Liverpool · Bold Street & Georgian Quarter

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms

A stunning Victorian pub built in 1900, renowned for having some of the most ornate pub interiors in Britain.

About The Philharmonic Dining Rooms

A stunning Victorian pub built in 1900, renowned for having some of the most ornate pub interiors in Britain. The Grade II listed building features elaborate mosaic floors, etched glass, wrought iron, and famously opulent marble gentlemen's toilets that are a tourist attraction in themselves.

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The details

Practical bits

WalkingMinimal walking

The place

Getting there

Address

36 Hope St, Liverpool L1 9BX, UK

Neighborhood

Bold Street & Georgian Quarter →

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Good to know

Tips, answered

Even if you're not using the facilities, locals know everyone is welcome to peek inside the ornate marble toilets - they're genuinely a work of art and worth seeing.

Plan for about 1h 30m. Evening visits offer a different atmosphere with softer light.

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms is in the Bold Street & Georgian Quarter neighborhood of Liverpool. The address is 36 Hope St, Liverpool L1 9BX, UK. The area is well-served by metro.

Evening visits offer a unique atmosphere. The light is softer, crowds thin out, and the experience feels more intimate.

Around the corner

Nearby in Bold Street & Georgian Quarter

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Landmark

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral looks like a concrete spaceship that landed in 1967, and it's genuinely striking. The circular modernist design centers around a massive crown-shaped lantern tower that floods the interior with light through John Piper's extraordinary stained glass. You'll spend most of your time craning your neck upward at the kaleidoscope of blues, purples, and golds that shift throughout the day. The building sits above Edwin Lutyens' abandoned cathedral crypt, which you can visit separately for £5. Walking inside feels like entering a cosmic cathedral where traditional church architecture got completely reimagined. The circular nave means there's no bad seat, and the altar sits in the center with seating radiating outward. The stained glass creates pools of colored light that move across the floor as the sun shifts, making afternoon visits particularly rewarding. The acoustic properties are excellent, so if there's a service or concert happening, you'll hear every note clearly from anywhere in the space. Most guides oversell this as revolutionary architecture, but honestly, it's more interesting than beautiful. The real draw is experiencing how radically different a 1960s cathedral feels compared to Liverpool's Gothic Anglican Cathedral down the road. Skip the gift shop, which is forgettable, but don't miss the Lutyens Crypt if you're interested in architectural history. The £5 entrance fee feels steep for what's essentially an unfinished basement, but the massive brick arches show what could have been Britain's largest cathedral.

1 hourExplore

Cultural Site

The Bluecoat

The Bluecoat occupies Liverpool's oldest building, a gorgeous 1717 Queen Anne structure that's been everything from a charity school to an arts centre since 1927. You'll find three floors of contemporary art exhibitions that actually change regularly (unlike some Liverpool galleries that keep the same stuff up for months), plus working artist studios where you can often peek in and see people creating. The building itself is the real star though, with original features like the stunning entrance hall and those distinctive blue-coated charity school figures above the door. Walking through feels like discovering rooms in a friend's historic house rather than trudging through a sterile gallery. The exhibitions flow naturally through intimate spaces, and you'll often stumble into the studios where artists are happy to chat about their work. The central courtyard provides a genuine escape from Bold Street's noise, with tables scattered under trees and the smell of good coffee drifting from the café. It's the kind of place where you lose track of time, especially if you grab a seat in the garden with one of their excellent soups. Most guides rave about every exhibition, but honestly, the contemporary art can be hit or miss. The building and atmosphere are always worth it though, and the café serves some of the best value lunch in the city centre (soups around £4, sandwiches £6-8). Skip the top floor if you're short on time, the ground floor and courtyard give you the full experience. The gift shop is surprisingly good for locally made ceramics and prints.

1-2 hoursExplore

Cultural Site

Bombed Out Church

The Bombed Out Church is exactly what it sounds like: the skeletal remains of St Luke's Church, left roofless and gutted after German bombing in 1941. You'll walk through Gothic Revival arches that now frame open sky instead of vaulted ceilings, with wildflowers growing where pews once stood. It's free to enter and explore, functioning as both war memorial and surprisingly active community space that hosts everything from vintage markets to live gigs. Walking through feels oddly peaceful despite the violent history. The stone walls still bear scorch marks from the fires, and you can see where the roof structure once attached. Birds nest in the upper reaches of the walls, and depending on when you visit, you might find food stalls set up between the columns or musicians performing where the altar used to be. The contrast between destruction and new life growing within creates an unexpectedly moving atmosphere. Most travel guides make this sound more dramatic than it is, it's really just a quick 15 minute wander unless there's an event on. The weekend markets (usually Saturday) are genuinely good for street food, expect to pay £5 to £8 for portions. Skip it if you're pressed for time and not into history, but if you're already exploring Bold Street, it's worth the two minute detour. The surrounding area has better photo opportunities than inside the ruins themselves.

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Shopping

News From Nowhere

News From Nowhere occupies a cramped first-floor space above Bold Street's shops, packed floor to ceiling with radical literature you genuinely won't find anywhere else in Liverpool. This volunteer-run cooperative has been selling feminist theory, queer studies, anti-capitalist manifestos, and anarchist zines since 1974. You'll browse through sections on Palestine solidarity, climate activism, and transgender rights alongside poetry collections from working-class voices. The stock changes based on what the collective believes matters right now. Climbing the narrow stairs feels like entering someone's passionate personal library rather than a commercial bookshop. Volunteers behind the counter are proper activists who'll recommend obscure pamphlets or point you toward local campaign groups. The space buzzes with quiet intensity: people reading on the floor, checking handwritten notices for upcoming protests, or debating politics in hushed tones. Every surface displays flyers for film screenings, solidarity meetings, and community workshops. Most travel guides ignore this place entirely, which keeps it authentic but means you might walk past the unremarkable street entrance. Book prices run £8 to £15 for new titles, with cheaper second-hand options throughout. Don't expect coffee shop vibes or Instagram moments: this is serious political education, not lifestyle browsing. The opening hours can be erratic since volunteers run everything, so check their social media before making a special trip.

30 minutes - 1 hourExplore

Cultural Site

LIPA - Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

Paul McCartney's former school building, now transformed into a world-renowned performing arts university co-founded by McCartney himself in 1996. The Grade II listed building retains many original features from when both McCartney and George Harrison were students here. While it's an active campus, the exterior and entrance area showcase the building's musical legacy with historical plaques.

20-30 minutesExplore

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