Chicago was the official stand-in for Gotham City in Batman Begins; this time around, in The Dark Knight, it'll be Liverpool, England, birthplace of the Beatles. Much of the primary filming of the new Batman sequel was done in the northwestern industrial city, and it features a number of noteworthy landmarks from the area, including the waterfront, the Swansea power station, and London's Piccadilly Circus. According to an article in Liverpool's Echo newspaper, municipal leaders are hoping that the presumed success of the movie will help Liverpool become a tourist draw and boost foreign visitors to the Culture City.
We suppose there are worse things, as far as tourist attractions go, but do the Liverpudlian city fathers really think people are going to line up to visit a city whose primary attraction is that it's constantly being menaced by the Joker?