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The BBC's northern home is but one significant element of this vast 81-hectare site. Besides hosting six departments of the national broadcaster (BBC Breakfast, Children's, Sport, Radio 5 Live, Learning, and Future Media & Technology), it is also home to the set of the world's longest-running soap opera, ITV's perennially popular Coronation Street.

There are no plans as yet to offer tours of the Corrie set, but you can visit the BBC's impressive set-up and see the sets of some of TV's most iconic programs on a guided 90-minute tour that also includes a chance for kids to 'make' a program in an interactive studio; see www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours. For refuelling, there are plenty of cafes and restaurants in the area.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Lady Chapel in Liverpool Cathedral

    Liverpool Cathedral

    28.41 MILES

    Britain's largest church, this magnificent neo-Gothic building is also the world's largest Anglican cathedral. It was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott …

  • Salthouse Dock To the right the three graces of Pier Head the Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building To the left Albert Dock Buildings Liverpool England UK

    International Slavery Museum

    29.16 MILES

    Museums are, by their very nature, like a still of the past, but the extraordinary International Slavery Museum resonates very much in the present. It…

  • Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester, Greater Manchester, England.

    Science and Industry Museum

    1.79 MILES

    Manchester's rich industrial legacy is explored in this excellent museum set within the enormous grounds of the old Liverpool St station, the oldest rail…

  • People s history museum in Manchester - MANCHESTER / ENGLAND - JANUARY 1, 2019 People's History Museum

    People's History Museum

    1.88 MILES

    The story of Britain's 200-year march to democracy is told in all its pain and pathos at this superb museum, housed in a refurbished Edwardian pumping…

  • The Whitworth Art Gallery is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection.

    Whitworth Art Gallery

    2.97 MILES

    Manchester's second most important art gallery is arguably its most beautiful, following a restoration that saw the doubling of its exhibition space…

  • Liverpool, UK - May 17 2018: The Beatles Story located on the historical Albert Dock, opened on 1 May 1990. The museum was also recognised as one of the best tourist attractions of the United Kingdom 1425908642 architecture, beatles, blackbird, britain, british, building, cavern, cavern club, city, england, english, europe, european, exhibition, gb, george harrison, great britain, hey jude, imagine, john lennon, landmark, let it be, liverpool, mathew, mersey, merseyside, museum, music, obladi oblada, paul mccartney, penny lane, pop, ringo starr, river mersey, song, statue, the beatles, the beatles story, tourism, travel, uk, united kingdom, yesterday, yoko ono

    The Beatles Story

    29.17 MILES

    Liverpool's most popular museum won't illuminate any dark, juicy corners in the turbulent history of the world's most famous foursome – there's ne'er a…

  • Walker art gallery sculpture room. Liverpool city centre, Merseyside, England UK. 7th October 2014.; Shutterstock ID 1685695792; full: digital; gl: 65050; netsuite: poi; your: Barbara Di Castro 1685695792 ancient, antique, architecture, art, arts, britain, british, brown, city, culture, england, english, europe, european, exterior, famous, gallery, great, greece, greek, heritage, historic, history, kingdom, landmark, liverpool, marble, mersey, merseyside, monument, museum, national, neoclassical, room, sculpture, sights, sightseeing, statue, street, tourism, travel, uk, united, victorian, walker, william, woman, young

    Walker Art Gallery

    28.56 MILES

    The city's foremost art gallery is the national gallery for northern England, housing an outstanding collection of art from the 14th to the 21st centuries…

  • The World Museum, part of Liverpool's museum complex, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom, Europe

    World Museum

    28.56 MILES

    Natural history, science and technology are the themes of the oldest museum in town, which opened in 1853. Its exhibits range from live bugs to human…

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Nearby Manchester attractions

1. Lowry

0.25 MILES

With multiple performance spaces, bars, restaurants and shops, this contemporary arts centre attracts more than a million visitors a year to its myriad…

2. Imperial War Museum North

0.34 MILES

Inside Daniel Libeskind's aluminium-clad modern building is a war museum with a difference, exploring the effects of conflict on society rather than…

3. Science and Industry Museum

1.79 MILES

Manchester's rich industrial legacy is explored in this excellent museum set within the enormous grounds of the old Liverpool St station, the oldest rail…

4. People's History Museum

1.88 MILES

The story of Britain's 200-year march to democracy is told in all its pain and pathos at this superb museum, housed in a refurbished Edwardian pumping…

5. John Rylands Library

2.06 MILES

Less a library and more a cathedral to books, Basil Champneys' stunning building is a breathtaking example of Victorian Gothic, no more so than the…

6. Central Library

2.19 MILES

Britain's largest municipal library was built in 1934 to resemble the Roman Pantheon. A major refurbishment has seen the addition of a wonderful Children…

7. Town Hall

2.21 MILES

Manchester's most impressive building is the Grade I–listed town hall, completed in 1877 after a design by Alfred Waterhouse. The Great Hall is decorated…

8. Manchester Art Gallery

2.3 MILES

A superb collection of British art and a hefty number of European masters are the highlights at the city's top art gallery. It's home to the best…