Month: September 2019
Top 10 Blackpool Attractions to Visit | Viva Blackpool
30 September 2019
Our Top 10 Blackpool Attractions to Visit
There’s so much to see and do in Blackpool, whether you’re looking to spend the day there or enjoy a family weekend away. But with so many attractions to visit, where do you start to make sure you get the best experience of what Blackpool has to offer.
To help you make the most of your time in this wonderfully fun seaside town, here are our top ten Blackpool attractions to visit.
1. Blackpool Tower
This iconic landmark is what many people think of when they think of Blackpool, so it makes sense to put it first on our list. There are a whole range of family attractions to enjoy in the tower too. This includes the SkyWalk – a glass viewing platform at the top – the entertaining circus, and the fun, educational, and sometimes scary, Blackpool Tower Dungeon.
2. The Blackpool Illuminations
From the end of August to the start of November, this annual lights festival dazzles Blackpool’s promenade. With six miles of lights along the seafront and over 500 designs, displays and themed features, a walk through these iconic lights is an experience not be missed. You can read our blog, Northern Lights – the Blackpool Illuminations to find out more.
3. Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Known as the UK’s most ride intensive amusement park, this is the ideal place to go if your kids (or you) are a bit of a thrill seeker and into your white-knuckle rides and roller coasters. The Pleasure Beach offers some of the best. Amongst them is the 235ft Big One – once the world’s tallest roller coaster – and the latest ride, Icon, the UK’s first double launch rollercoaster.
4. Stanley Park
This picturesque and much-loved park recently reached new levels of status after being named the UK’s best park for 2019. The impressive 390-acre grade-II listed park provides an experience for the old and young, which shouldn’t be missed. Amongst other features it boasts Italian gardens, a boating lake and band stand, an art deco cafe, and an award-winning model village.
5. The Blackpool Tower Ballroom
This might be in Blackpool Tower, but the iconic attraction deserves to have its own place in our top ten. Described as the world’s most spectacular ballroom, seeing it is a sight to behold. You can experience what’s like to dance on the magnificent floor, listen the impressive Wurlitzer organ, or just sit back and enjoy a scrumptious afternoon tea.
6. Sea Life Aquarium
Home to over 2000 marine creatures, this is another worthy visit – especially on a rainy day. You and the family can enjoy the aquarium zones, from the small creatures of the Rock Pools, to those of the Atlantic Depths and the fish of the Quayside. Or you can immerse yourself in a world of stingrays, take a submarine ride to the depths of the ocean, or walk through the spectacular ocean tunnel.
7. Heritage Tram Tours
This is where you can experience riding on a world-famous classic Blackpool tram. A fleet of more modern trams now run on the town’s tramway. But here, the best and iconic heritage trams have been restored to their original condition and are available to ride along the promenade. Nowhere else in the UK can you ride a heritage tram on the line it was originally built, so this is a pretty unique experience.
8. The Sandcastle Water Park
This, the UK’s largest indoor water park, is one for the family if you’re looking for some indoor fun, a swim and a splash about. With more than 18 slides and attractions, there’s plenty to keep the kids (and adults) entertained. There’s also a tropical climate to enjoy and the Sea Breeze Spa, if you want to relax and need a break from those white-knuckle water slides.
9. Blackpool Zoo
This impressive 32-acre zoo is just a couple of miles away from Blackpool’s promenade. It’s home to over 1,350 animals from all over the world, so definitely one for animal lovers. You can enjoy an animal experience and get up close to your favourite species or watch the animals being fed. Or you can listen to a fascinating talk, or watch impressive displays of everything from birds to seas lions.
10. The Three Piers
As well as an award-winning beach, Blackpool is home to not one, but three impressive piers – Central, North and the South Pier. Opening in 1863 and at 500 metres in length, the North Pier is a listed building and the oldest and longest of the three. Central Pier is filled with attractions, including its landmark big wheel, amusements and shows. Meanwhile, the smaller and younger South Pier is family orientated, with plenty of funfair rides and a good sea view.
Another Top Blackpool Attraction to Add to Your To-do List
If you’re looking to see a fun show or for a night of top family entertainment, Viva Blackpool is an attraction to add to your to-do list. We also aren’t far from many of those attractions listed above – the famous tower is just next door!
Our fabulous entertainment is on five nights a week. We’re also proud to present a whole range of spectacular shows, from children’s magicians to musical tribute acts, to make your time in Blackpool even more fun and special. You can even see up to four of our great shows for a discounted price with our Viva Golden Ticket – a two-show pass will see you save £8 per person!
There’s much more than fantastic entertainment too, including delicious food, matched with a stunning service. Our ‘Show & Dine’ tickets also allow you to add a preshow dining experience to your visit, letting you enjoy an impressive two or three-course meal before our shows begin. Or, if you fancy a more relaxed dining experience, you could try our American Diner and Bar. This is also a great place to enjoy some delicious food and a much-needed beverage or two, while you see the top attractions that Blackpool has to offer.
To find out more about what we offer and what makes Viva a top Blackpool attraction to visit, or for more information about our dining options, just get in touch with our dedicated team.
