Things to Do in Blackpool

The Pleasure Beach is Blackpool’s largest and most popular amusement park. In fact, it is the most visited tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, and one of the twenty most visited amusement parks in the entire world!

Over 5 million people visit the Pleasure Beach every year and enjoy almost forty different fun filled rides. Did you know that they have ten rollercoasters alone? These include the Big One, which was once the highest rollercoaster in the world, and the Infusion, the world's first suspended looping coaster entirely over water.

Other attractions that you have to check out when you’re at the Pleasure Beach are the Hot Ice Show, a skating extravaganza that often features Olympic level ice skaters performing at the arena that always leaves the audience astounded.

The Valhalla, which claims to be one of the biggest rides in the world, is the most expensive in house attraction on the planet, taking £15 million. And these are just a select few of a huge number of rides that are guaranteed to keep you hooked and dizzy for hours.

The park has many restaurants, including an ‘Italian Job’ themed restaurant, and Britain’s biggest Burger King outlet.

They have a themed section called ‘Nickelodeon Land’, with smaller rides and attractions aimed at younger children and teens. The park also has the ‘Ghost Train’, a famous dark themed ride that was built way back in 1930.

Now you know that the Pleasure Beach isn’t just the biggest amusement park in Britain, but it is also one of the most thrilling attractions that the country has to offer. There is something to keep everyone in the family enjoying themselves for hours, and is definitely worth taking an entire day out for.

The Blackpool Comedy Carpet is a one of a kind tourist attraction, and a unique work of art as well! Created by artist Gordon Young, the Comedy Carpet is a grand celebration of comedy. It is a visual installation on the floor right outside the Blackpool Tower, containing the catchphrases of some of the most loved comedians of all time, and it pays homage to over 1,000 comedians and comedy writers.

The carpet is massive- it stretches from the entrance of the Blackpool Tower to the beach, and connects the north and south sides of the promenade. The beauty of the carpet is that it can be viewed from entirely different positions.

For example, some of the fonts are so small that they can only be read once you’re standing right on top of the piece, kneeling over the carpet. On the other hand, some of the catchphrases have such large fonts that you have to climb the Blackpool Tower to be able to read it!

The 2,200m square installation features 160,000 individually cut letters spelling out the famous one liners.

The £4m project has taken five years from conception to installation, and is one of Blackpool’s newest tourist attractions.

So if you’re a fan of comedy, have a penchant for eye popping tourist attractions or just want to have a good laugh, the Comedy Carpet is the place for you!

Once you’re done revelling in the madness that is Pleasure Beach and have yourself scared out of your wits in the Blackpool Tower Dungeon, you’ll need a place to relax, right? That’s where Blackpool’s famous Stanley Park comes in.

Stanley Park is a Grade 2 listed park in the heart of Blackpool, and it is a Green Flag award winning green space. It is easily one of the calmest places in the city, and is just the place to kick back and idle away.

Stanley Park combines formal gardens, carefully tended to, with naturalised woodlands, and it also has a large lake that you can use for boating and fishing. When you’re done feeding the different types of birds like ducks, geese and swans, you can explore the fascinating Italian Gardens, Rose Gardens and the Remembrance Garden.

The park has a lot of recreational activities as well, with fun family games like Crazy Gold, Trampolines, Bowling, Tennis and a large children’s playground.

The parks perimeter also contains a miniature model village, a garden centre and a sports centre.

You can also see a clock tower, built in memory of Blackpool’s first mayor, to the south of the park’s central fountain.

Stanley Park is often host to a lot of local functions like sporting events, and musical concerts. Rest assured, there is pretty much something happening there all the time. And even if you’re not in the mood for some live music or golf, you can simply find yourself a nice spot on the beautiful greens, and drift away, undisturbed.

The tower is always a bit of a surprise to its visitors! For one, it was built in 1894, by some inspired by the Eiffel Tower. And though it never gained quite the fame of it’s Parisian predecessor, it made up for it by providing a lot more to do. The following are the highlights of the tower.

• Blackpool Tower Eye: A short 4D cinema experience followed by a stroll over a transparent skywalk – ceiling to floor uninterrupted views from over a 100 metres above the ground. Subject to weather conditions.
• Blackpool Tower Circus: Crazy and funny acrobatic stunts. April – November only. Book tickets online at least 24 hours in advance.
• Blackpool Tower Ballroom: Immerse yourself in a beauty that’s immensely stylish and charming. A brilliant dance floor, a famous Wurlitzer organ and high tea. Check out your options online.
• Blackpool Tower Dungeon: Hilarious, scary and out and out brilliant, this terrific production has no equal anywhere else.
• Blackpool Jungle Jim: Think Temple Run, with some Tarzan thrown in. Enough said.

That’s not all. If you pay GBP 500, you can even light up the Blackpool tower’s 25000 lights exactly as you wish. If you’re hungry, you can visit the Blackpool Tower Burger Kitchen.

The Madame Tussauds museums are famous around the world for their realistic wax figures of famous celebrities. Although the main museum is in London, there are a number of Madame Tussauds in other major cities, and Blackpool is one of them! And just like the London version, Blackpool’s Madame Tussaud’s museum doesn’t disappoint for the slightest moment.

