28 Things No One Ever Tells You About Liverpool

From a gesture tech amphitheatre to dreadful Napoleonic dentures, we really do have it all.

1. One of our best 360˚ views is 500ft above sea level.

instagram.com / Via liverpoolcathedral.org.uk

If you want to get to the top of the highest cathedral in the UK, and see all of the city’s landmarks as a result, we’d recommend comfy shoes to tackle Liverpool Cathedral's 108 stairs. It's a true neo-gothic masterpiece on Hope Street.

2. And the outlook from the tea rooms isn’t bad either.

instagram.com / Via ohmeohmyliverpool.co.uk

Goodness Gracious Roof Garden is part of the city’s beloved – and very trendy – LEAF tea rooms chain. It has a stunning view onto the iconic Liver Buildings and right out over the River Mersey.

3. We have a gesture tech ampitheatre.

Instagram: @enrg_liverpool / Via thedoublenegative.co.uk

The Invisible Wind Factory is a performance space with electronic workshops and studios. Purpose-built for game-changing live shows, they're making a feature out of levitating stages, gesture tech, and incredible set design.

4. You can skate in the UK's first glow-in-the-dark wheels park.

Instagram: @guardian / Via biennial.com

Liverpool Biennial Festival of Contemporary Art has been commissioning fantastic work across the city since it started in 1999, including Evertro skatepark, designed last year by South Korean artist Koo Jeong A, Wheelscape, and local teenagers.

5. You can chill out in a hidden oriental oasis.

instagram.com / Via liverpoolfestivalgardens.com

Festival Gardens is the recently restored site of the International Garden Festival (1984), and a team of committed volunteers tend to wild flowers, pagodas, lakes, and waterfalls all year round. It's just a 10-minute drive from Liverpool City Centre.

6. Or at any one of our other 27 green spaces.

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7. You can drink an espresso stout in the Baltic Triangle.

Instagram: @landofburritos / Via blacklodgebrewing.co.uk

Or a grapefruit hefeweizen, or a green tea pale ale(!), at experimental micro-brewery Black Lodge. Hidden on Kitchen Street in the Baltic Triangle area, their exciting menu of small-batch beers changes regularly, so you can always expect something new.

8. Then stick around, because the whole area is amazing.

Instagram: @timaa22 / Via baltictriangle.co.uk

Like rehearsal rooms, skateboarding, a gin garden, art and design studios, tech startups, indoor festivals, galleries? The Baltic Triangle is home to a vast amount of creative businesses, bars, cafes and clubs; it's a must see for 24-hour visitors.

9. You can even study at a robotics and coding school.

Instagram: @lpoolstudio / Via thestudioliverpool.uk

Like a Hogwarts for coders instead of wizards, The Studio is a pioneering secondary school in The Baltic Triangle for young people interested in creative media, gaming, and/or digital tech. And yes, they get to work with robots.

10. We invented your new social network -- for VR.

Instagram: @dailyvrgames / Via vtime.net

Described as "Facebook for VR", the free vTime app lets you chat with friends or colleagues, as you would with Skype, but in any cool world you choose. And it was invented in Liverpool.

11. You can read a book worth £5 million.

Instagram: @kathypoo1 / Via creativetourist.com

"Birds Of America" by John James Audubon has been called "one of the most beautiful books ever printed". Bought by Liverpool Library for just £168 in 1851, it is now an unequalled treasure. See it in the renovated Oak Room.

12. Or sail and birdwatch near the airport.

Instagram: @_.jons._ / Via liverpool.gov.uk

Next door to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve is a top spot for a walk or cycle, birdwatching, sailing, or simply relaxing and taking in panoramic views of the Mersey Estuary.

13. You can descend into the Mad Mole’s lost tunnels.

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Eccentric businessman Joseph Williamson constructed a mysterious underground warren in the 19th-century beneath the streets of Edge Hill. The tunnels are now open for tours, and also host the occasional gig, film screening, and art exhibition.

14. Or into a purple crypt.

Instagram: @schnaffalopagus / Via liverpoolmetrocathedral.org.uk

The sci-fi-esque Metropolitan Cathedral was originally imagined as a domed contrast to the gothic cathedral at the other end of Hope Street. The purple-bricked Lutyens crypt, treasury, and chapel reflects what it was originally supposed to look like.

