Birmingham
Brummagem Bonanza: Your Guide to Exploring Birmingham
Birmingham is the UK’s second-largest city, a place that has reinvented itself decisively over recent decades. Once the engine room of the Industrial Revolution, it is now a city of serious food culture, genuine cultural diversity, world-class music and sport, and a canal network that rivals Amsterdam in length. The grey factory image belongs to a different era. This is a city worth several days of your time.
Getting Your Bearings
Birmingham city centre is compact and largely walkable. The main rail hub is Birmingham New Street, rebuilt and reopened in 2015, which connects to London Euston in under 90 minutes. Birmingham International airport sits 10 miles to the east and has direct links into New Street by rail in around 10 minutes. The West Midlands Metro tram line connects New Street to Wolverhampton, passing through several useful stops along the way. A West Midlands Day Travelcard covers buses, trams, and local rail within the city and is worth picking up if you plan to range widely.
Must-See Sights
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on Chamberlain Square holds one of the UK’s finest Pre-Raphaelite collections, assembled when the city was at the height of its industrial wealth. The Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, is displayed here and is genuinely extraordinary. Entry to the permanent collection is free.
The Jewellery Quarter is a functioning historic district where hundreds of jewellers still work in workshops much as they did in the Victorian era. The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter preserves a complete factory, frozen in time since it closed in 1981, and offers guided tours. The surrounding streets are full of independent retailers, coffee shops, and good pubs.
Cadbury World in Bournville, south of the city centre, tells the story of how the Cadbury family built not only a chocolate business but an entire model village for their workers. The tour covers the history of chocolate, the Cadbury brand, and includes tastings. Bournville village itself is worth a walk – a planned community of Arts and Crafts housing built from the 1890s onwards.
Birmingham Cathedral (the Cathedral Church of Saint Philip) sits in Colmore Row and dates from the early 18th century. The four Edward Burne-Jones stained-glass windows are among the finest examples of Pre-Raphaelite glass in existence. Entry is free.
Aston Hall is a Jacobean mansion built between 1618 and 1635, set in parkland about two miles north of the centre. It is one of the last great houses of the Jacobean period and contains period furniture and artworks. The hall and grounds are managed by Birmingham Museums.
Digbeth is the city’s creative quarter, a post-industrial neighbourhood south-east of the centre where Victorian warehouses have been converted into studios, independent venues, and street-food markets. The street art here changes regularly and a walk through the area gives a good sense of the city’s younger creative scene.
Food and Drink
Birmingham has a serious claim to being one of the best eating cities in the UK. It holds more Michelin stars per head of population than any other UK city outside London.
Opheem on Summer Row holds a Michelin star and serves modern Indian cooking using British and locally sourced ingredients. Booking well in advance is essential.
Carters of Moseley in the suburb of Moseley holds a Michelin star for its tasting menu focused on local British produce. The cooking is technically precise and the atmosphere relaxed.
The Balti Triangle, centred on Ladypool Road and Stoney Lane in the Sparkhill and Sparkbrook areas, is where the balti curry was developed and popularised in the 1970s. A balti here – a spiced dish cooked and served in a thin steel pan – is a specific Birmingham experience. Dozens of family-run restaurants operate in the triangle, most unlicensed, so you bring your own drinks.
Digbeth Dining Club runs street food events on weekends in Digbeth, with rotating traders covering a wide range of cuisines. The setting in a former industrial yard is informal and well suited to groups.
Dishoom in the city centre is part of a UK-wide group but the quality is consistent: the black dal, slow-cooked for 24 hours, and the lamb chops are the dishes to order. The Bombay cafe interior is well executed.
The Jewellery Quarter has a cluster of good independent cafes and wine bars that are busy during the day and in the early evening. The area is quieter and more local in character than the Broad Street bar district.
For a proper Birmingham pub experience, seek out any of the surviving Victorian gin palaces in the centre. The Bartons Arms in Newtown, though a short distance from the centre, is one of the finest intact Victorian pub interiors in England.
Where to Stay
Staying Cool at Rotunda occupies the upper floors of the 1960s Rotunda tower overlooking New Street station. The apartments are spacious with floor-to-ceiling curved windows and panoramic views over the city. It is one of the more distinctive places to stay in any UK city.
Malmaison Birmingham occupies a converted Victorian building close to the Mailbox development. The style is dark and theatrical and the location is central.
Hotel Du Vin Birmingham is a sister property built into a cluster of Victorian buildings in the city centre. The wine list is serious, the rooms are comfortable, and it is well placed for most of what the city has to offer.
For budget accommodation, the city centre has a number of reliable chain hotels around New Street and the Bullring. Moseley and the Jewellery Quarter both have smaller independent guesthouses for those who prefer a quieter residential neighbourhood base.
Arts, Music, and Sport
Birmingham Hippodrome is the UK’s busiest touring theatre outside London and hosts major West End productions, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the DanceXchange programme throughout the year.
Birmingham Symphony Hall is acoustically one of the finest concert halls in Europe. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is resident here, and the programme covers classical music, jazz, and popular concerts.
Birmingham Repertory Theatre (the Rep) has been producing and touring new work since 1913. It runs three performance spaces and programmes a mix of large-scale productions and more experimental work.
Villa Park (Aston Villa) and St Andrew’s (Birmingham City) are both within a few miles of the centre. Villa Park, with a capacity of over 42,000, is one of the great English football grounds and guided tours run on non-match days.
Edgbaston Cricket Ground has hosted Test matches since 1902 and is one of the best grounds to watch cricket in England. The stands are close to the pitch and the atmosphere on big match days is excellent.
Day Trips from Birmingham
Warwick Castle is 22 miles south and reachable by train from Moor Street station in about 25 minutes. The medieval fortification is largely intact and the grounds are extensive.
Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, is about 45 minutes by train from Moor Street. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust manages several properties in and around the town, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatres are here.
Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, about an hour by road, is the site of the world’s first iron bridge, built in 1779, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site with several museums covering the origins of the Industrial Revolution.
Practical Tips
- The city centre is largely flat and walkable. Most major sights are within a 20-minute walk of New Street station.
- The Balti Triangle restaurants are predominantly unlicensed. Check before you go and bring drinks accordingly.
- Birmingham has a strong South Asian community and Eid celebrations, Diwali lighting on Soho Road, and other cultural events are worth looking up if they coincide with your visit.
- The Bullring and Grand Central shopping centres are adjacent to New Street station for high street retail. The Mailbox has mid-range and higher-end shops alongside restaurants and bars.
- Parking in the city centre is expensive and congestion charges apply in some zones. Arriving by train is straightforward from most UK cities.
Birmingham rewards more time than most visitors give it. The food alone justifies a weekend trip, and the combination of museums, music venues, and the canal network means there is rarely any difficulty filling the days.