What makes the Blackpool Madame Tussauds such a treat is the fact that not only are the figurines as lifelike as you could possibly imagine, but they’ve gone as far as to recreate the situations these celebrities would most likely be in!

So don’t be surprised if you walk into the football locker room inside the museum and find David Beckham doing his sit ups, getting ready for a football match! By the time you get used to the magic that is the Madame Tussauds, you’ll be kneeling next to Tiger Woods teeing up a shot without a care in the world!

The museum is divided into sections, with the Big Night In containing most of the celebrities from the entertainment world. Famous figures include singers Cheryl Cole and Susan Boyle. The music section has figures of Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga.

In the authentic history section, you can learn all about how Madame Tussauds creates the wax figures.

There is a special childrens section as well, containing famous characters like Shrek, Spiderman and Bob the Builder.

Madame Tussauds is hands down one of the most entertaining attractions that there is, whether you’re visiting with your best friends, your family or just going all by yourself.

At the very least, it’s fun to stargaze and daydream too. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be immortalized as an ageless wax figure yourself, and then have everyone posing next to you!

Quick facts: 32 acres, 1500 animals, and lot of up close and personal activities.

Primary Exhibits of the Zoo Include:

• The Elephant and the Reptile House – pachyderms, caymans, anacondas, piranhas, rattlesnakes and poison dart frogs
• Gorilla mountain – 5 big apes
• Lemur Wood – ring-tailed, red-ruffed and red-fronted
• Active Oceans – sea lions and penguins
• Big Cats – African Lions and Siberian tigers
• Amazonia – South American dwellers
• Wold Ridge – just three wolves from Iberia
• Wallaby Walkout – wallabies and kangaroos
• Children’s Farm – up close and personal with donkeys, pigs, geese, rabbits, cows, llamas, chickens, ferrets, guinea pigs, pygmy goats, reindeer and Ouessant sheep.
• Dinosaur Safari - hirty life-size, fiberglass statues of extinct animals

There other animals too, such as red pandas, meerkats, Bactrian camels, Oriental small-clawed otters, South American tapirs, aardvarks, mountain zebras, red river hogs, cottontop tamarins, Bornean orangutans, great grey owls, barn owls, Von der Decken's hornbill, rainbow lorikeets, ostriches, Eastern white pelicans, Egyptian tortoises, Nile monitors, royal pythons, White's tree frogs and giant African land snails.

Some of the activities arranged by the zoo let you work as a keeper for a day, clean out the big cat pens, adopt an animal for a year, feed a lemur, train your own bird or sealion, or just have a meet and greet with some of the animals.

Children’s activities provided at the zoo:

• Mini train ride from the Blackpool Zoo that take you through a safari.
• Orang-u-tangle play area
• Mini golf
• Inflatables – have the kids bounce their energy away.

The Blackpool Tower Dungeon is one of the most unique attractions the city has to offer. Located in the depths of the iconic Blackpool Tower, this is an incredible walkthrough that brings together a cast of very talented actors, special effects, stages, scenes and a ride to make it a truly one of a kind experience.

The show is based on Lancastrian history and legends (minus the boring bits, as the claim), and is a fully themed experience with 360 degree sets, and authentic storytelling. And when they say 360, they really mean it. The entire walkthrough will have something that you can see, hear, touch, smell any maybe even taste! The Blackpool Tower Dungeon combines elements of comedy and horror to make a scarily funny experience.

The wonderful cast of actors portray famous local characters like Captain Johnson from the notorious Skippool smuggling gang and Alizon Devize, the infamous Pendle Witch.

The show has ten actor led shows which you will see as you walk through the premises, as well as an exciting drop ride.

The Blackpool Tower Dungeon is a perfect place to visit with your friends and family, because it combines information with enjoyment in a way that few others can. 

The Blackpool Sandcastle Waterpark is the largest indoor waterpark in Britain. If you like water parks, this is one place that you must visit as it promises hours of frolicking in water slides, fun pools, a wave machine, water chutes, arcades and even a swim shop. Open throughout the year, you can step in any day and go absolutely crazy at the Sancastle Waterpark, and nobody’s going to stop you.

The Sandcastle Waterpark also has an area known as the Hyperzone, which requires an extra pass to enter. However, once you are in the Hyperzone, you get access to the four most mind numbing attractions the park has to offer- the Aztec Falls, the Montazooma, the Sidewinder and the Masterblaster.

If you’re not in the mood for some waterpark frenzy, you can also sit back and float carelessly along the lazy river, where nobody will disturb you. Although you really should try out some of these rides when you’re done lazing!

The Waterpark has burger bars, snack bars and other eateries where you can have meals with the entire family.

You can also go shopping inside the waterpark, at Bongo Bongo, Monkey Island and Treetops trading post.

So, if getting wet and wild is your thing, what are you waiting for? Head on to the Sandcastle Waterpark today, and have a blast!

Sea Life Blackpool is the biggest underwater creature exhibit in the city. It is a spectacular aquarium, with over 50 dazzling displays and more than 2,000 incredible creatures from the great depths of the ocean. A stone’s throw from the Central Pier on Blackpool promenade, it has a wide range of ocean life, like tropical sharks, reed fish, octopus, rays and sea horses, to name just a few.

