Being the capital, London always gets the attention, but England’s second city of Birmingham also has an awful lot to offer visitors.
Once the “workhouse of the world”, Birmingham was at the heart of the industrial revolution during the 19th Century, but when the mills and iron works started to close, the city slightly lost its way.
However, since the 1980s and especially during the 1990s, Birmingham reinvented itself by taking the buildings, canals and general history of the city into a stylish modern city where people really want to live, work and play.
So what can you see in Birmingham?
Birmingham museums: If art galleries and museums are your thing, then Birmingham will spoil you rotten. The biggest gallery & museum is the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG) which shows off the history and culture of Birmingham, explaining how it was transformed into the city we see today.
Other favourites in Birmingham include the contemporary Ikon Gallery and slightly oddly named Custard Factory, which describes itself as an “arts & media quarter” – a very colourful way to see Birmingham.
Bullring shopping in Birmingham: The Bullring shopping centre used to bring up images of 1960s concrete hell, and it’s not even located in Milton Keynes!
During 2003, the centre was totally rebuilt and today offers some of the best shopping experiences in the country, with plenty of large designer names and high street shops. If you remember the Bullring of old, then the new one will surprise you.
Talking of shopping, there are a couple of strange attractions around the centre of Birmingham.
1) The first is the Brass Bull situated outside the entrance to the Bullring, which has become extremely popular with visitors to have their photo taken next to.
2) The very shiny Selfridges department store which has around 16,000 shiny metal tiles on the outside shimmering in the sun. The building is iconic and a very irregular shape, which is possibly what draws so much attention. Oddly for a modern design, it’s actually quite appealing…in a strange way. There’s even a jelly bean bull on the ground floor in the massive atrium.
Market stalls: Very close to the Bullring centre is the Rag Market which sells many of the goods available inside the centre, but of course at significantly lower prices. Don’t be put off by the name as there are lots of new product stalls as well as the “rags”.
Dining out in Birmingham: Ask anyone to name something from Birmingham and Balti is likely to come high up the list. With the cultural diversity of the city came a whole legion of world cuisine options, including the famous Balti curry.
If curry isn’t your cup-of-tea, don’t worry, despite the reputation there are plenty of places to eat with everything from fish n’ chip shops, Chinese, lots of Vegetarian restaurants and of course Indian & curry houses.
Relax by a canal: Birmingham has often been said to have more canals than Venice, and this is correct with around 35 miles of canal in the city vs 24 in Venice. Geese are often seen on the canal network, along with narrowboats and of course there are plenty of canalside pubs and restaurants to stop at.
Sit down in the Hippodrome: One of the most famous theatres in the country, the Birmingham Hippodrome features an array of acts from musicals to comedy acts, opera to ballet – it all takes place in this magical place, situated in the heart of Birmingham.
Birmingham as a whole: Next time you’re looking for somewhere to visit, why not add Birmingham to the list and see how this city has transformed into one of the most vibrant places in the world.
More Birmingham Links:
Even more things to see in Birmingham
Hotels in Birmingham
Birmingham Self-catering apartments
Thanks to Velvet Escape Birmingham Guide for inspiration
