The Beatles Story

The Beatles Story is the largest permanent Beatles exhibition anywhere in the world, built into the Britannia Vaults underneath the Royal Albert Dock. It runs through the band chronologically, from Liverpool youth clubs and the Hamburg years to the break-up and the four solo careers that came after it.

Mike and Bernadette Byrne devised the place and it opened on the first of May 1990. It was not the city’s first go at a Beatles attraction. Cavern Mecca ran from 1981 to 1984 and Beatle City followed from 1984 until 1986, and both of them folded. The Beatles Story outlasted the pair and is now owned by Mersey Ferries, part of Merseytravel, which makes it an unusual case of a major tourist attraction sitting in public hands.

The exhibition is built around recreations rather than a conventional gallery hang, so you walk through the Casbah Coffee Club, the Cavern, Abbey Road Studio Two and a yellow submarine.

Real objects are scattered through it, such as John Lennon’s spectacles and George Harrison’s first guitar. An audio guide is included in the ticket and comes in a number of languages.

Two things are worth knowing before you book. The entrance lift is out of order at the time of writing and there are steps down into the exhibition, so check the lift status page on their website if that is likely to be a problem. The Discovery Zone, which is the hands-on area for younger children, is closed to the general public from Monday to Friday outside the Liverpool school holidays, so a weekday visit with small children will not include it.

Entry is timed and it works out cheaper booked online than paid on the door. You will also get a discount if you head along in the summer.

The Basics

Where: Britannia Vaults, Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AD
Opening hours: 9:00 to 18:30, with last entry at 17:00 (Summer. Winter and school holidays differ)
Closed: Christmas Day and Boxing Day only, and open every other day of the year
Admission: Charged, with timed entry slots and a discount for booking online
Discovery Zone: Weekends 10:00 to 16:00, school holidays 10:00 to 15:00, bank holidays 10:00 to 16:00, and closed to the general public on weekdays
Access: The entrance lift is currently out of order, so check the lift status page before travelling
On site: Fab4 Café and Fab4 Store, with separate branches of both over at the Pier Head
Getting there: James Street station is the nearest, and Liverpool One bus station is a short walk
Run by: Mersey Ferries, part of Merseytravel