Visitors can go on a trancelike journey under their awesome glass tunnel, through which you can view sea creatures floating around you on every side. Sea Life has a number of creatures found very rarely in Britain, such as Boris and Betty, the only two Bowmouth Guitarsharks in the country.

They even have a section known as the Interactive Rockpool, which lets you do all the cool stuff which you thought probably wasn’t even allowed. Experts help you to hold an actual live crab, as well as a starfish, all the while making sure you don’t get nipped!

You can go on a fully supervised ‘Snorkelling with Sharks’ trip, a 30 minute underwater joy ride that lets you get up close and personal with the Sea Life residents.

During feeding time, you can watch and even try your hand at giving some of the creatures their food.

For some extra fun, the whole family can take part in a swashbuckling round of Pirate mini golf inside Sea Life Aquarium.

When you’re finished with your trip at Sea Life Blackpool, don’t forget to take your very own souvenir photograph, which you can take home as a magnet or a keyring as well.

Send them to your loved ones, and let them know just what a ball of a time you had at the aquarium!

Every year, the city of Blackpool comes to life. For 66 a days a year every autumn, the city is home to the now famous Blackpool Illuminations, a unique festival of lights. Dubbed the greatest free light show on earth, this unbelievable spectacle is a massive installation stretching across the Blackpool Promenade, and features tons of different illuminations that will keep you stunned all night long.

The Blackpool Illuminations have been held since 1879, and is held every year, typically from August to November. 2013 was the first year that the festival was held for 73 days instead of 66, and it seems like the trend will continue over the years to come.

There are a lot of incredible tributes to modern day cultural icons, such as the Doctor Who illuminations, created as a homage to the hit English TV show. Another great annual installation is that of the Illuminated Trams, which run the length of the promenade during the festival.

2014 promises some new installations like Alice’s Garden, drawing on Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic Alice in Wonderland for inspiration, and the Mat Hatter’s Tea Party in particular.

Also coming up in the 2014 edition is the Dynamo, a new exhibit near the south pier with ever changing spinning colours in a whirlwind of light.

If you happen to be in Blackpool during the Blackpool Illuminations, get into a cab, hop onto a train or just take a walk down the Promenade to witness this fantastic show. This is one sight that has to be seen to be believed.

Situated inside Pleasure Beach in Blackpool, is the city’s very own Ripley’s Believe it or not! That’s right, the franchise famous around the world for dealing in everything strange, unusual and downright bizarre has a museum right in the heart of Blackpool’s biggest tourist attraction.

Spread across 2 floors and 8 thrilling galleries, the museum features oddities like a 2 headed calf, eerie shrunken heads and a portrait of Lady Diana made out of 2,500 pennies- and we’re only scratching the surface.

The Ripley’s Believe it or Not ‘Odditoriums’ have an eclectic mix of the most unusual artefacts from different countries and fields, both big and small. Some of the items on display will be intriguing to all, such as junk art masterpieces and the staircase with weird facts on every step. On the other hand, some of the displays are sure to make even the most lionhearted squirm- ever heard of the human candlestick?

Measure yourself up against life sized replicas of the tallest and largest human beings of all time.

They have a very good collection of wooden African tribal statues, which include strange models like the Ashanti execution statues and the equally odd fertility statue.

All in all, the Blackpool Ripley’s Believe it or not is a fun little place to hang out, and get your mind blown at the same time. 

Blackpool is a city with three piers overlooking the sea, the North, South and Central Piers. However, the most famous of the three piers is undoubtedly the Central Pier, which has turned into a famous attraction over the years. With rides, stalls, bars and extra events on the weekends, the Central Pier is now a hub of activity for everyone in Blackpool. It also has some crowd favourites like Blackpool’s Eye in the Sky and The Big Wheel, not to mention the beautiful promenade which stretches all the way from the south to the north pier.

Whenever someone mentions the Blackpool Pier and Promenade, you can be certain that they’re talking about the Central Pier. After all, it is the centre of all the activity. However, a trip to the piers would not be complete without a stroll down the fabulous promenade. Apart from having a look at the various art exhibits and shopping centres, the promenade is also famous for some fun attractions like the World’s Biggest Mirror Ball and the wave powered musical organ.

The Central Pier has an excellent family entertainment centre which ensures that everyone in the house has a great time. You can click pictures and collect mementos of your day out from the Old Tyme portrait studio.

There are a lot of enjoyable games to be played at the Peter Sedgewicks Funfair. A trip to Blackpool is incomplete without visiting the pier & promenade. Make it a point to go there when you visit, and you’ll be able to see the city like never before.

Best place to eat Fish and chip in Blackpool at an excellent price, which is close to Winter Gardens.

The best Cantonese cuisine is available with reasonable price. The service is good and great atmosphere.

The location is great, near to Pleasure beach and Blackpool Illuminations. Trams and bus stops located nearby, for easy access to any place in city. Rooms are clean and cozy with great sea view. The breakfast is delicious and the bar offers wide variety of drinks.