Royal Albert Dock

Jesse Hartley's dock opened in 1846 and was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world, where ships unloaded directly into the enclosed, secure warehouses, and the first British structure built without any structural timber, using cast iron columns, brick and stone throughout so that it could not burn. It holds the largest group of Grade I listed buildings in the country. Trade moved to deeper docks and the complex was derelict by the 1970s before restoration in the 1980s. The warehouses now hold Tate Liverpool, the Merseyside Maritime Museum and, within it, the International Slavery Museum, which addresses Liverpool's central role in the transatlantic slave trade directly rather than obliquely, and the Beatles Story. The dock water is enclosed and used for small craft.

What you actually see

• The cast iron colonnade - Doric columns along the quaysides, all iron.
• The fireproof design - a warehouse complex built with no structural timber.
• The museum cluster - Tate, Maritime and Slavery museums in the warehouses.
• The Grade I group - the largest concentration of top-listed buildings in Britain.

When to go

Year-round; the museums are indoors and free, and the dock is exposed to weather off the Mersey. Weekends are busy with the surrounding bars and restaurants. Some buildings have been closed for extended refurbishment.

Honest expectations

Parts of the complex have been under long-term redevelopment with hoardings and closures. Tate Liverpool has been shut for a major project. The quaysides are windy and there is little shelter. Restaurant prices on the dock are high.

Nearby

The Pier Head and Three Graces are a short walk; Liverpool One and the cathedrals lie inland.