Page 188 - Liverpool Philharmonic 22-23 Season Coverage Book

There's been a uptick of new hotels in the city, including The Municipal Hotel Liverpool by
MGallery

So much for the built environment. Go into Liverpool on any Friday or Saturday night and the
place is kicking. The energy and humour reflects the city’s Irish roots; the tolerance and the
edginess are down to the internationalism and port-city excesses of the past.

Fiona Hornsby, who runs the award-winning Bridewell and Denbigh Castle pubs with husband
Dominic, points to Scouse self-belief and a thriving indie scene.

“The independent businesses that make up our leisure, retail and tourism offering bring a lot of
colour. It’s not a homogenous landscape compared with many other UK towns and cities,” she
says.

“Even the most coveted prime spaces in Liverpool, like Albert Dock, are populated by indie
businesses. It’s true too that Liverpudlians who worked on the ships embraced service. Combine
that with our unusually friendly disposition and it makes a great narrative. And that’s besides the
fun, football, wider culture, history, and entertainment offer. There are lots of reasons why
Liverpool is feeling upbeat right now.”

Indeed, the maritime heritage of Liverpool is second to none. You need only look at The Cunard
Building; the White Star building; the Western Approaches HQ. And I always find surprises: on a
stroll down Chapel Street, I came across the Hargreaves Buildings. The Venetian Palazzo facade
first caught my eye, and then a series of eight roundels depicting historic figures, the names
inscribed below, including H Cortez, F Pizarro, Ferdinand R, Columbus. It turned out the building
once belonged to Sir William Brown’s Brown Shipley Bank – merchant bankers, the conquistadors
of international trade. No wonder talk of the shipping age turns locals teary.

Howard Lewis, general manager of a new Novotel in Paddington Village, says, “When you look at
the number of iconic buildings here, immerse yourself in the abundance of Liverpool’s culture and,
critically, learn of how resilient Liverpudlians are and their civic pride, you understand why it’s so
popular with tourists, how the city fought back and why we won the Eurovision vote.”