Things to do in Liverpool when it rains
The Museum of Liverpool, the Walker, the World Museum and the Beatles Story are all indoors and free or cheap, and Liverpool ONE and the Mathew Street pubs take care of the rest of a wet day.
18 picks that fit, best first. The order assumes the conditions in the title; the live forecast only nudges it.
Museum of Liverpool
Pier Head
The story of the city, from the docks to the football to the music, free, on the waterfront.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Royal Albert Dock
Waterfront
The restored Victorian dock with museums, galleries and bars around the water, free to wander.
Mostly under cover. Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Mersey Ferry
Pier Head
The fifty-minute river cruise with the skyline from the water and the song on the tannoy.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Liverpool Cathedral
St James’s Mount
The biggest cathedral in Britain, with a tower you can climb for the whole city and the river.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free; tower ticketed
Walker Art Gallery
William Brown Street
One of the best collections outside London, from Rembrandt to Hockney, free.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
World Museum
William Brown Street
Dinosaurs, an aquarium, a planetarium and Egyptian mummies, free, all under one roof.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Cavern Club and Mathew Street
Cavern Quarter
Live music every day in the brick cellar where the Beatles played, and the pubs of Mathew Street around it.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Free by day; small entry charge on evenings
The Beatles Story
Royal Albert Dock
The band’s story told room by room, with a replica Cavern and the audio guide in their own voices.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Anfield stadium tour
Anfield
The home dressing room, the This Is Anfield sign and the museum at Liverpool FC’s ground.
Mostly under cover.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Baltic Triangle
Baltic Triangle
Warehouses turned into bars, food halls, street art and a skate park; the city’s night-out quarter.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Metropolitan Cathedral
Mount Pleasant
The 1960s concrete crown at the top of Hope Street, glowing blue inside from the lantern.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Royal Liver Building 360
Pier Head
Up inside the clock tower of the Liver Building to the birds and a view over the whole river.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
St George's Hall
Lime Street
A neoclassical hall opposite Lime Street with a Minton tiled floor and Victorian courtrooms.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Western Approaches Museum
Rumford Street
The secret wartime bunker where the Battle of the Atlantic was run, kept as it was left.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Chinatown
Nelson Street
The oldest Chinese community in Europe, under the biggest Chinese arch outside China.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Philharmonic Hall and the Phil
Hope Street
The city’s orchestra in an Art Deco hall, and across the road the most ornate pub in England.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Pub free to enter; concerts ticketed
Bluecoat
School Lane
The oldest building in the city centre, now a free arts centre with a garden courtyard.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Liverpool ONE
City centre
The open-air shopping district that links the centre to the dock, with a park on the roof.
Mostly under cover. Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Good to know
What can you do in Liverpool on a rainy day?
Head indoors. Liverpool has 18 rain-proof picks on this list, from free museums and galleries to covered markets and food halls. The list is re-ordered for the live forecast, so the strongest indoor options come first when it is actually raining.
Are there free indoor things to do in Liverpool?
Yes. Look for the "Free" label on the cards. Liverpool’s big museums and galleries are free, the two cathedrals are free to enter, and the dock, the Pier Head and the parks cost nothing.