Liverpool's River of Light festival is a brilliant excuse to get out and explore the city after dark, with illuminated artwork transforming familiar streets and buildings into something completely different.
I headed into Liverpool with my little girl to see what this year's festival had to offer. We didn't plan on completing the entire trail, just seeing a few installations and enjoying an evening wandering around the city centre.
In around 45–60 minutes, we managed to visit six installations, explore an indoor market and even return to our favourite display for a second look!
Here's how our evening went.
Flower Power – Our Favourite of the Night 🌸
We started our evening at Flower Power, and it turned out to be our favourite installation of the whole festival.
Giant illuminated flowers towered above the crowds, with beams of light sweeping across the surrounding buildings.
What made this one particularly good was the music. Each song had its own accompanying light show, with the lighting changing to match the music.
It was much more than simply looking at illuminated flowers, and the combination of music, lights and the surrounding architecture made it a fantastic display.
We enjoyed this one so much that we actually returned for another look before heading home!
The Anooki – Giant Inflatable Visitors on Water Street
From Flower Power, we walked over to Water Street to see The Anooki.
These were enormous illuminated inflatable characters attached to the front of a building.
The best way I can describe them is giant glowing snowmen! 😂
They looked great against the building, especially with the blue lighting illuminating the architecture around them.
Definitely something you don't expect to see while walking through Liverpool city centre!
Dream Herd – Giant Glowing Sheep on Castle Street 🐑
Our next stop was Castle Street, where we found Dream Herd.
This installation featured a collection of enormous illuminated inflatable sheep, raised above the ground so visitors could stand underneath them.
And they weren't just glowing sheep — they made noises too!
My little girl particularly enjoyed this one. Being able to stand underneath the giant sheep while they lit up and made sounds made it much more entertaining for younger visitors.
It was definitely one of the more family-friendly installations we visited.
Unity – Is It a Light Installation or a Bouncy Castle? 😂
After Dream Herd, we headed down James Street, crossed The Strand and made our way to Unity.
This was another giant inflatable installation, illuminated in bright pinks, purples and reds.
From the outside, it looked like some sort of enormous snowman-shaped bouncy castle!
Unlike some of the other installations, visitors could actually walk inside this one.
Naturally, my little girl decided that if it looked like a bouncy castle, it must be a bouncy castle, and immediately started trying to bounce off the sides! 😂
The view from inside was particularly impressive, with the illuminated inflatable shapes surrounding us overhead.
It was certainly one of the more unusual installations of the evening, and another one that children could really enjoy.
Coloured Peonies – Flowers and a Little Market Surprise 🌺
We continued along the waterfront towards the Cunard Building, where Coloured Peonies was on display.
This installation featured giant illuminated flowers standing high above visitors, with glowing centres and petals lit in different colours.
The flowers looked lovely against the backdrop of Liverpool's historic waterfront buildings.
There was also a nice little surprise inside the Cunard Building — an indoor market!
The market had stalls selling handcrafted gifts, food and other products, so we decided to have a look around.
I even managed to sample some mead at one of the stalls. 😂
It was a nice addition to the evening and gave us something different to explore between the light installations.
Today I Love You – A Simple Message at St Nicholas Church ❤️
Our final new installation was Today I Love You, located in the gardens of St Nicholas Church.
This one was fairly straightforward — a large illuminated sign displaying the words "TODAY I LOVE YOU".
It looked nice against the dark sky, with the lights of Liverpool's waterfront visible in the background.
My little girl, however, wasn't particularly impressed! 😂
After giant glowing sheep making noises and an inflatable installation she could try bouncing around inside, I think a big illuminated sign was always going to struggle to compete!
Still, it was a nice final stop on our walk.
One Last Visit to Flower Power
Rather than heading straight home, we decided to return to Flower Power for another look.
It had been our favourite installation of the evening, and the music and accompanying light displays made it worth visiting twice.
It was a lovely way to finish our little tour of Liverpool's River of Light.
Is Liverpool's River of Light Worth Visiting With Children?
Based on our evening, absolutely!
There was a good mixture of installations, from impressive light shows to giant inflatable characters and displays that children could get close to.
My little girl particularly enjoyed Dream Herd and Unity, while Flower Power was my personal favourite.
One thing I liked was that we didn't need to complete the entire trail to have a good evening.
We managed six installations, a visit to the Cunard Building market and a second look at Flower Power in approximately 45–60 minutes.
That makes it an easy activity to fit into an evening without having to commit to hours of walking, particularly if you're visiting with younger children.
A Few Tips for Visiting
- You don't need to see everything. Choose a handful of installations close together if you're visiting with young children.
- Allow time for the interactive displays. Installations like Dream Herd and Unity are particularly entertaining for little ones.
- Take your camera. Liverpool's illuminated buildings make fantastic backdrops for photographs.
- Look out for additional attractions. We came across the indoor market at the Cunard Building, which was a nice bonus.
- Don't rush. Sometimes it's worth watching a display more than once, especially when the lighting changes with the music.
Final Thoughts
Liverpool's River of Light was a lovely way to spend an evening with my little girl.
We saw some impressive displays, had a laugh at the giant inflatable sheep and snowmen, explored a little market and enjoyed seeing familiar parts of Liverpool transformed by colourful lighting.
Flower Power was easily my favourite, although I suspect my little girl would have happily spent the entire evening trying to bounce off the sides of Unity! 😂
If you're looking for something a little different to do with the family in Liverpool, River of Light is definitely worth considering.
And the best part? The light installations were completely free to enjoy.
One world. Endless adventures.