How to spend a festive weekend enjoying Christmas in Liverpool

So what happens when you make a day of it?

Well the Globe was invited to take a trip over to the city to soak up the festive vibes in the city.

We began our journey by getting a Merseyrail train from West Kirby through to James Street, jumping off to check in to our hotel, Quest Serviced Apartments.

Quest is based in the heart of the city on Church Street, nestled a little along from the junction off Hanover Street and right near to shops such as Primark, M&S, Lush and Schuh.

Inside Quest Serviced Apartments

Fresh and modern, the apartments were a perfect home away from home – and not to mention, a great place to drop off our shopping – more on that later.

Once checking in we then made our way to Liverpool’s magnificent waterfront to take in the Christmas Ice Festival.

We were booked in for ice skating – I’m a bit of a novice I’m afraid and was holding on to a penguin the entire way around.

The Pier Head was utterly stunning after being completely transformed into a winter wonderland complete with Bavarian huts and plenty of fun for all the family.

A bit peckish after our ice skating work out, we headed to Wagamama at Chavasse Park in Liverpool ONE.

With queues out the door, the staff were on hand to keep things moving and get people seated and away out the cold.

We were seated at a table with views overlooking Chavasse Park and were seen to very quickly by our server.

I enjoyed a hirata steamed bun of mixed mushrooms and panko aubergine while my partner enjoyed tori kara age before our main dishes of tofu and vegetable pad thai and beef teriyaki soba.

Delicious food from Wagamama

Our dishes arrived quickly and was definitely the perfect winter warmer to get us through our mammoth shopping session in Liverpool ONE.

We ventured into high-street classics such as HMV, Sports Direct, Debenhams, Foot Locker, Superdrug and John Lewis, managing to make a huge dent in our Christmas shopping list.

During the day there was a lovely choir singing to get us in the festive spirit while bustling around the busy shops.

After we were shopped-out we dropped our bags back off at Quest Apartments before enjoying some drinks at bars such as Only Fools Bar on Seel Street and The Bridewell on Campbell Square.

Before long, it was time for dinner.

We had been booked in to Bakchich on Bold Street, a real favourite of mine.

Looked after by manager Terry, we enjoyed huge portions of classic Lebanese food and were welcomed with a complimentary glass of freshly pressed orange juice.

For my main I chose the halloumi and tomato wrap and made it a platter which includes homous, pickles and fattoush salad while my partner chose the butterfly chicken burger served on a brioche bun with salad and a side of fries.

This meal was fantastic and I can’t compliment the team at Bakchich enough.

To finish we then enjoyed a black coffee while we set the world to rights.

Terry came over to check on us often and we felt totally relaxed and able to take our time and enjoy the surroundings of the busy restaurant.

Ending our night we decided to cash in on some more festive entertainment by heading to the Liverpool ONE Christmas tree and enjoying a couple of drinks in Bar Hutte.

Sadly, the city centre did not get to hear my gorgeous karaoke singing – hint of irony - in the booths of the tree as they were full but we definitely enjoyed soaking up more of that Christmas atmosphere.

Waking up from a lovely nights sleep at Quest, we then made our way to Mathew Street to visit brand new Beatles attraction – The Magical Beatles Museum.

Opened by Roag Best, the brother of original Beatles drummer Pete Best and son of Beatles manager Neil Aspinall, the venue has three floors full of original and unique Beatles memorabilia.

With rare items and weird objects you never realised you would have wanted to see, The Magical Beatles Museum is a must-go destination for anyone visiting the city – even locals.

Be prepared to find out more than you never did about the fab four.

Then, for one last grasp of festive magic, we walked over to St George’s Plateau to Liverpool’s Christmas markets.

Here we enjoyed a drink at the Windmill Bar and perused through traditional stalls, weird and wonderful foods and enjoyed seeing local artists showcasing their crafts.

All in all, this Christmas trip to Liverpool was one to remember and definitely something we will be making a habit of yearly.

Thanks so much to Visit Liverpool for this fantastic trip - for more information on things to do this Christmas in the city, visit visitliverpool.com/christmas