15. Or into the creek that gave Liverpool its name, underneath a shopping centre.

Instagram: @absinthian / Via liverpoolmuseums.org.uk

The world's first commercial and enclosed wet dock, and Liverpool’s actual pool bed, has been preserved underneath Liverpool ONE. See it on a special tour, or through the glass viewing porthole outside John Lewis.

16. You can also visit Churchill’s bomb-proof bunker.

instagram.com / Via liverpoolwarmuseum.co.uk

This underground bunker was built on the orders of Winston Churchill in 1937. It was a WWII nerve centre for British intelligence, and helped us win the Battle of the Atlantic. The Map Room is exactly how they left it in 1945.

17. We officially have the best pizza in England.

Instagram: @chazzod / Via liverpoolecho.co.uk

Amalia Italian Restaurant on Campbell Square has just been awarded the "Best Pizza in England" prize at the Italian Awards 2016 . If food challenges are your thing, dare you to try the 5lb calzone, packed with vegetables, meat, and cheese.

18. We have some very curious pubs and bars, too.

Instagram: @lilythistlewood / Via independent-liverpool.co.uk

Like Peter Kavanagh’s on Egerton Street: named after landlord, inventor, artist, city councillor, and Liverpool legend. It's filled with weird and wonderful objects, curiosities, and (of course) boasts a fantastic range of beers.

19. Including Europe’s first baijiu bar.

Instagram: @fu_baijiu / Via fubaijiu.com

You may not have heard of it, but baijiu, which is made from rice, is actually the world's best-selling spirit. However, at 40-60% ABV, these Chinese shots and cocktails sold by Fu Bar pack a mean punch, so sipping is recommended.

20. There's even one where Hitler had a pint.

Instagram: @weaversdoor / Via dailymail.co.uk

The Poste House pub on Cumberland Street was allegedly a favourite of the young dictator when he stayed with his half-brother, Alois, in the city in 1912. It still serves a nice pint, but it's now completely free of German dictators.

21. We have a tiny, hand-built cinema.

Instagram: @smallcinemalpl / Via liverpoolsmallcinema.org.uk

Tiny, BFI-endorsed and built by volunteers, this people-powered Small Cinema on Victoria Street has 60 antique seats and shows a range of new releases, art house, independent, and classic films.

22. We’ve got alternative gifts covered.

Instagram: @al_english / Via 69aliverpool.co.uk

Fancy some limited-edition Mary Quant ankle boots? Or a WWII artillery shell? Perhaps some Victorian photographs? Then you'll love 69A, an antiques shop on Renshaw Street (and you'll also love Murdoch, the adorable shop cat).

23. And we've been flogging rare vinyl since 1947.

Instagram: @al_english / Via liverpoolecho.co.uk

The Musical Box on West Derby Road is a real treasure trove of incredible recordings and a local favourite, plus it's been run by the same family for nearly 70 years. Expect handwritten labels and a warm welcome.

24. We have a café that sells beetroot-flavoured bagels.

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25. You can hang out with a Superlambanana.

Instagram: @milehighsmiles / Via superlambanana.eu

Sorry, the Superlambana. Taro Chiezo’s controversial yellow beast was made for the ArtTranspennine98 exhibition, and has since become a Liverpool emblem. There's even a parade of mini-Superlambanas.

26. Or take a ride on Peter Blake’s Dazzle Ferry.

Instagram: @thebertolini / Via biennial.com

You'll probably be aware of our famous Ferry Across the Mersey. But did you know it's recently been redesigned by a British pop art icon? who also designed the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover? Jump aboard for an awesome floating trip down memory lane.

27. You can hang out with hundreds of Antony Gormleys at the beach.

Instagram: @davidspearing / Via biennial.com

Exactly 100 cast iron self-portraits by the artist Antony Gormley (best known for Angel of the North) are set into the sands of Crosby Beach, stretching out into the bay of the Irish Sea. The installation is called Another Place, and it's pretty damn spooky, especially at dusk.

28. Or, if that isn't eerie enough, you could always visit a grim (and rare) collection of teeth.

Instagram: @tamsindillon / Via vgm.liverpool.ac.uk

If you’ve ever wondered how rich people fixed their teeth in the Napoleonic era (hint: iI’s awful, and it involves dead prisoners), then get down to the Victoria Gallery and Museum. It's various curious collections include fossils, taxidermy and, of course, teeth, from the University of Liverpool’s 120-year history.