Birmingham, in the West Midlands, is Britain's second-largest city. Known in the Victorian era as the "City of a Thousand Trades" and the "Workshop of the World", Brum, as locals call the city, is enjoying a 21st-century resurgence as a great shopping and cultural destination.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Birmingham ["ber-ming-'"m] was at the heart of Britain's Industrial Revolution, and its wealth was built upon the multitude of trades that were spawned. This led to a massive canal network, with more miles of canals than Venice or Amsterdam (though they're very different types of canal). Grand warehouses, offices, railway stations, and civic structures were built as a result of this great progress. Much of the city centre was destroyed during the Blitz, and the post war rebuilding effort resulted in many brutalist concrete structures, made to be built as cheaply and quickly as possible.
Birmingham's City Centre is mostly pedestrianised, and most things to see and do can be reached on foot. Birmingham walking directions can be planned online with the walkit.com walking route planner. Visitors may enjoy the walk from the International Convention Centre (ICC) and the Symphony Hall on the top of Broad Street to the Bull Ring shopping complex, which takes around twenty minutes and may involve only one easy surface road-crossing.
Birmingham doesn't have a reputation for being especially picturesque, but there is a lot of interesting architecture in the city centre that the shops and crowds sometimes obscure. For such a (relatively) large population centre, the countryside (in the form of country parks such as the Lickey Hills, Waseley Hills, etc.) is surprisingly close. For a place with a strong industrial heritage, Birmingham does not have the large range of historical attractions you may expect; however, this is offset by the arts being extremely well-represented. 1 Aston Hall, Trinity Rd, Aston (Train to Aston or Witton or #7 bus), ☏ +44 121 327-0062, bmag_enquiries@birmingham.gov.uk.
Birmingham hosts some of the largest events, exhibitions and conferences in the country, which may or may not be of interest to a visitor. 1 National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Marston Green, Solihull (train to Birmingham International or #900 bus), ☏ +44 870 909 4133 (premium rate), cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk. A huge exhibition centre, staging more than 180 exhibitions each year in 21 halls totalling 200,000 m². Also has a 12,000-seat arena hosting national and international sporting and entertainment events. Free-£40 (price varies with event).. 2 Arena Birmingham (National Indoor Arena), King Edwards Rd., B1 2AA, ☏ +44 870 909 4133 (premium rate), cs.boxoffice@necgroup.co.uk.
Birmingham is the balti capital of England, and the balti was invented here in 1977. It is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The much-promoted "balti triangle" covers around 50 restaurants on Ladypool Road and Stratford Road in Sparkbrook (often referred to as Little Somalia), about 2 miles south of the city centre. Travel West Midlands has a deal with eight of the larger eateries whereby you can get a 15% discount for travelling by bus, pick up a Balti Triangle by Bus leaflet for full details. Birmingham has a large student population, and the usual cottage industries have sprung up in campus areas to cater for their lack of cash.
Birmingham is home to many historic pubs. If you are a real ale aficionado, there are several excellent pubs to visit offering a wide selection of cask ales (bitters, milds, India Pale Ales, etc) and stouts. Gin and tonics and ciders are also widely available. Highlights include The Wellington (Bennets Hill), The Shakeseare (Summer Row), another The Shakeseare (Lower Temple Street), The Old Contemptables (Edmund Street, near Snow Hill Station), and the Post Office Vaults (New Street). 1 Bull, 1 Price St, B4 6JU, ☏ +44 121 333-6757. Quiet and comfortable pub, in the Gun quarter. Home-cooked food, too. 2 Figure of Eight, 236 Broad St, B1 2HG, ☏ +44 121 633-0917.
As with the rest of the UK, in any emergency call 999 or 112 (from a landline if you can) and ask for ambulance, fire or police when connected. For non-emergency police matters, such as reporting crimes after they have occurred, lost property, etc.) call 101. In general, despite its bad reputation, Birmingham is a safe city. However, like most large cities, there are safer and more dangerous areas. Certain suburbs (see below) have had their share of knife crime problems, but these are extremely unlikely to affect you unless you make yourself part of the larger drug gang problem.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Top-rated tours and tickets from €22 — book ahead for the popular ones.
Tours and tickets provided by Viator (a Tripadvisor company). Some links earn Stayonomy a commission.
In Jul, Birmingham typically sees ~23°C daytime highs and 10 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-07-23. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy