The best things to do in Birmingham

The big sights

Water, civic grandeur and some very bold modern architecture.

1. 01

   The canals and Gas Street Basin

   Landmark

   

   Birmingham famously has more miles of canal than Venice. They were the motorways of the Industrial Revolution, and the place where several of them meet, Gas Street Basin, is now the prettiest spot in the centre: painted narrowboats, iron footbridges and old brick warehouses. Follow the towpath to Brindleyplace for waterside restaurants and bars, or take a narrowboat trip and see the city from a completely different angle, at walking pace.

   Tip: The towpaths are the most pleasant way to walk between the Mailbox, Brindleyplace and the Jewellery Quarter.

2. 02

   Library of Birmingham

   Landmark

   

   Opened in 2013 on Centenary Square, the library is wrapped in a filigree of interlocking metal rings, a nod to the city's jewellery and metalworking trades. Inside, a great book-lined rotunda rises through the middle of the building. Head upwards. There are two outdoor garden terraces with views across the city, and at the very top sits the Shakespeare Memorial Room, a wood-panelled Victorian reading room rescued from the original library and rebuilt here.

3. 03

   Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

   Museum

   

   The grand Victorian museum on Chamberlain Square holds one of the most important collections of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world, thanks in part to the local-born painter Edward Burne-Jones. It is also home to part of the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest find of Anglo-Saxon gold ever made. The building has been reopening in stages after major repairs, so check which galleries are open. The Edwardian Tearooms are a destination in themselves.

4. 04

   The Bullring and Selfridges

   Landmark

   

   There has been a market on this spot since the Middle Ages. Today it is one of the busiest shopping centres in the country, guarded by a bronze bull that locals dress up for big occasions and everyone poses beside. The showstopper is the Selfridges building, a curving blue blob covered in thousands of shiny aluminium discs. Next to it stands the spire of St Martin's church, and the contrast between the two sums up the city nicely.

History and museums

1. 05

   Birmingham Back to Backs

   Museum

   

   The last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city, preserved by the National Trust. Thousands of Birmingham families once lived in homes like these, built literally back to back around a shared yard, and each house here is furnished to a different era from the 1840s to the 1970s. Visits are by guided tour, and the guides bring the former residents vividly to life. It is social history at its most human.

   Tip: Tours are small and popular, so book ahead.

2. 06

   The Jewellery Quarter

   Neighbourhood

   

   A short walk north-west of the centre, this district has been making jewellery for more than two centuries and still produces a large share of what is made in Britain. Hundreds of workshops and retailers cluster around the Chamberlain Clock, and it is the place to come for an engagement ring. The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is a factory left exactly as it was when the owners locked up and retired in 1981. Elegant St Paul's Square nearby has good bars and restaurants.

3. 07

   Thinktank

   Museum

   

   Birmingham's science museum, in the Millennium Point building on the east side of the centre. Four floors cover everything from the city's industrial past, including one of the oldest working steam engines in the world, to medicine, space and the natural world. It is firmly aimed at families, with a planetarium, an outdoor science garden and plenty to touch. A reliable choice for a wet day.

4. 08

   Black Country Living Museum

   Day trip

   West of the city in Dudley, an open-air museum rebuilds a slice of the industrial Black Country: shops, houses, a school, a pub and workshops moved here brick by brick, with costumed staff who stay cheerfully in character. You can ride a vintage tram, go down a mine and eat fish and chips fried the traditional way. Fans of Peaky Blinders will recognise the canal-side streets, which were used for filming.

Days out with the family

1. 09

   Cadbury World

   Activity

   

   The Cadbury family built their chocolate factory at Bournville, south of the centre, along with a leafy model village for their workers. The visitor attraction next door tells the story of chocolate from the Aztecs to the Dairy Milk bar, with demonstrations, rides and a great deal of tasting. It is cheerful, sugary and a guaranteed hit with children. Bournville itself is worth a short wander for its village green.

   Tip: Book a timed ticket in advance, especially in school holidays.

2. 10

   Birmingham Botanical Gardens

   Nature

   

   In leafy Edgbaston, these Victorian gardens have been open since the 1830s. Four glasshouses take you from tropical rainforest to arid desert, and outside there are sweeping lawns, a bandstand, a rock garden and a national collection of bonsai. It is a gentle, old-fashioned afternoon out, with a playground for small children and a tearoom looking over the lawn.

Eat and drink

1. 11

   The Balti Triangle

   Food

   

   The balti was born in Birmingham in the 1970s: a fast-cooked curry served sizzling in the same thin steel bowl it was made in, scooped up with a huge naan in place of cutlery. The neighbourhoods south of the centre, around Ladypool Road and Stoney Lane, are where it began. The restaurants are unpretentious and proud of their craft. For many visitors, a proper balti is reason enough to come.

2. 12

   Digbeth

   Neighbourhood

   The old industrial quarter east of the Bullring is Birmingham's creative district. Railway arches and factory walls are covered in street art, and the Custard Factory, once the home of Bird's Custard, is now a hive of studios, independent shops and bars. Come at the weekend for street food, live music and late nights. It is scruffy in the best way, and changing fast.

Day trips

1. 13

   Stratford-upon-Avon

   Day trip

   

   William Shakespeare was born, schooled and buried in this handsome market town on the River Avon, a short train ride south of Birmingham. You can visit the timber-framed house where he was born, his grave in Holy Trinity Church and Anne Hathaway's thatched cottage just outside town. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs in its riverside theatre for much of the year. Catching a play here is the perfect end to the day.

2. 14

   Warwick Castle

   Day trip

   

   One of the best-preserved medieval castles in England, founded by William the Conqueror and rising dramatically above the River Avon. There are towers and ramparts to climb, state rooms to explore and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown. It is run as a family attraction, with jousting and other live displays in season. The town of Warwick, with its crooked timbered buildings, deserves an hour too.

Where to stay in Birmingham

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  ★★★★

  Hyatt Regency Birmingham

  Birmingham

  Spa · Pool · Parking

  From £190 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 22:37

• 

  ★★★★

  Saint Pauls House

  Birmingham

  34 rooms · Parking

  From £136 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

• 

  ★★★★★

  The Grand Hotel Birmingham

  Birmingham

  Pets allowed

  From £182 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

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  ★★★★

  The High Field Town House

  Birmingham

  12 rooms · Parking

  From £95 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

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  ★★★★

  Hilton Birmingham Metropole

  Marston Green

  All-inclusive option · Pool · Family-friendly

  From £144 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

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  ★★★★

  Adagio Birmingham City Centre

  Birminghan

  Parking

  From £93 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

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  ★★★★

  Aloft Birmingham Eastside

  Birmingham

  From £130 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 22:37

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  ★★★★

  Birmingham North Moor Hall Hotel, BW Premier

  Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

  Spa · Pool · Family-friendly

  From £144 a night, taxes incl.2 adults · checked 14 Nov, 10:07

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