England
Liverpool
Away-day guide
unverified draftLiverpool is one of the great football cities to visit — a compact, sociable centre, a waterfront that tells you exactly what the place used to be, and a welcome for away fans that is warmer than the reputation of English football suggests. Anfield is three miles from the bars, so plan the journey out rather than assuming you can stroll.
🚺 To Anfield
Three miles north-east of the centre with no station nearby. On matchdays the Soccerbus runs from Sandhills Merseyrail station (Northern line) direct to the ground from two hours before kick-off; the 917 and other buses go from Queen Square. A taxi from the centre is £10–14 and takes 15–25 minutes in traffic. Walking takes about 45 minutes.
- Nearest stop
- Sandhills (Merseyrail) for the Soccerbus; bus stops on Walton Breck Road and Anfield Road
- Lines
- Merseyrail Northern line + Soccerbus shuttle; buses 917, 26 and 27 from the city centre
- Walk from centre
- 45 min
- Parking
- Residents' permit schemes cover the streets around the ground on matchday and are enforced; park in town and take the bus or a cab.
Public transport
Merseyrail is the useful bit of the network: an electric suburban system running underground through the centre, with a loop serving Lime Street, Moorfields, James Street and Central. Buses (Arriva and Stagecoach) cover everywhere else, with single fares capped at around £3 under the national scheme and contactless accepted; day tickets are sold in the Merseytravel app. The Mersey Ferry is a tourist trip more than transport. The centre itself is walkable end to end in 25 minutes, and taxis (black cabs, Uber, Delta) are plentiful and cheap for the run to the ground.
Typical prices
- Beer (0.5L)
- GBP 5.5
- Coffee
- GBP 3.4
- Meal, mid-range
- GBP 18
- Taxi from airport
- GBP 25
- Single transit ticket
- GBP 3
✈ Airports & cheaper alternatives
- Liverpool John Lennon Airport LPL primary 12 km The 500 airport bus runs to Liverpool One bus station and Lime Street in about 30 minutes; a taxi is £20–28. Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz all fly here from across Europe. Small, close and quick to clear.
- Manchester Airport MAN alternative 55 km Direct trains from the airport station to Liverpool Lime Street take about 1 hour 20 minutes and run twice an hour. Far more routes, especially long-haul and from continental hubs, with a straightforward train transfer.
🍺 Supporters' pubs
Liverpool FC
Home fans: The Anfield pubs — the Arkles, the Sandon (where the club was founded), the Albert on Walton Breck Road — fill from lunchtime and are strictly home territory; the Sandon and the Arkles in particular are not places to turn up in away colours. In town, the pubs around Dale Street and the Cavern Quarter carry the pre-match crowd.
Away fans: Away fans are best off in the city centre: the Baltic Triangle, Bold Street and the Ropewalks are all mixed, busy and used to visitors, and there are plenty of taxis and buses out to the ground from there. The Anfield Road end has its own approach — get dropped on that side rather than walking through the home pubs.
Six European Cups and a ground with a genuine claim to be the best atmosphere in England. Tickets for European nights are extremely hard to come by outside the official away allocation — do not buy on the street.
Sourced from supporters' forums — always follow your club's and police advice for the fixture.
Nightlife
Three districts. Concert Square and the Ropewalks (Seel Street, Slater Street) are the big, loud, cheap nights out — student-priced and heaving at weekends. The Baltic Triangle south of the centre is the warehouse-conversion version: Camp and Furnace, Botanical Garden, street food and club nights. The Georgian Quarter around Hope Street is the grown-up option, and the Philharmonic Dining Rooms there is one of the most ornate pubs in Britain — go for the gents' toilets alone, which are Grade I listed. Mathew Street and the Cavern Quarter are pure Beatles tourism, and none the worse for it.
Food & drink
Scouse, the lamb or beef stew the locals are named after, is the dish to try — Maggie May's on Bold Street does the classic version with red cabbage and beetroot. Bold Street is the city's best eating street generally, from Mowgli's Indian street food to Bakchich's Lebanese. The Baltic Market food hall covers everything cheaply under one roof. Beer-wise, the city has a good independent scene; Liverpool Craft Beer, Love Lane and the cask pubs around the centre are all worth a stop.
Cheap eats & beer
Bold Street and the Baltic Market will feed a group for £8–14 a head. Pints run £5–6 in the centre, less in the older pubs away from Concert Square, and the student bars around the university are cheaper again. Wetherspoons pubs — including one in a former cinema on Lime Street — are the usual budget anchor. Supermarket cans are £1.50–2, and English licensing means off-sales stop at 23:00 in most shops. Matchday pubs near Anfield charge a premium and fill from lunchtime.
Staying safe
Liverpool is a friendly city and visiting fans are generally treated well, but it is a big-club matchday and the sensible rules apply: stay with your group, keep valuables secure in the crowds around Anfield, and be wary of anyone selling tickets on the street — counterfeits are common and stewards check. The city centre at 2am on a Saturday is loud and boisterous rather than dangerous. Use black cabs or an app rather than an unbooked car, and note that the walk from Anfield back to the centre through unfamiliar streets is not the recommended route after a night game.
On matchday
Anfield is about three miles north-east of the city centre and has no railway station of its own. The options are the Soccerbus (Merseyrail to Kirkdale, then a dedicated shuttle that runs from two hours before kick-off), the 917 and other services from Queen Square bus station, a taxi at £10–14, or a 45-minute walk. Away fans are housed in the Anfield Road end, which has its own approach and entrance. UK rules mean no alcohol in sight of the pitch, so drinking happens in the concourse or, better, in town beforehand. Note that Everton are not in Europe this season but have moved to their new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock on the waterfront, if you want to see it.
This city guide is still being fact-checked — some details may be inaccurate.