Everyman, the Playhouse focuses on traditional theater. Three times a year it produces its own shows. The building itself dates back to 1866 and is the only Victorian theater still in active use in Merseyside.
Tickets £5-£40, concessions £4 off. Standbys (day of) for under 26: £5. Ticket office open M-Sa 10am-6pm, theater nights until 7:30pm.
ESSENTIALS
Practicalities
• TOURIST OFFICES: (Whitechapel and Anchor Courtyard, and at Albert Dock. 0151 233 2008 www.visitliverpool.com Pick up a free copy of Liverpool Events Guide, or Days Out. Internet use £1 for 15min. Books accommdations for free via accommodation hotline (0844 870 0123) or in person. Open M-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 11am-4pm.)
• TOURS: Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road. Mendips was the childhood home of Lennon, Forthlin Rd. was the family home of Paul McCartney right through early Beatles Years. Book in advance. (0151 427 7231. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/beatles. £16.80). Lime St. Station (0151 203 3920 www.city-sightseeing.com £8, concessions £6) hop-on, hop-off. Starting from Canada Blvd., Pier Head. Magical Mystery Tours offers 2hr. tour of Beatles sites like Strawberry Field and Penny Lane (0151 236 9091 £14.95). If you’d rather explore the sights yourself, pick up a free “How to get to the Beatles Attractions in Merseyside” brochure from the TIC. For the price of a Saveaway day-ticket (£3.30) you can take the bus around town to all of the major Beatles sights.
• BEYOND TOURISM: JobCentre Plus. (20 Williamson Sq. 0151 801 5700 www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk. Open M-F 9am-5pm.) The Volunteer Centre (151 Dale Street. 0151 237 3975. www.volunteercentreliverpool.org.uk. Open M-F 9am-5pm.)
• BANKS: Located throughout the shopping district. HSBC. (99-100 Cord. St. Open M 9am-5pm, Tu 9:30am-5pm, W 9am-5pm, Th 9am-7pm, F-Sa 9am-5pm.)
• INTERNET ACCESS: Central Library. (William Brown St. 0151 233 5845. Open M-Th 9am-7:30pm, Su noon-5pm.) Free Wi-Fi with food or drink purchase at many cafes around town, including Tabac and the Piazza at Metropolitan Cathedral. Liverpool City Council has placed kiosks around downtown that allow you to send free emails (with 5min. time limit) and look at electronic maps.
• POST OFFICE: (35-37 Leece St. 08457 223 344. Open M-F 8:45am-5:30pm, Sa 8:45am-12:30pm) and Liverpool One (inside of WHSmith, 1-3 S. John St. Open M-Sa 9am-5:30pm.)
Emergency!
• HOSPITAL: Royal University Liverpool Hospital (Prescot St. 0151 706 2000.). For non-emergencies: NHS Walk-In Centre. (Great Charlotte St. 0845 46 47 Open M-F 7am-10pm, Sa-Su 9am-10pm.)
Getting There
By Plane
Liverpool John Lennon Airport, just 7mi. from the city center, has flights from across Europe including Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and Dublin. #86 or 86A bus will drop you right near Lime St. station. The #500 and 80A also run to the city center ( www.liverpoolairport.com).
By Train
Liverpool Lime St. Station is located in the heart of the city center, and offers trains (08457 48 49 50 www.nationalrail.co.uk) to Manchester Piccadilly ( £9.80 45 min., 3 per hr.) and Birmingham ( £24.60 1¾hr., 2 per hr.). Virgin Trains (08719 774 222 www.virgintrains.co.uk) runs express service to London Euston ( £65.20 2hr., every hr.).
By Bus
Norton Street Station operates National Express buses (0845 600 7245) to Birmingham ( £13 3hr., 4 per day), London ( £28 5.5hr., 4-5 per day), and Manchester ( £7 1hr., every hr.).
By Ferry
Ferries arrive at and depart from Pier Head, north of Albert Dock. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (www.steam-packet.com) runs ferries from St. Nicholas Place, Princes Parade ( 2½hr.) to the Isle of Man, during the summer. P &O Irish Ferries (0871 66 44 777 www.poirishsea.com) runs ferries from Dublin to Liverpool ( 8hr.) from Liverpool Freeport Bootle. Norfolk Line (0844 499 0007 www.norfolkline.com) has trips to and from Liverpool to Belfast and Dublin, Tuesday through Saturday, starting from £20 and leaving from 12 Quays Terminal, Tower Rd., Birkenhead.
Getting Around
By Train
Merseyrail Trains (0151 227 5181 www.merseytravel.gov.uk) run from three major stops in the city (Moorfields, James St., and Central) on three outbound lines to the surrounding town and out to Southport, to Preston, and to the coast.
By Bus
Local buses (0870 608 2608), operated by Arriva and Stagecoach are based out of Queen’s Square Bus Station, Pardise St. Station, and Liverpool One. Each company sells DayRiders for unlimited day travel for £3. Merseyside Saveaways (0151 236 6056 www.merseytravel.gov.uk) are good for one-day travel on buses, trains, and ferries in the area after 9:30am weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. Available for purchase at Central Train Station for ( £3.30 for the main city area, and £4.50 for the surrounding Merseyside areas).
By Taxi
For a taxi, call Mersey Cabs (0151 207 2222) or Liver Cabs (0151 708 7080). Like London, Liverpool’s cabs are black.
glasgow
0141
There’s a running joke among residents of Glasgow and Edinburgh, that the only good thing about the other is the sign on the highway announcing your departure. A heavy rivalry exists between the two, and Glaswegians often face heavy criticism from their fashionable and trendy neighbor. Glasgow isn’t the prettiest city in the world, though it is certainly no longer the predictable industrial giant it used to be. The city teems with students and a fantastic party scene as well as enough different restaurants to make your taste buds sore from overuse. The West End by the University is almost its own city, feeling much more communal and local than the Gothic city center.
ORIENTATION
Glasgow can essentially be divided into two distinct areas: the city center, with the shopping center, Queen Street, Central Station, and George Square all located within walking distance of one another; and the West End, home to the University of Glasgow, Kelvingrove Park and Gallery, and the majority of Glasgow’s hostels. The main pedestrian and shopping thoroughfares include the east end of Sauchiehall Street, which takes a right turn to become Buchanan Street, passing in front of Nelson Mandela Place. To get from the city center to the West End, walk from Buchanan onto Sauchihall Street and continue until the pedestrian access ends. From there, walk up the hill to Renfrew St. (which will take you past a large group of guesthouses and hotels as well as the Glasgow School of Art) and continue onward. At the end of Renfrew St., you will be led over a busy merging of streets by a footbridge. After crossing over you should walk right to get to Woodlands Road, which will take you to Great Western Road and the West End.
For details on Gla
sgow map, click here
ACCOMMODATIONS
Backpackers who like to hop off the train and directly into a hostel will be disappointed—the majority of Glasgow’s budget options require a hike to the West End. The walk from the station is only about 20min., but with that pack on—well, a cab’s only around £5. For those looking for something a little higher up the hostel-hotel food chain, Renfrew St. above Sauchiehall St. has a long row of guesthouses and hotels. Expect seasonal rate fluctuations.
WEST END BACKPACKERS
3 Bank St.
HOSTEL
0141 337 7000 www.glasgowwestendbackpackers.co.uk