Birmingham offers a wide range of activities for you to enjoy during your stay, including attending an event at The National Exhibition Centre, shopping at the Bullring, watching Birmingham City Football Club or enjoying a relaxing day at the Botanical Gardens.
The city of Birmingham in the West Midlands is the second largest city in England with a population of over 1 million people and Birmingham is also the fourth-most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK. This is no surprise due to the vast number of attractions and things to do Birmingham, from shopping, museums and galleries to sports, events, nightlife and dining out to mention just a few. Birmingham makes an ideal destination for business trips, weekend breaks and holidays. Famous attractions include the Birmingham NEC, Cadbury World, the Bullring shopping centre and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, for more attractions see below.
Birmingham Football Clubs
Birmingham is home to two of the country’s oldest professional football teams: Aston Villa (1874) who play their home matches at Villa Park in Birmingham, and Birmingham City (1875) who play their home matches at St. Andrews Stadium in Birmingham. Both football clubs play in the Premier League, the top flight of English football, and a visit to a match, or better still the Birmingham derby match, is an ideal sports activity in Birmingham.
Public Transport in Birmingham
Birmingham is a major transport hub due to its location in the middle of the UK and is well known for the M6 motorway and the complicated Spaghetti Junction. There is also, as there is in Manchester, an expansive canal system in Birmingham. Thirty-five miles of canals to be precise within the city, created during the Industrial Revolution and now a popular tourist attraction and an ideal way to see parts of the city. Bus routes are extensive in and around Birmingham with some featuring up to 272 stops! This means getting around Birmingham by bus, is quick, cheap and easy and make a perfect way of getting from one tourist attraction to another, or back to your Birmingham hotel.
Birmingham International Airport
Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is situated south-east of Birmingham city centre and is a quick and easy way of travelling to Birmingham. Birmingham International Airport is the sixth busiest airport in the UK, with airlines including Bmibaby, Flybe, Monarch Airlines and Ryanair flying to destinations including Europe, the Middle East and North America. The airport originally opened in 1939 and over the years has expanded to now have 2 terminals.
Shopping in Birmingham
Birmingham is considered to be one of the best places to shop in the UK and the £500 million Bullring shopping centre is the busiest shopping centre in the UK and provides 160 shops. People visit the Bullring from all over the world to browse shops from fashion, audio & visual, books and music to toys and sports equipment. There is also the world famous Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham which dates back over 250 years. The UK’s number one jewellery destination, producing over 40% of the UK’s jewellery, the Jewellery Quarter is the ideal place to buy some unique jewellery.
Museums in Birmingham
There are 6 free museums in Birmingham including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery demonstrating the city’s heritage and with its extensive collection of paintings. These museums make an ideal educational day out for the whole family and are a great way of discovering more about the city of Birmingham.
Birmingham Zoo
The Birmingham Nature Centre is home to over 130 different species of animals, including red pandas, meerkats, lemurs, snakes and lizards, and is an exciting day out in Birmingham that the kids will love.
Eating Out in Birmingham
Dine in style in Birmingham with its booming restaurant scene, historic markets selling fresh local produce, and popular bars and pubs to dine; there is a choice to suit every pocket. Birmingham is also the only English city outside of London to have 3 Michelin star restaurants: Purnell’s in Cornwall Street, La Becasse in Ludlow and Simpsons in Edgbaston. If you are a curry-lover then the Balti Triangle, an area to the south of Birmingham city centre is not to be missed, containing the highest concentration of balti restaurants in Birmingham and some of the oldest to be found in Britain.
Birmingham Tourist Attractions
International Convention Centre, National Indoor Arena, Blakeseley Hall, Aston Hall, Villa Park Stadium, Sarehole Mill, The Bullring, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Aston Hall, Balti Triangle, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses, Electric Cinema, Coughton Court, National Sea Life Centre, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Cole Valley / Project Kingfisher, Boer War Memorial, Highbury, St. Philip’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Three Wise Men, City Centre Gardens, Fox Hollies Park, Gas Street Basin, Horsefair Mural, Iron Man, Joseph Sturge Memorial, Birmingham Nature Centre, St. Chad’s Cathedral, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, Centenary Square, Five Ways Clock, Kings Heath Park, Nelson’s Statue, Temple Gallery, Symphony Hall, Alexandra Theatre, Ironbridge, Aston Manor Road Transport Museum, Aston Park, Big Brum, Birmingham Railway Museum, Bond Gallery, Broad Street Gallery, Broadfield House Glass Museum, Chamberlain Square, Colmore Gate, Hagley Hall.
