Birmingham has everything that a tourist could wish for: culture, history, beautiful parks and a large number of museums. It is an ideal destination for a city trip.
Everyone imagines Birmingham to be an uninteresting industrial city. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past few years, Birmingham has transformed itself into a tourist magnet, with beautiful country houses, museums and castles, including the Kenilworth Castle and the Warwick Castle. Birmingham’s nightlife is also a genuine attraction.
Birmingham was once known as the canal city, not because of the number of canals but because of their total length of about 55 kilometres. Important tourist attractions include the National Sea Life Centre, the botanical gardens and the cathedral, a beautiful baroque building with magnificent stained-glass windows. Birmingham also has a number of well-known museums, such as the City Museum and Art Gallery and Thinktank, a museum of science and discovery.
Bournville
Introduction
This planned Quaker village is the most
remarkable of Birmingham’s suburbs,
preserving an idyllic village vibe.
Cultural
Now a museum
of Jacobean and Tudor furniture, the
lavishly beamed Minworth Greaves
(Maple Road) and adjacent Selly Manor
offer an enjoyable insight into medieval
and Tudor Midlands lifestyles. And no
trip to Bournville is complete without the
world-conquering indulgence that gave
the village its name. Cadbury World
(Linden Road) takes visitors through the
history of the cocoa bean and Cadbury
dynasty – with all-you-can-eat samples
included in the ticket price.
Restaurants
More waistband-popping
fare is on offer at Mangos Restaurant
(3 Bournville Lane, tel. (0)121 458 2690),
an unpretentious Caribbean that
produces steaming bowls of ackee
and salt cod from the depths of its
tiny kitchen.
Eastside
Introduction
This is the rebranding for Digbeth’s
blossoming arts area to the south of the
centre. Whatever its name, the district
is vibrant and endearingly unpretentious.
Hotels
The Paragon Hotel is
as cosy as a B&B (145 Alcester Street,
tel. (0)121 627 0627, theparagonhotel.
co.uk, doubles from €46/£40).
Cultural
Studio 4 Gallery
(The Custard Factory, Gibb Street) is one
of the UK’s best galleries for street and
‘subversive’ art with pieces from Beat 13,
Chu and street artist du jour Banksy.
Pubs
Find urban art, comfy
chairs and eclectic acts at working man’s
boozer-turned-hip haunt The Rainbow
(160 High Street). Or for a taste of old
Digbeth (and affordable ale) visit the
kitsch Irish Centre (14-20 High Street).
Shops
Stock up on retro
clobber at the whimsically curated Cow
Vintage (82-85 Digbeth High Street).
Handsworth
Introduction
Notorious for race riots in the 1980s,
today’s Handsworth is a pleasing mix of
balti houses and Caribbean eateries.
Cultural
Work it off
with a Bengali dance lesson at the
Handsworth Asian Dance Centre (Fire
Station, Rookery Road, tel. (0)7837
525969, book in advance). For evidence
of a very different past, the elegant
neoclassical Soho House (5 Soho Avenue)
has been restored to its 18th-century
glory, when it was home to Birmingham
industrial pioneer Matthew Boulton.
Restaurants
The chief reason to visit this
quarter is the grub – from the authentic
northern Indian classics at Chandni
Chowk (125 Soho Road, (0)121 554
0042) to the delectable Caribbean
marinated meats at Flavour Flame (393-
395 Soho Road, tel. (0)121 507 1911).
The tolkien trail
Introduction
The author of The Lord of the Rings
lived in Birmingham from the age of
three to 19, and many extant city sights
are woven into his fictional worlds.
Cultural
Tolkien spent four
years in a house opposite 18th-century
Sarehole Mill (Cole Bank Road), and
its red-brick building and gloomy lake
inspired him – Sandyman’s Mill in
The Hobbit bears a resemblance to
Sarehole (then a small hamlet). Other
must-sees include the baroque Oratory
Church (Hagley Road, Edgbaston), whose
school Tolkien attended, and the curious
castellated tower of Perrott’s Folly
(Waterworks Road, Edgbaston); the
inspiration for The Two Towers.
Population
Currency
Telephone
Birmingham International
Bus: Buses from the
airport to the city
centre leave every
30 minutes and a
single fare costs
€1,95/£1.50.
Train: Trains run
from Birmingham
International to New
Street Station; the
journey will take
around 10-20 minutes
and a return ticket
will cost €7/£5.30
before 9.30am and
€4,50/£3.40 after
9.30am.
Taxi: A taxi from the
airport into the city
centre will cost around
€22/£17 and take
about 40 minutes.
Tourist information: The main tourist office
is at The Rotunda,
150 New Street (tel.
(0)870 225 0127,
beinbirmingham.
com).