Things to Do in England

The Beatles experienced their first taste of fame at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, where the Fab Four first performed on November 9, 1961.

The underground cellar club started life in 1957 as a jazz and skiffle club. John Lennon first played here in the Quarrymen, an earlier incarnation of the Beatles, on August 7, 1957. Paul joined John on stage here with the Quarrymen in January 1958, and George first played here in February 1961.

The club moved from jazz to beat music, and the Beatles played more than 290 gigs, steadily building up a loyal fan base and honing their musical skills. They played their last show at the Cavern on 3 August 1963.

Other beat groups took over from the Beatles at the Cavern, including the Hollies, the Stones, the Kinks and the Yardbirds.

Following the Cavern’s closure in 1973, the club was re-erected on part of the original bulldozed site in the 1980s. Today, the Cavern is a vibrant music venue once more.

As one of the most important pilgrimage sites of medieval Europe, Canterbury’s iconic cathedral is worthy of its UNESCO World Heritage status and remains an important center of Christian worship. Originally founded in 597 by St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral is the oldest church in England still in use and largely regarded as the birthplace of English Christianity. The present day cathedral owes much of its structure to a series of 11th and 12th century reconstructions, with highlights including the 235-foot-high Bell Harry Tower and over 1,200 square meters of early medieval stained glass windows.

The cathedral also hosts the poignant shrine of St Thomas Becket, the one-time Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 at the hands of King Henry II's knights. Immortalized in Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century book, The Canterbury Tales, which tells the story of a group of pilgrims traveling to visit the shrine.

The brainchild of the Sellar Group, The Shard now holds the record for the tallest building in the E.U., with the vertical structure measuring an impressive 1,016 feet high. It’s a project some 12 years in the making, employing the skills of architectural visionary Renzo Piano (best known for creating the Pompidou centre in Paris), who not only designed the structure to appear like a gigantic ‘shard of glass’ piercing the skyline, but carefully constructed the angled glass panes to reflect and refract light, creating a prism-like exterior that changes color with the skies.

The futuristic skyscraper takes the place of the Southwark Towers, overtaking it’s predecessor with 72 floors to its 24, and as one of few tall buildings conceived in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, is designed with stability, durability and shock-absorption in mind.

Dating from the 1820s and named after Admiral Nelson's last great victory, Trafalgar Square is a hub of London life. With the National Gallery on one side, beautiful church St Martin in the Fields just across the road and the famous Nelson's Column with its guarding lions, it's London's grandest square. It's here that London celebrates moments such as Chinese New Year and winning the Olympics, as well as having a huge Christmas tree each year. It's also here that Londoners show their displeasure about things such as wars and curbs on freedom on speech.

Trafalgar Square is a wonderful place to sit and watch the world pass by. There's a common belief that if you sit here for half an hour you will see someone you know, because the whole world passes through Trafalgar Square at some point.

The largest and arguably most renowned of Oxford’s many colleges, the hallowed halls and exquisite cathedral of Christ Church College have a long and illustrious history. Founded by Cardinal Thomas Woolsey in 1524, the grandiose complex includes architectural highlights like Sir Christopher Wren’s Great Tom bell tower and the Great Hall, where King Charles I held court during the English Civil War. Despite being just one of 38 colleges, for many visitors to Oxford, Christ Church is synonymous with Oxford University. Today, the legendary buildings see almost as many tourists as they do students. Christ Church’s esteemed alumni include philosopher John Locke, Albert Einstein, architects John Ruskin and Sir Christopher Wren and former Prime Minister William Gladstone. But its academic resume isn’t the only string to its bow. The prestigious college has also made its mark in popular culture, starring as the now-iconic Great Hall of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.

Soho is one of London's most famous areas. Bounded by Charing Cross Road, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Shaftesbury Avenue, it's a close-knit tangle of busy streets with some of London's best cafes (Bar Italia), music venues (Ronnie Scott's), pubs (the French House), shops, nightclubs and history. Once famed as a seedy red-light area, now it's a cultural hub, full of actors, artists, musicians, and the center of London's gay scene.

In summer, people flock to lovely Soho Square to loll on the lawn. In winter, stroll Carnaby Street and famous Liberty department store for fashion, or eat decadent cakes at Princi in Wardour Street. Sit outside Bar Italia and celebrity spot, especially before and after theater shows on the nearby Shaftesbury Avenue.

