Register today to receive exclusive offers, deals and discounts not available anywhere else.
Britain’s second city is a hive of multiculturalism and has long dispensed with its reputation for industrial squalor. Now a buzzing cultural centre, with some of the country’s best shopping and dining spots, Birmingham is smart, sassy and surprising.
Birmingham was the beating heart of Britain’s economic power during the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing almost everything we exported during this period – including ideas and scientific and technological innovations.
Because of its industrial prominence, it grew quickly from a medium-sized market town in 1841 to an urban centre with almost three times as many inhabitants 50 years later. During this period it also became known for creativity, innovation and radical, political ideas.
Nowadays little of Victorian Birmingham is left due to the heavy bombing it sustained during the Second World War. What it lacks in historical architecture, however, it makes up for in spirit, culture and top class entertainment.
Birmingham Airport is a truly international travel hub located six miles east of Birmingham city centre. The airport currently offers both domestic flights within the UK, and international flights to destinations in Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, North America and the Caribbean.
Airport facilities include a brand new passenger terminal, a dedicated airport train station and its own Birmingham Airport Meet and Greet parking service.
Destinations and airlines
Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers and provides a base for the airlines BMI, Bmibaby, Flybe, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair and Thomson Airways.
Destinations from Birmingham include domestic routes to Aberdeen, Belfast, Isle of Man and Newcastle, routes to European cities such as Zurich, Athens and Helsinki and links to far flung destinations in Central America, The Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
Airport facilities
With a new state of the art single terminal, Birmingham Airport is perfectly positioned to offer passengers a fantastic transit experience.
Its facilities include baggage trolleys, prayer rooms, washing facilities, bureaux de change, Wi-Fi access, special assistance for people with disabilities, a visitor centre and a choice of great shops and restaurants.
The airport is served by its own train station and offers a new Birmingham Airport Parking service for those wishing to park at the airport without the usual hassle.
Transport links
Located just off the M6 and M42 motorways in the heart of the country, Birmingham Airport is located within a two hour drive of over 35 million people.
If you decide to take your own car when you fly from Birmingham, you’ll find an excellent selection of self-service and valet parking deals available. With providers like Stress Free Parking, Air Parks and Meteor all based on site, it’s easy to pick up a cheap deal from a reliable provider.
Search and compare the best cheap airport parking deals and the best Birmingham Meet and Greet offers now.
If you don’t plan to take your own car, you can get the train right to the airport by getting off at Birmingham International Station and changing on to the free monorail service. Birmingham Airport is also served by a range of coach providers from Birmingham city centre and further afield.
For more information on bus services, visit the Getting to the Airport page on Birmingham Airport’s website.
If you’d like to spend a little bit on getting a luxurious room for the night in Birmingham, why not try boutique Hotel Du Vin on Church Street? Set within a huge Victorian building in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, it offers a spa, billiard rooms and excellent ales and wines.
Also rather nice in the four and five star accommodation category are the Copthorne on Paradise Circus, the Hyatt Regency on Bridge Street and Malmaison on Wharfside Street.
If you’d like something decent which won’t break the bank, try the Travelodge on Broad Street. While it’s not the most exciting place to stay, it’s good value for money and is very centrally located. The Premier Inn on Waterloo Street also has a good reputation.
Cheaper still is the Birmingham Central Backpackers hostel on Coventry Street.
If you’re looking for a gourmet experience and don’t mind how much you spend, try Purnell’s on Cornwall Street. Run by Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell, one of the highlights of this a la carte British restaurant is the seven course Purnell’s Tour menu for £65.
Equally good and equally priced are Brasserie de Malmaison on Wharfside Street and Simpsons in Edgbaston, both of which deliver great French cooking.
No trip to Birmingham would be complete without sampling one of its famous curries however, so if you’re game, head to Deolali on St. Mary’s Row in Moseley, Pushkar on Broad Street or winner of the 2010 Best Curry Award, Lasan on James Street.
Other interesting city centre eateries include Metro Bar and Grill on Cornwall Street, the Edwardian café at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery and veggie favourite, The Warehouse Café.
Although Birmingham isn’t packed with examples of beautiful architecture, it does contain the odd hidden gem for sightseers.
These include St. Philips Cathedral on Colmore Row which dates back to 1715, and which echoes the Italian Baroque, the lovingly-restored canal intersection Gas Street Basin, and the rambling Edwardian building which houses The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Other visits worth making in Birmingham include Rotunda Square and the New Bull Ring shopping centre for the way for the interesting way in which new and old parts of the city are mixed, and the IKON Gallery for its imaginative exhibitions and city-wide projects.
What Birmingham lacks in architecture and culture it more than makes up for in retail opportunities. From hand-crafted jewellery to the best of Europe’s boutiques, if you can’t find it in Birmingham, it probably isn’t worth having.
If shopping centres are your thing, hot foot it to the Bullring. One of the largest shopping centres in Europe, a trip to the Bullring is quite literally a day out in its own right thanks to the 160 shops and 25 restaurants you’ll find there.
The streets of Birmingham’s city centre also teem with shops, from the boutiques of New Street, to the high street favourites on - you’ve guessed it - High Street.
For unique gifts, antiques or vintage-wear, make for the Jewellery Quarter or try out Birmingham’s Craft Market ‘Handmade Birmingham’ which runs every weekend along Edgbaston Street.
There’s a huge choice of places to enjoy yourself in Birmingham when the sun goes down as you might imagine. Club-wise, some of the highlights include superclub Air on Heath Mill Lane, Factory Club at the old Custard Factory, and gay club The Nightingale on Kent Street.
If you like to get out and about without the bar bill or glowsticks, you might like to take in a show or live music or comedy event at one of Birmingham’s many theatres and music venues. There’s usually an excellent selection to choose from, check out what’s on at the Repertory Theatre, The NEC, The Hippodrome and The Town Hall just for starters.
When all’s said and done though, you can’t beat a good pint, and Birmingham isn’t short of a good boozer or two. Nice traditional pubs include Old Joint Stock on Temple Row West, Wellington on Bennetts Hill and The Crown on Corporation Street.