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Its best known among tourists for its shopping and its nightlife, but Birmingham has a historical and increasingly an artistic side that is well worth exploring. More and more visitors are flocking to the city, not only to stay in the burgeoning range of luxury Birmingham hotels – Millennium Hotels now has a Birmingham venue – and to shop in the Bull’s Ring, but also to admire the scattering of Art Deco buildings and browse the numerous art galleries and museums. Whether you’re a culture vulture or simply fancy some casual sightseeing, these top locations present the city at its best.
Soho House
Once the home of the famous 18th-century manufacturer Matthew Boulton, this impressive piece of architecture now boasts a museum which gives a real insight into Birmingham’s development. It makes a great starting point of any cultural and historical tour of the city.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Birmingham has its fair share of smaller art galleries and museums, but for a real feast of cultural diversity the BMAG is the place to go. With exhibitions that cover everything from history and archaeology to fine art, ceramics, ethnography and metalwork, it’s the city’s premier cultural venue.
Victoria Square
This attractive square in the city centre is the focus of cultural life in Birmingham. It hosts several pieces of art – the most famous of which are Antony Gormley’s Iron: Man sculpture and Dhruva Mistry’s River fountain. You’ll also find the Council House and Town Hall here, and during the winter Victoria Square hosts the lively Frankfurt Christmas Market and Craft Fair.
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
As an important manufacturing hub, much of Birmingham’s history is linked to the industries that drove the city’s growth. Nowhere is this made clearer than in the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, a free attraction that looks at the Industrial Revolution in Birmingham and how it affected its evolution as a city.
Birmingham Institute of Fine Arts
Renowned as one of the country’s best fine arts museums, the Birmingham Institute is a mecca for culture junkies. Art Deco fans will also be able to spend hours admiring the Grade II exterior of the gallery and concert hall.
These sites should give you a good taste of one of England‘s lesser visited cities.