Tower Bridge is one of the most iconic sights in London. It was opened in 1894, designed to echo the nearby Tower of London although the two have no association except proximity. The bridge is a bascule bridge which means the span lifts to allow ships and yachts through headed for the Pool of London, the port area just upstream of Tower Bridge. River traffic takes priority over road traffic and cars have to wait when a boat wants to come through.

The bridge has two high towers suspended by wires from the land and linked by a high-level walkway between. This was designed for pedestrians to be able to cross the river even when the bridge was open and you can still walk across it today. A common confusion is that Tower Bridge is actually called London Bridge but in fact that is the next one upstream, a much plainer bridge.

Hertford Bridge, more commonly known as the Bridge of Sighs, is a skyway bridge linking two parts of Hertford College over New College Land in Oxford, England. The Old Quadrangle, which houses the college's administrative offices, is to the south, and the New Quadrangle, which is mostly student accommodation, is to the north. It was completed in 1914 and is often referred to as the Bridge of Sighs because it supposedly looks like the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, Italy. However, many say it more closely resembles Venice's Rialto Bridge. It is one of the area's top tourist sights due to its unique look and design.

There was a famous legend about the bridge from decades ago that said a survey was taken of the health of the students of the University of Oxford. The results of the survey indicated that Hertford College students were the heaviest, resulting in the college closing the bridge in order to force the students to take the stairs and get more exercise.

London Bridge is the oldest bridge over the River Thames. While the current incarnation of the bridge dates from the 1970s, there has been a bridge in this place since around 50 AD, when the Romans drove some wooden piles into the river's mud. Since then there has always been a bridge here, and for a long time it was the only one. (Nowadays there are many bridges crisscrossing the Thames.)

Sadly, London Bridge is not one of the prettiest of the Thames bridges, although its name might be the most famous. Expecting the name to conjure up something special, people often mistakenly call Tower Bridge London Bridge. This leads to the story that an American bought London Bridge in 1968, thinking he'd bought Tower Bridge: what he did buy now spans a lake in Arizona.

The grounds that once hosted athletes from all over the world has since then been turned into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Though obviously constructed for the games, the site has expanded beyond the stadium and now serves as a major component of East London; the area is now open to the public and includes new shops, restaurants, trails, galleries and venues. The Olympic Park has been designed to host Londoners and visitors long after the completion of the games in summer 2012.

Sports reign supreme here, as they should in an area where world records were once broken. The state of the art Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre comes equipped with 10 court and two hockey pitches available for public use year-round. There’s also the one-of-a-kind VeloPark open for all sorts of two-wheeled fun, from track cycling and road racing to BMX and mountain biking.

Liverpool’s wealth came from the shipping trade over the centuries, and the city’s maritime legacy is celebrated at the revitalized waterfront area known as Albert Dock.

The dock is lined with sturdy five-story warehouses, restored and reinvigorated to house boutiques, museums, restaurants and bars. The mix of Victorian-era cast-iron columns, Grade I-listed buildings and waterfront walkways creates an evocative atmosphere, where the past seamlessly melds with the present. There’s plenty to do at Albert Dock, the location of many of Liverpool’s most popular attractions. View contemporary art at the Tate Liverpool gallery, delve into seafaring history at the Merseyside Maritime Museum, or take a poignant journey through the history of the slave trade at the International Slavery Museum. The Beatles Story is also at Albert Dock, a must-do for music fans of all ages.

Beatles fans come from across the universe to pay tribute to the Fab Four at Liverpool’s Beatles Story.

From the Cavern Club to Abbey Road, this incredibly popular museum tells the story of Liverpool’s four most famous sons, their music, achievements, and massive impact on popular culture since the 1960s.

Taking you on an atmospheric, multimedia journey, the Beatles Story features exhibitions of memorabilia, audio rooms, a replica of the Cavern, the interactive Discovery Zone, solo exhibits, Fab4 store and coffee shop.

While you’re visiting, listen to the free living history audio guide for a self-guided tour of the exhibits. Highlights include John Lennon’s iconic round spectacles and George Harrison’s much-loved first guitar.

Your ticket also gives you entry to the multimedia Fab4D theater experience at the branch of the museum at the Pier Head Mersey Ferry Terminal.