The Beatles Story

The museum opened in 1990 in a basement of the Albert Dock warehouses and runs chronologically through the band's history: the Quarrymen, Hamburg, the Cavern, the recording years and the solo careers. Reconstructions include the Casbah Coffee Club, the Cavern stage and the Abbey Road studio setting, and among the genuine objects are John Lennon's white Steinway, on which Imagine was written, and George Harrison's first guitar. The audio guide is narrated in part by Julia Baird, Lennon's half-sister. The Cavern Club itself on Mathew Street is a separate venue, rebuilt in the 1980s using bricks from the original, which was filled in during 1973; Penny Lane, Strawberry Field and the Lennon and McCartney childhood homes are elsewhere in the city and reached separately.

What you actually see

• Lennon's white piano - the Steinway on which Imagine was written.
• The reconstructions - Casbah, Cavern stage and an Abbey Road studio setting.
• The chronological route - Quarrymen to break-up in sequence.
• The family narration - an audio guide voiced in part by Lennon's half-sister.

When to go

Year-round; indoors and busiest in summer and school holidays. Booking online avoids the queue. Combining it with the Magical Mystery Tour bus or the National Trust tours of the childhood homes takes a full day.

Honest expectations

It is largely reconstruction and reproduction rather than original material, and serious fans often find it thin. The basement layout is cramped when busy. The childhood homes are National Trust properties reached by separate pre-booked minibus tour, not from here.

Nearby

The Cavern Club and Mathew Street are a short walk; the Albert Dock museums adjoin.