Yes, Liverpool can be wet and windy, but that’s no excuse to stay at home! When there are so many indoor activities to keep you entertained, grab your umbrella and take your pick from our list of top things to do in Liverpool in the rain.
Take some time for games
What says rainy day more than grabbing all your friends or family together for some games? Simply grab a table and a hot drink at one of Liverpool’s game board cafes, or turn your hand to some e-gaming if that’s more your thing.
Where to play board games in Liverpool: Sugar & Dice or Critical Hit.
Where to play computer games in Liverpool: Horizon E-Sports club
Challenge your friends to retro arcade games
Grab your tokens at the bar, leave your adult baggage at the door, arcade bars are for the young at heart. YOLO no thanks, we live as many lives as the machine or your tokens will allow.
We’re talking Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Tron, Virtual Striker, Time Crisis, MarioKart, RoboCop, pinball machines, PS1, N64, Sega Mega Drive, Guitar Hero, and much more.
Where to play in Liverpool: NQ64
Go bouldering or climbing
Bouldering is a great activity for all levels, as there is no need to know how to use ropes and harnesses. The walls at The Hangar are just a few metres high, with crash mats, marked with coloured routes for ability. If you tire easily, sit back in the comfy seats with a coffee or smoothie before getting back on the wall.
If you want to climb higher, whether top roping or lead climbing, head to Awesome Walls. Here you’ll also find a number of auto-belays so you can abseil down on your own (perfect for beginners). And for something more fun with the kids, try “Clip n Climb”. Make sure to leave time to register or complete the health and safety paperwork with the staff if it’s your first visit.
Where to Climb in Liverpool: Awesome Walls
Where to boulder in Liverpool: The Climbing Hangar
Race like a champ
Think you’re the fastest of all your family and friends? Prove it by organizing your own go-karting championship at Liverpool’s very own track!
Where to go go-karting in Liverpool: Go Karting Liverpool
Jumping around
Let your inner kid out and get your adrenaline up while spending the day jumping off the walls. Spring City has 49 trampolines, and it’s the perfect place to slam-dunk a basketball and to play a few rounds of dodgeball. No matter what everyone else says, trampolining is heaps of fun, even for adults, and is an amazing workout, too.
Where to trampoline in Liverpool: Spring City
Go to a cosy pub to keep warm
Whether you love craft beer, cider, real ale, gin, or Prosecco, Liverpool has more than enough bars and pubs to keep you warm and dry. So we picked just three of the cosiest in town.
Where to find a cosy pub in Liverpool:
Pen-factory – Refurbished pen factory but with a cosy feel that has a big furnace fire.
The Monro – This gastro pub will serve you some tasty food while you warm by the open fire.
Ship&Mitre – This is a traditional pub that boasts a wide selection of beers and ciders. Tell the bar what warms your soul and I am sure they will find something that will take you home.
Enjoy a coffee crawl
Perfect for caffeine addicts, there are lots of coffee shops that seriously know how to make a good coffee, whether you want a pour over, aeropress, cold brew, or a good old cappuccino. Shake off that umbrella and get your hands around a warm mug. Here’s our rainy-day, top three coffee shops.
Where to grab a coffee in Liverpool:
Fox&Filter – This place mixes barrister style and bar-tending skills so you do not have to pick between bar and coffee shop.
Root – Grab a specialty coffee, as each bean is crafted into a unique coffee experience.
Ryde – No one likes cycling in the rain so take a rest stop in Ryde. Liverpool’s cycling community has its own best-loved cafe.
Break free from an escape room
No need to check the weather; just book it into one of Liverpool escape rooms to test your brain power. With loads of themes pick from, just make sure to choose your team well so you escape in time. You have 60 minutes to escape the puzzle.
Where to find an escape room in Liverpool: Breakout, Exit Strategy, Tick-Tock Unlock or Clue Finders
Learn about Liverpool
So many rainy days, but there is so much history to learn! Spend a few days touring Liverpool’s multiple museums, and learn all the interesting history and heritage of our fair city.
Where to visit museums in Liverpool:
WWII Bunker – This is Derby House, also known locally as the “Citadel” or “Fortress”. It’s both bomb and gas proof, so it’ll definitely keep the rain out!
Museum of Liverpool – Learn how proud Scousers and their city used creative, sports and historical ideas to shape the city on a global scale.
Maritime Museum – Learn about the social and commercial history of the port of Liverpool with links to some of history’s most infamous ships including The Titanic.
Slavery Museum – We cannot change Liverpool’s slavery past but we can learn why it happened, about modern slavery, and why it still happens today.
See beautiful art
Liverpool has some of the best galleries in the North West, being the only city outside London to have a Tate gallery, while hosting a wide range of art events (check out our events list to see what’s coming soon). it’s no wonder this is one of the most popular indoor activities in Liverpool. So dive in, and enjoy some local and international art when you want to be indoors when it’s wet and cold outside.
Where to visit art in Liverpool:
Walker Art Gallery – Enjoy many masterpieces from different periods such as Renaissance, Tudor portraits, Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art.
Tate Liverpool – This museum showcases some of the best British modern and contemporary art.
Open Eye Gallery – This is an independent, not-for-profit photography gallery.
FACT – This museum utilises art and creative technology, exhibiting and showing films.
Sit and enjoy a movie
Liverpool offers many choices for viewing movies, from all the latest blockbusters, alongside art house and retro films. Grab your drink and popcorn, and get ready to enjoy a real cinema experience at one of Liverpool’s many screens. Also, don’t forget to check our events for one-off movie experiences.
Where to watch a film in Liverpool: FACT or Plaza
Listen to live music
Liverpool is world famous for its live music scene. Keep an eye on our calendar to discover some of the upcoming gigs.
