Birmingham

No reviews yetCity England, United Kingdom

Aston Hall geograph.org.uk 7877296, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Chamberlain Square Birmingham (Cropped), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

Centenary Square August 2021 (Cropped), Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

About Birmingham

Birmingham is the UK's second-largest city, the heart of the West Midlands and once known as the workshop of the world for its role in the Industrial Revolution. Its canal network, built to carry coal and goods, is famously longer than that of Venice, and many old wharves now host bars, restaurants and narrowboat trips.

The city center has been largely rebuilt in recent decades, with the Library of Birmingham, the Bullring shopping district and its curved Selfridges building, and the redeveloped Grand Central above New Street station. Classic Victorian landmarks remain too, including the Town Hall, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with its Pre-Raphaelite collection, and the Jewellery Quarter, still full of workshops.

Beyond the center are Aston Hall, a Jacobean mansion, the Botanical Gardens in leafy Edgbaston, Edgbaston cricket ground and Cadbury World in the model village of Bournville. Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle and the Cotswolds are all within easy day-trip range.

Best seasonMay to September for canal walks, gardens and cricket; late November to December for the Frankfurt Christmas Market.

Ideal stayTwo to three days for the center, Jewellery Quarter and Bournville.

ArrivingBirmingham Airport is about 15 minutes by train from New Street station; London Euston is about 1 hour 20 minutes by train.

Exploring Birmingham: 12 Must-See Spots

Landmarks 1

Library of Birmingham

Opened in 2013 on Centenary Square, the Library of Birmingham, designed by Mecanoo, is wrapped in a lace of interlocking metal rin...

Museums 2

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Housed in grand Victorian buildings beside the Council House clock tower known as Big Brum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery hold...

Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum

At Millennium Point in the Eastside district, Thinktank is a hands-on science museum spread over four floors. Exhibits range from...

History 2

Birmingham Back to Backs

The last surviving court of back-to-back houses in Birmingham, on the corner of Hurst Street and Inge Street, is cared for by the...

Aston Hall

Built between 1618 and 1635 for Sir Thomas Holte, this red-brick Jacobean mansion in Aston Park is one of the finest of its kind i...

Neighborhoods 2

Jewellery Quarter

A large share of the UK's jewellery is still made in this district of small workshops and red-brick Victorian buildings northwest...

Gas Street Basin

Birmingham famously has more miles of canal than Venice, and Gas Street Basin sits at the heart of the network, where colourful na...

Shopping 1

Bullring and Grand Central

Birmingham's main shopping area combines the Bullring, a market site since the Middle Ages, with a modern centre that replaced a 1...

Family 1

Cadbury World

In Bournville, the model village the Cadbury family built for its workers, this attraction tells the chocolate maker's story, from...

Parks 2

Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Edgbaston

Opened in 1832 in leafy Edgbaston, these 15 acres were laid out by landscape designer J. C. Loudon. Four glasshouses lead from tro...

Cannon Hill Park

South of the city centre in Edgbaston, this Victorian park opened in 1873 with lakes, lawns and formal flowerbeds that still draw...

Entertainment 1

Edgbaston Stadium

Home of Warwickshire County Cricket Club since 1886, Edgbaston is one of England's best-known Test grounds, famous for loud, passi...

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