WITH FRIENDS
Amber Wine Bar & Bistro
193-195 Rose Lane Mossley Hill
Tel: 0871 811 4841
Amber is less than a year old but a popular addition to the Mossley Hill dining scene, offering bistro dishes with a Mediterranean twist and all but one of the 31 wines by the glass.

ENTERTAINING A CLIENT
The Patio
3-5 Church Rd
Tel: 0151 733 7474
The Patio has been at Penny Lane for five years, long enough to be labelled ‘well established' in restaurant terms; and it is an excellent suburban restaurant that specialises in Mediterranean fish and seafood dishes.

CLOSING THE DEAL
Ziba
Racquet Club Hargreaves Buildings 5 Chapel Street
Tel. 0151 236 6676
This is a stylish, unhurried restaurant within a boutique hotel setting, but open to non-residents. Ziba offers an excellent modern British menu with quality ingredients and a well thought out wine list.

STYLE
Alma De Cuba
Seel Street
Tel. 0151 702 7394
You may feel like you're in a Madonna video in this sumptuously restyled former church in Liverpool's RopeWalks district. The weekend queues outside this restaurant and bar declare its popularity but it's not until you are inside that its full gothic glory reveals itself. A must-see for visitors.

RELAX
Meet Brazilian Bar & Restaurant
66 Bold St
Tel. 0151 707 6507
Meet Brazilian, which opened six months ago as sister of sorts to the Meet Argentinian in Brunswick Street, has a livelier location in busy Bold Street so is assured of a carnival atmosphere, swapping tango for salsa.

MUSIC
The Barfly
90 Seel Street
Tel. 0151 256 5555
The antithesis of the blonde wood and polished chrome bars down the road, this eclectic and energetic bar and music venue is on several floors in a higgledy piggledy building in Liverpool's busy RopeWalks area.

VALUE
Blenheim Lakeside Hotel
37 Aigburth Drive Sefton Park
Tel. 0151 727 7380
Traditional and reasonably priced hotel in a sympathetically restored Victorian merchant's house overlooking Sefton Park Lake and well situated on the direct route from the airport into the city centre.

BUSINESS
Liverpool Marriott Hotel
1 Queen Square
Tel. 0151 476 8000
One of two Marriotts in Liverpool, this four-star purpose-built hotel is in the heart of the city centre, lively but well-run and perfectly placed for Liverpool's retail, business, entertainment and cultural quarters.

BESPOKE
Malmaison
Princes Dock
Tel. 0151 229 5000
Malmaison has come belatedly to Liverpool, but this stylish and reassuringly expensive four-star hotel on the riverfront is an exciting addition to the city in the run up to next year's Capital of Culture.

Liverpool Yacht Club offers dinghy sailing from April to November for newcomers and members at Queens Dock and – weather permitting – racing beyond the Mersey into the estuary. The Marina is five minutes' drive from Liverpool City Centre and 10 minutes' walk from Brunswick Railway Station. Informal club nights on Wednesdays. (www.lyc.org.uk)
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Six hours whizz by on the Manchester Ship Canal cruise. This is a truly fascinating trip on a genuine Mersey ferry, from the start of the canal at Eastham lock on the Wirral side of the river, along industrial and rural stretches, under bridges and through locks, then back again on a courtesy bus. (www.merseyferries.co.uk)
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Sudley House in south Liverpool is the former family home of the Liverpool shipowner and merchant George Holt, and was bequeathed to the city in 1944. Now part of National Museums Liverpool, Sudley has been reopened after a major renovation, with new displays relating to the family and a fine collection of 18th- and 19th-century British paintings. (www..liverpoolmuseums.org.uk)
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Tennis legend Bjorn Borg is set to play at the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament in June; the first time he has played on grass in this country since losing to John McEnroe in the 1981 Wimbledon final. The tournament is held at Calderstones Park in south Liverpool, from 12-17 June. (www.liverpooltennis.co.uk)