Liverpool was the place the Fab Four grew up and it seems that almost every street in the city boasts a house, church or pub frequented by the Beatles. The city celebrates the Beatles during Beatles Day (July) and International Beatles Week (August). The celebrations include parades, memorabilia auctions, walking tours and concerts at the Cavern Club, a location that no fan would miss. The original club (where the band played over 300 performances) was demolished in the early 1970s and the building you see today is a replica, built using the original bricks.
For more information: The Cavern
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Visitors to the Abbey Road “zebra crossing” often imitate the famous album cover of the Beatles’ last album, Abbey Road by setting up a photo op in the intersection. Some even try the Red Hot Chilli Pepper’s version—sans clothes. Abbey Road is still a working studio and artists including the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Snow Patrol, Radiohead and Pink Floyd have recorded, mixed or mastered in the nondescript 19th-century building. Abbey Road has had movie scoring sessions for films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Batman, City of Joy, Interview With A Vampire, and Lord Of The Rings.
For more information: Abbey Road Studios
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Besides having a featured role in the lyrics of "A Day in the Life" (“Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall”), Royal Albert Hall was the stage on which The Beatles played several times. On September 15, 1963, they shared the bill with the Rolling Stones. Queen Victoria built Royal Albert Hall as a memorial to her husband, Price Albert. The distinctive round building held its first concert in 1871. Royal Albert Hall today has 13 bars and 3 restaurants, so you can partake in a meal or cocktail before your show.
For more information: Royal Albert Hall
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The Beatles headed to Hamburg’s notorious Reeperbahn area to hone their performances in 1960 and 1961 with early band members Pete Best on drums and Stu Suttcliffe on guitar. There they made their first recordings for “My Bonnie” in 1961. They played to rowdy crowds in clubs such as the Kaiserkeller and the Top Ten Club. The five early Beatles were living in an attic suite when George was deported from Germany for being underage in the bar at which they played. Hamburg hosts almost 4 million tourists a year and is famous for its beautiful port. Walking tours that include locations where famous Beatles photos where taken and clubs where they played are readily available.
For more information: Beatles Hamburg Tours & Best of Hamburg
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After John and Yoko married, they decided to use their fame—and their honeymoon—to promote peace. As his song says, they drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton and took to their beds for a week, "trying to get us some peace." For a week in March, 1969, the two invited the world’s press into room #702. The hotel, which is near the Van Gogh Museum and other Amsterdam attractions, has refurbished the famous suite and guests are invited to recreate John and Yoko's famous 'Bed-in for Peace'. The package includes a night in the room followed by breakfast in bed.
For more information: Hilton Amsterdam Hotel
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When a drug conviction kept John out of the U.S., he and Yoko headed to Canada where they took up residence in Suite #1742 for the second week of their famous Bed-in for Peace. There, on June 1st, 1969, they recorded “Give Peace a Chance” with onlookers and celebrities singing along. Forty years later the hotel still celebrates its famous guests (and the peace anthem). The suite has been refurbished several times, including a display of John-and-Yoko memorabilia.
For more information: Imagine Package
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This “Garden of Peace” on the West Side of Central Park between 71st and 74th Streets was named Strawberry Fields in 1981. Designed by landscape architect Bruce Kelly, the 2.5-acre knoll is a living memorial to John Lennon. In 1984, Yoko Ono contributed $500,000 to the establishment of the garden, as well as an equivalent amount for its ongoing maintenance. Plants were contributed from 150 countries and the centerpiece, a black and white mosaic, was a gift from Naples and has the solitary word “Imagine” inscribed on it. It has become a gathering place for fans from all over the world.
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If you happened to be hanging out in San Francisco on August 29th, 1966, and had an extra $4.50 in your pocket you could have joined 24,000 screaming Beatles fans for the band’s next-to-final concert at Candlestick Park. The show, which because of light ticket sales only filled part of the outdoor stadium, lasted just 33 minutes. Touring had lost its allure, and the boys turned almost exclusively to their studio recordings. The city of San Francisco still owns and operates the stadium, currently home to the NFL San Francisco 49ers.
For more information: Candlestick Park
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After taking a weeklong Transcendental Meditation course with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Wales, the Beatles followed him to his ashram in the foothills of the Himalayas. Though the group was only in India for eight or so weeks, the meditative setting nurtured their creativity and they composed a score of songs—many which came out on the White Album. While the Maharishi’s ashram closed several years ago, Rishikesh is considered the birthplace of yoga and several ashrams and temples are found in the city along the banks of the river Ganges. Thousands of pilgrims and visitors, seeking inner peace, visit Rishikesh every year.
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The building at 3 Savile Row that housed Apple Corps does not have any outward signs that it was the epicentre of the break-up of the Beatles. London Walks tour guide Richard Porter says this is where things fell apart for the Beatles as a band. “It was chaotic at the end,” he says. The building is remembered for the band’s final rooftop performance on June 30, 1969, featuring “Let it Be.” “It’s an empty building and really holds nothing of the Beatles,” says Porter, “but from the roof you can see the same views they did.”
For more information: Beatles Walking Tour
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"Penny Lane," the song, was released in 1967 with "Strawberry Fields Forever" on the flip side, creating what has been described as the greatest single ever made. Paul McCartney filled the song with memories of the shops and people found in his (and John Lennon's) childhood suburban neighborhood. The run-down Penny Lane area has seen a bit of a revival with the arrival of trendy shops inn the surrounding side streets. Most tourists make a quick stop and hop off the tour bus just long enough to snap a photo of the famous road sign.