Birmingham

Birmingham spent the twentieth century being underestimated. Written off as a concrete afterthought between London and the Lake District, England's second city has spent the last two decades proving that judgement wrong, one converted canal wharf and reglazed Victorian arcade at a time. It now has more miles of canal than Venice, a jewellery-making district that still turns out wedding rings by hand, and a restaurant scene that punches well above its postcode.

What makes Birmingham work as a short break is its compactness. The Bullring, the Jewellery Quarter, Brindleyplace and Digbeth are all within twenty minutes of each other on foot, linked by towpaths that turn a walk between attractions into something genuinely pleasant rather than a slog past ring roads. Add a Michelin-starred restaurant scene, a symphony hall acoustically ranked among Europe's best, and a Christmas market that shuts down the city centre every winter, and the case for staying a few days rather than just passing through New Street station becomes obvious.

This is also a city still visibly mid-transformation, with cranes over Digbeth and the new HS2 terminus at Curzon Street reshaping the eastern edge of town. Visitors get the benefit of that energy without the growing pains: new hotels, new galleries and new bars are opening at a rate few UK cities can match.

Top things to do in Birmingham

Birmingham rewards a few days of proper exploring rather than a single whistle-stop afternoon.

• The Bullring and Grand Central — the curved, chainmail-clad Selfridges building is the city's most photographed landmark, and the surrounding markets and malls make for a genuinely good half-day of shopping and people-watching.
• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery — a free, world-class collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings alongside the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest cache of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found.
• The Jewellery Quarter — cobbled streets of working jewellers, independent cafes and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, a preserved factory frozen at the moment its owners retired in 1981.
• Cadbury World — the chocolate-making visitor attraction at Bournville is aimed squarely at families but remains a genuinely popular day out for adults too.
• Birmingham's canal network — Gas Street Basin and Brindleyplace are the starting point for towpath walks that quietly connect much of the city centre away from traffic.
• The Library of Birmingham — an architecturally striking public library with a rooftop garden and view over the city that costs nothing to visit.
• Edgbaston Cricket Ground — a Test match venue with an atmosphere unlike any other ground in the country, particularly during an Ashes fixture.
• The Balti Triangle — Sparkhill and Sparkbrook's cluster of curry houses, the neighbourhood credited with inventing the Balti dish itself in the 1970s.

Getting to Birmingham

Birmingham sits at the centre of England's motorway and rail network, which is precisely why it grew into an industrial giant in the first place. Trains from London Euston to Birmingham New Street take around 1 hour 25 minutes on the fastest services, with regular departures throughout the day. New Street is also the hub for direct trains from Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Edinburgh, making the city an easy stop on a longer UK rail itinerary.

By road, Birmingham sits at the junction of the M5, M6 and M42, with the M40 providing a direct route from London and Oxford. The city centre operates a Clean Air Zone, so check vehicle eligibility before driving in, and be aware that city-centre parking is limited and comparatively expensive; many visitors find it easier to park at a Park and Ride site or simply arrive by train.

Birmingham Airport (BHX) is one of the UK's busiest regional airports, with a driverless people-mover connecting the terminals directly to Birmingham International station, from which it is an eleven-minute train ride into New Street. This makes Birmingham one of the easiest UK cities to combine with an onward or connecting flight.

Best time to visit Birmingham

Spring brings mild weather and the canal towpaths and Cannon Hill Park at their best, along with lighter crowds than summer. It's a good time for museum visits and long walks without the need for winter layers.

Summer is festival season: outdoor screenings, Edgbaston Test cricket in the warmer months, and long evenings on the terraces of Brindleyplace and the Mailbox make this the liveliest time to be in the city, though also the busiest and priciest for hotel rooms.

Autumn offers crisp weather for exploring the Jewellery Quarter and the Botanical Gardens, and marks the build-up to the city's famous Frankfurt Christmas Market, which typically opens in early November and transforms the central streets around Victoria Square.

Winter, particularly during the market's run through to New Year, is when Birmingham feels busiest and most festive, with mulled wine stalls, an ice rink and German-style chalets filling the centre. Outside the market period, winter is a quieter, better-value time to visit, with museums and galleries providing a warm alternative to the weather.

Where to stay in Birmingham

The City Centre and Colmore Business District cluster around New Street station and Victoria Square, putting shopping, nightlife and the main museums within a short walk; this is the obvious base for a first visit and for anyone without a car.

The Jewellery Quarter suits visitors who want a slightly quieter, more characterful base, with converted factory buildings, independent coffee shops and easy tram access into the centre.

Edgbaston offers a leafier, more residential feel, convenient for the cricket ground, the university and the Botanical Gardens, and tends to have a calmer atmosphere in the evenings than the centre.

Digbeth and Southside, immediately south-east of the centre, are the best base for nightlife, street food and live music, with the area's warehouse conversions increasingly popular with visitors who want to be close to the action after dark.

Food and drink in Birmingham

Birmingham's most famous culinary export is the Balti, a fast-cooked curry served in the pan it's cooked in, invented in the city's Sparkhill and Sparkbrook restaurants in the 1970s and still best eaten in the Balti Triangle today. The city also has more Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere in the UK outside London, with Opheem, Adam's and Purnell's all holding stars and showcasing modern British and South Asian cooking.

The Bullring's indoor market and the nearby Indoor Market on Edgbaston Street are good spots for cheaper, more traditional fare, while Brindleyplace and the Mailbox offer canal-side bars and restaurants that make the most of the waterside setting on a warm evening. Digbeth Dining Club brings together street food traders in a converted industrial space and is one of the best casual eating experiences in the city, particularly at weekends. For a drink, the Jewellery Quarter's small bars and the traditional pubs around the Custard Factory both offer a change of pace from the chain bars of the main shopping streets.