Other recent news
Northern Lights – The Blackpool Illuminations
19 September 2019
Described as the greatest free light show on Earth, the Blackpool Illuminations has started its annual run with the spectacular switch-on took place on Friday the 30th August. Whether or not you’ve seen them before, the Illuminations are a wonderful visit for family and friends, young and old, creating precious memories and experiences you can’t put a price on.
So celebrate a key part of Blackpool’s heritage and experience seeing these world-beating lights and all they have to offer this year. Here’s what to look out for, what’s new for 2019, and how to make the best of your visit.
6 miles of spectacular seaside lights
Known for being one of the UK’s greatest visitor attractions, the Blackpool Illuminations is a free world-famous annual lights festival that the seaside town has put on for over 100 years.
Stretching for six miles along Blackpool’s famous promenade, from Starr Gate to Bispham, (with cable and wiring stretching more than 200 miles!) the spectacular lights are a sight to behold, attracting millions of visitors, year after year. Costing £2.4 million to stage, the illuminations are filled with hundreds of thousands of lights of all types and styles – enough to put a smile on your face and give you that warm and cosy feeling, whatever your age!
This includes lines and lines of dazzling bulbs, zigzagging back and forth across the road, and more than 500 designs and themed features, alongside it and Blackpool’s beach and piers. The famous tower is also lit from top to bottom in beautiful LED lights that sparkle and change colour, with displays that have to be seen to be believed.
What’s new for 2019?
So what does this year’s lights show have to offer? Each year, the creators of the Blackpool Illuminations try to add something new, whether that’s updating and brightening up an old installment, or using their magic to put together an impressive new one.
For 2019, the Lights run from 30th August till 3rd November (that’s 66 sparkling nights!), so there’s plenty of time to see them. And there are plenty of new features to keep you entertained too. Amongst them is an area dedicated to Sooty & Co of the famous children’s TV series – one for the kids, grandkids, or a bit of nostalgia. The famous yellow bear and his friends, Sweep and Soo will have their own new section along the promenade, with 3D features of all the characters using fully illuminated LEDs.
Neon is also a big focus in this year’s dazzling display, particularly a new section featuring, what is called, LED neon flex lighting. Specially manufactured for the Illuminations, this is being used to create hearts that light up the promenade in a rainbow of colours.
Elsewhere, there’s a colourful bright corridor of lights made up of state-of-the-art LEDs, from Northern (the Illumination’s new partner) as well as digital arches at the start and end of the Lights to welcome visitors. This year there’s even a new Illuminations character, who you can enjoy a photo or selfie with.
Way to enjoys the Lights
There are many ways to make the most of your night seeing the Illuminations. You could enjoy the experience by car, hop on a Blackpool tram (or, better still, one of the light display’s fabulous illuminated ones!), or you can breathe in that sea air and just take it all in on foot.
You can munch on fish and chips as you stroll along to take in the illuminated features and displays, or stop for some food and a drink during your walk-through. Alternatively, you could start or end your night with one of the many shows that the seaside town has to offer.
A show to really light up your night
What better way to start or end your night of experiencing the Blackpool Illuminations than seeing one of our fabulous shows at Viva Blackpool? The daily times that the illuminations switch on and go off change as the nights draw in, so you could plan to see a Viva show around them. Depending when you decide to visit, you could see the Lights and end the experience with a show. Or you could watch a show at Viva first and then enjoy a walk through the Lights afterwards.
There are plenty of shows on during the months of the Illuminations, including Jersey Beats – Oh What A Nite! – with dates running throughout early September, October and in November – making your night out that bit more special.
When you come to Viva Blackpool, we offer so much more than just an amazing show too.
Along with an evening packed with some of the best entertainment the town has to offer, we provide incredible food, matched with a stunning service.
Our ‘Show & Dine’ tickets also allow you to add a preshow dining experience to your visit, letting you enjoy a fabulous two or three-course meal before the show begins. Or you could visit our new Vegas Diner, Bar & Grill, if you fancy a more relaxed American diner experience.
To find out more about the shows we are presenting when the illuminations are on, or for more information about our dining options, get in touch with the Viva Blackpool team here.
Other recent news
VIVA Blackpool head to the beach
6 September 2019
Viva Blackpool organised a clean up of the golden mile yesterday, following the huge influx of visitors over the last few days.
Last weekend (30th August) it was officially national beach day, so to commemorate the event, Viva Blackpool committed to doing a beach clean of the golden mile this week, to help clear up after the busy illuminations weekend.
Staff from the entertainment venue along with local residents took to the beach between North and Central Pier, between 10.30 and 12.30 to comb for litter and were grateful to the volunteers who turned up to pledge their own support too.
Martin Heywood, joint owner of Viva Blackpool said: “We’ve had a lot of visitors to Blackpool over the last few days, which is great news for local businesses, but a big influx of visitors equals a lot more litter, so with it being national beach day last week, we asked people to join us to do a litter pick on the golden mile after the illuminations weekend. We had a great turn out, with 15 volunteers and the golden mile certainly looks even more golden now!”
One supporter, Elisabeth Green said “It’s great to see people take pride in their town and the beach clean really shows we’ve got a part to play. Thanks to Viva for organizing, I’m already looking forward to the next one they’re organising!”