Some of our favourite places to catch live music in Liverpool: Jacaranda records, 02 Academy or Leaf on Bold St.
Head to Sefton Park (even in the rain)
Sometimes you just get caught in the rain. So if you happen to be in Sefton Park and it rains, here some places to visit.
Where to hide from the rain in the park in Liverpool:
Palm House – This place has free admission and open all year round, with plenty of events.
Lark Lane – With a street full of local food and drink, it is a great place to wait out the rain.
Lakeside Cafe – This cafe is small but roomy enough keep dry and warm your hands on a cup of hot chocolate.
Check out the Cains Brewery Village
When it comes to indoor activities in Liverpool, it doesn’t get more hipster than the Cains Brewery Village. Recently renovated, the old brewery is now home to a huge vintage market, bars, coffee shops, and, of course, Liverpool’s very own Food Market. There are too many places to list so head over there, and explore to find your favourite place.
Visit the home of the Beatles
You can follow the journey of the fab four from their beginning until their rise to fame. The Beatles have and will always inspire Liverpool musicians from their first gig in Cavern Club Mathew Street to Paul McCartney’s secret gig in the Philharmonic Pub. It will always be their home.
Where to visit the best Beatles locations in Liverpool: The Beatles Story, Cavern Club or Beatles Childhood Homes
Shoot lasers at your friends
Who does not like laser guns? It is a safe and fun option for everyone from ages six and older. It’s an amazing and competitive way to spend time with your family and friends. For those who like a little more colour and excitement, you can play indoor paintball. Team up and make rainbows out of your enemies.
Where to play laser tag in Liverpool: Lazer quest or Area 51
Where to play indoor paintballing in Liverpool: UIP
Explore some of Liverpool’s buildings
Liverpool is home to some amazing architecture, from the great Georgian buildings to the impressive Tudor homes with vast gardens. We also have two very different cathedrals: the wigwam-shaped Catholic cathedral, and the huge Anglican cathedral, both of which host regular events.
Where to find some of Liverpool iconic buildings:
St. Georges Hall – Keep an eye on its online calendar to find out when tours are happening. Also, come for some amazing festivals for real ale or gin.
Mersey Tunnels – Book a tour to Liverpool’s old buried streets.
Anglican Cathedral – Enjoy a festival in the underground crypt or a concert in the main chapel.
Metropolitan Cathedral – Climb to the top and get the best view of Liverpool.
Speke Hall – This National Trust property is full of history and a lot of Tudor fun.
Radio City Tower – Visit the top and be king of Liverpool.
Escape reality
Put on some virtual reality goggles and enter a new world, or play retro console games in Liverpool’s virtual reality gaming attraction. See yourself in a video re-run.
Where to play virtual reality in Liverpool: VR Here
Visit Spaceport on the Wirral
One way to get across to the Wirral is by the ferry but if the weather is a bit choppy, why not escape to space at Spaceport. This is a science-filled, interactive experience with a lot of sci-fi thrown in for all ages. In the words of Buzz: “To Spaceport and beyond!”
Enjoy local brewed or crafted drinks
Liverpool Organic runs occasional tours of its brewery, so sign up for its mailing list or like their Facebook page to keep up-to-date. There are rumours of Cains Brewery will be opening again tours again but we will keep you updated. Also look out for pop-up craft beer breweries. We stumbled upon a few in the Baltic area, which brew small batches on premise.
Where to find what’s brewing in Liverpool: Liverpool Organic or Madhatter
Tour football stadiums
Whether you bleed red or blue or just love football, you can learn more about Liverpool’s two teams at their home grounds.
Where to find Everton and Liverpool’s football grounds: Anfield or Goodison Park
Go to the theatre
There is a big selection of theatres in Liverpool. Whether you want a musical, Shakespearean play or a family-friendly Panto, there is something for all to enjoy. It’s always worth seeing if there are any seats left; you might just find an evening you won’t forget. Also look out for local productions in our events calendar.
Where to go to the theatre in Liverpool: Royal Court Theatre, Empire Theatre, The Everyman, The Playhouse or The Epstein Theatre
Hunt for ghosts
What city does not have its fair share of scary tales? Liverpool is no exception. So, if exploring the supernatural and haunted building gets you excited, book on a ghost hunt or tour. You never know what lurks for you behind the next door!
Where to ghost hunt in Liverpool: Newsham Park Hospital
Where to go on a ghost tour in Liverpool: Shiverpool
Learn something new
If you have some time and want to keep it cheap, Liverpool has a beautiful library filled with great learning resources, perfect for having some quiet time to read a book, or enjoy a coffee. Right next door to the library is the aquarium, and Liverpool’s World Museum (just in case your curiosity isn’t satisfied enough).
Enjoy a Spa day
Whether you want to get some classic Scouse brows or top up your tan, there’s plenty of beauty treatments and relaxation to be had in Liverpool. Maybe you want to try natural healing in the salt spa, be pamper by the pool at Formby Hall, or simply spend some downtime away from the kids.
Where to have your spa day in Liverpool:
The Salt Cave – Enjoy the new microclimate, improving your breathing and your skin.
Formby Hall Spa – Sit by the pool or have a few treatments; look for special day deals
Treat yourself to afternoon tea
Whether you want traditional tea and sandwiches or junk food and cocktails, you can enjoy afternoon tea in plenty of places throughout Liverpool!
Where to enjoy afternoon tea in Liverpool: Panoramic 34, Baltic Social or 60 Hope Street
Making The Most Of Indoor Activities in Liverpool
As you can see, there’s no shortage of indoor activities in Liverpool, so finding something to do in Liverpool in the rain won’t be difficult. So grab your umbrella, get out there, and have an amazing time!
Great information 👍