Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Liverpool's Catholic cathedral stands at the top of Hope Street, a road that connects it with the Anglican cathedral at the other end, and entry to the main cathedral is free. The crypt, built for a far larger cathedral that was never finished, charges a small admission and is shown on its own or with a guide; it is the most surprising part of the building and worth the extra few minutes.

Walking tours of Liverpool often cover both cathedrals and the Georgian quarter between them, and the pairing is the right one, since the two buildings represent completely different answers to the same question built within a few decades of each other. The Beatles tours and the waterfront museums fill most days in the city, and the cathedrals make a good contrast. A cafe and shop are on site. Nothing needs booking, though the cathedral closes to visitors during major services. The cathedral is a fifteen-minute walk from Lime Street station and on several bus routes from the city centre.

Visiting Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral: what to see

In the 1930s the architect Edwin Lutyens designed a colossal Catholic cathedral for this site, with a dome that would have been larger than Saint Peter's in Rome. Work began, but the war and the cost stopped it after the crypt was built. That crypt survives beneath the present building: a vast brick and granite space of vaults and chapels, with a huge rolling stone door. In 1959 a competition for a cheaper cathedral was won by Frederick Gibberd, and his building, completed in 1967, is circular, with the altar at the centre and the congregation seated around it, reflecting new ideas about worship.

A tall lantern tower rises from the roof, crowned with pinnacles and filled with stained glass by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens in shades of blue, red and yellow, which throws coloured light across the interior. Locals nicknamed the building Paddy's Wigwam. Around the circular nave, a ring of chapels opens off the walls, each with its own lighting and artwork, including a Blessed Sacrament chapel with a tapestry-like reredos.

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, and weekday mornings are quiet. The lantern glass is at its most brilliant on a sunny day, when the coloured light moves across the white marble floor. Sunday masses and major feasts close the building to sightseeing for a time. Liverpool is busy throughout the year, with peaks during summer, school holidays and big events such as the Grand National in April and concerts at the waterfront.

The walk down Hope Street to the Anglican cathedral takes about ten minutes and passes the Philharmonic Hall and its famous Victorian pub. Allow about forty-five minutes for the cathedral and crypt, and another hour for the Anglican cathedral, whose tower can be climbed. The steps in front of the cathedral are used for outdoor events and give a view straight down Hope Street to the Anglican tower.