Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England and includes the metropolitan boroughs of Sefton, Wirral, Knowsley, St Helens, Birkenhead and the city of Liverpool. Adjacent counties include Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester. It's divided into 2 parts by the Mersey Estuary, with the Wirral on the west side of the estuary and rest on the east side. Linking the two sides are two Mersey Tunnels, the Mersey Ferry and the Mersey Railway.

There are two main motorways passing through the region; the M62, which connects Merseyside to various conurbations on an east-west axis, including Manchester, Halifax and Leeds, and the M6 which passes to the east of the region. There are number of spur motorways in addition. Merseyside hosts the international John Lennon Airport.

There are 3 universities in the county; the University of Liverpool, a member of the prestigious Russell Group of Universities, the Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool Hope University.

Merseyside hosts a number of prominent football teams, including Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers.

Liverpool city has many attractions including the Cavern Club, the Albert Dock for art, the Anglican Cathedral, the Catholic Cathedral (known locally as the Wigwam because of its shape), Pier Head and the Mersey Tunnels. Knowsley has a Safari Park. St Helens has its excellent World of Glass Museum – it has very strong associations with Pilkington's glass works. Sefton is the host of Aintree Racecourse, where the yearly Grand National horse race is run and Wirral hosts Port Sunlight and Wirral Country Park.