World Museum, Liverpool
Five floors, free, and it covers three things small children reliably love: giant dinosaurs, an aquarium and a space gallery. The best wet-weather day within half an hour.
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Liverpool, Merseyside
The Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum that shares its building closed in early 2025 for a joint redevelopment, and neither reopens until 2028. The project rebuilds both around the dock they sit on; until then the ship models, the Titanic and Lusitania galleries and the Seized! customs basement are all off limits.
Do not plan a visit, but do not write off the waterfront either. The Albert Dock itself, the Museum of Liverpool ten minutes along the front and the Beatles Story under the dock all carry on as normal, and pop-up maritime displays appear around the city while the building is shut.
Know before you go
- If a listings site tells you it is open, it is out of date. Reopening is 2028; the Museum of Liverpool is the free waterfront alternative meanwhile.
On right nowchecked 2 August
- Closed for redevelopment along with the International Slavery Museum, with reopening planned for 2028.
Seasonal: Closed for redevelopment - reopening 2028. Check before travelling.
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Speke Hall
A Tudor hall with woodland walks, a maze and a natural play area in the grounds. Free if you have National Trust membership, and the indoor house is a good rain fallback.
Museum of Liverpool
The city's story with an overhead railway carriage to climb aboard and Little Liverpool, a dedicated hands-on gallery for under-6s. Free, on the waterfront, and the window views are half the fun.
Mersey Ferries River Explorer
The famous ferry across the Mersey run as a 50-minute sightseeing loop with commentary, and the honest truth is kids love the boat more than any museum. Hop off at Seacombe for Eureka! next door.
Calderstones Park
South Liverpool's favourite park: lake, playground, ancient trees and the Storybarn, The Reader's hands-on storytelling space in the old coach house. The neolithic Calder Stones are older than Stonehenge, which is a good fact to deploy.
Croxteth Hall & Home Farm
A working Edwardian estate farm with rare breeds, a walled garden and 500 acres of free country park around it. The farm entry is cheap and the pigs are enormous.
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