Liverpool & Chester

Liverpool: The World in One City

Liverpool's waterfront is one of the great urban experiences in Britain. The Albert Dock — the UK's most visited waterspace — combines Tate Liverpool (free), the Beatles Story, the Merseyside Maritime Museum (free, with its extraordinary Titanic and slavery galleries) and the International Slavery Museum (free) in a single Victorian dock complex of stunning architectural quality. The Three Graces — the Liver Building, the Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building — form one of the finest waterfront ensembles in the world.

Beyond the waterfront, Liverpool's Georgian Quarter around Rodney Street and Canning Street contains the most complete concentration of early 19th-century townhouse architecture outside of London. The Walker Art Gallery (free), the World Museum (free) and Liverpool Central Library complete an extraordinary cultural offer that most groups significantly underestimate.

Chester: Britain's Most Complete Walled City

Walking the full circuit of Chester's walls takes approximately 45 minutes and provides an extraordinary perspective on the city's 2,000-year history. The walls incorporate Roman, medieval and later stonework and offer views across the River Dee to Wales, over the racecourse (the oldest in Britain in continuous use) and across the rooftops of the historic centre. Chester Cathedral, a Norman abbey church converted to cathedral status in 1541, has one of England's most elaborately carved medieval choir stalls.