Birmingham Sightseeing Guide

Birmingham has many sights worth seeing; there are gardens and parks (like Cannon Hill Park and King’s Heath Park, and the Sutton Park National Nature Reserve), museums and churches (St Chad’s, and the 13th-century St Martin’s, the oldest in the city). For a city that till not too long ago was known mainly for industry and trade, Birmingham has certainly not done badly when it comes to rustling up a long list of sights for tourists to see.

A beautiful 18th-century Baroque church, Birmingham Cathedral is one of the most striking buildings in the city. Its most outstanding features include the tall baroque tower, and the wonderful stained-glass windows, which had been designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, a scion of Birmingham. The cathedral is known as St Phillip’s, and is renowned for its architecture. 

Birmingham’s most lively and largest square, Victoria Square houses one of the largest fountains in Europe- all of 3000 gallons of water flow through it every minute. Quite appropriately, the fountain has been dubbed `The River’, although the locals have a rather more friendly name for it- `The Floozie in the Jacuzzi’. Victoria Square forms more or less the heart of Birmingham City, and some of the main buildings of the city- the Town Hall (dating back to 1834), the Council House (from 1874-81), and the City of Birmingham Museum, with its excellent collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings and English watercolours, are some of the best sights around.

Birmingham has been, for nearly 250 years now, been producing some of the most exquisite jewellery to be found in England.

 The part of town known as Colmore Estate - Jewellery Quarter - was released for re-development in the year 1746, and was soon taken over by the manufacturers of small metal goods, guns, buckles, buttons- and most importantly, jewellery. 

Although many of the shops have since ceased to exist, a number of them still produce jewellery, and there are a host of interesting places to visit in the area. Of these, among the most popular are the Jewellery Quarter Urban Village, the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, the Birmingham Mint (the oldest continuously operating mint in the UK) and the Argent Centre, once a factory for the production of gold pens and pencils, and still an attractive building, with its multi-coloured brickwork.

One of the best art galleries- not just in England but also in Europe- is Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery. The gallery, which is housed in a former Victorian school, has some of the best contemporary art from the UK and overseas.

Birmingham is the home of Cadbury’s Chocolates! Although it’s been a long time since George Cadbury established his factory here, chocolate is still as popular, and chocoholics still have a field day when they come to Bournville, the residential area set up in 1895 around the factory. Bournville is one of Birmingham’s most popular tourist attractions today- besides the chocolate you can buy and consume in the area; there are also a number of sights worth seeing in the vicinity. Among these are medieval buildings of Selly Manor and Minworth Greaves, both of which contain good period furniture and household equipment- fairly interesting. You might also like to visit the Bournville Schools- their architecture is worth a look- and Cadbury World, with its Chocolate Heaven, a multi-media experience that is a must for chocolate lovers!

Britain’s largest inland marine-life centre, the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham is worth a visit, especially if you’ve got children along with you. Even if you don’t, it’s an amazing place to spend a few hours; the centre has more than 3000 species of sea creatures, and a 360-degree transparent tunnel for visitors to walk through, in effect suspending you in mid-ocean. It’s the only tunnel of its kind in the world (so far) and is a must for anyone keen on nature and marine life.