Sights in Birmingham
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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
One of the best collections of Pre-Raphaelite works in the world. Highlights include a gallery of creations by Birmingham lad Edward Burne-Jones – look out for his massive triptych The Last Judgement, a grand piano smothered in gilt plasterwork, and a vast, goldpainted, Renaissance-themed wedding chest. Paintings include Ford Madox Brown’s The Last of England, where British migrants pass Dover-esque white cliffs to leave the country, and Henry Wallis’ Death of Chatterton, a diminutive oil featuring a doomed, pale poet sprawled in his attic bedroom. Then there’s an image seen on countless cards worldwide: Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s iconic Proserpine, in which a soulful, aubu…
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Cadbury World
Chocoholics from miles around flock to Cadbury World, which provides a lip-smacking exploration into the history, production and consumption of the ever popular cocoa-based confectionery, seen through the eyes of one of the world's largest chocolate-makers.
Kids - and sweet-toothed grown-ups - will love it, but beware of the afternoon sugar-crash! Ride a beanmobile or take a wander down Cocoa Rd, paved with 'talking chocolate splodges'. If you're lucky, you may get to see the finishing touches being put to your favourite chocolate. Book ahead - it's very popular in July and August. Opening hours vary. It's closed for some of December and most of January, but open from 10…
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Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
This is an industrial time capsule set in a former factory which has been preserved as it was when it closed after 80 years of operation. Displays reveal just what nine-carat gold is made up of (not as much gold as you might think), and showcase such things as a silver 1930s card case, 18th-century candlesticks and an Acme Thunderer railway guard’s whistle. The Jewellery Quarter is three-quarters of a mile northwest of the centre; walk or hop on a train or metro to the down Cocoa Rd or try your hand at chocolate-making. Opening hours vary, and booking is advised – and essential during July and August; phone or check the website for details. Cadbury World is part of Bournv…
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Sarehole Mill
Built in the late 18th century, it was a favourite haunt of the young JRR Tolkien, who played here after his family moved to Birmingham in the late 1800s. It’s said the mill and nearby Moseley Bog provided inspiration for the Shire – home to Bilbo, Frodo and Samwise Gamgee in Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Travel 5 miles south of the city on bus 11A, 11C or 11E to reach the mill. There you’ll see pulley wheels, sack hoists and lots of worn beams. Then look out for little folk with furry feet.
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Barber Institute of Fine Art
The collection at the Barber Institute of Fine Art takes in Renaissance masterpieces by Martini, Bellini and Veronese, works by old masters such as Rubens and Van Dyck, British greats including Gainsborough, Reynolds and Turner, an array of Impressionist pieces, and works by the likes of Picasso, Rembrant and Schiele. The institute is at the University of Birmingham, 2½ miles south of the city centre. Take the train from New St to University station, or catch bus 61, 62 or 63 from Corporation St.
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Birmingham Central Library
Although each of the universities and university colleges has its own excellent libraries, you might still end up writing an essay or leafing through reference books in Birmingham Central Library. It’s the busiest public library in Britain and occupies eight floors. Shaped like an upside down ziggurat, it’s slap bang in the middle of town, making a spot of study possible between shopping trips. Plans are also afoot for a brand-new, multi-million pound library in nearby Centenary Sq.
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Ikon Gallery
The turreted, terracotta Ikon Gallery is just to the west in Brindleyplace. This former Victorian school has been converted into an ubercool contemporary art space. Steel and glass staircases wind up to cavernous galleries filled with performance works, videos and modern oils. Check out the intimate, curved tower room; when art is this close, its impossible to ignore. It also has a cafe that serves great tapas and sherry to refuel between cultural hot spots.
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Thinktank
East of the centre, the Millennium Point development is designed to help people understand science and technology. The focal point is Thinktank , an ambitious attempt to make science accessible (primarily to kids). Interactive displays cover topics such as the body and medicine, science in everyday life, nature, future technology, and industrial history, as well as an impressive new digital Planetarium.
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Cathedral Church of St Philip
One of England's smallest cathedrals, the striking Cathedral Church of St Philip, was constructed in a neoclassical style between 1709 and 1715. The Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones was responsible for the magnificent stained-glass windows: the Last Judgement, which can be seen at the western end, and Nativity, Crucifixion and Ascension at the eastern end.
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Aston Hall
This Jacobean mansion, built between 1618 and 1635, boasts some impressive pieces and houses some furniture, paintings and textiles from the Birmingham Museum's collections (look for the Romney and Gainsborough in the dining room). There are turrets, gables, plaster ceilings and friezes, and a panelled gallery that's over 40m (130ft) long.
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Warwickshire County Cricket Club
It’s best to be on the ball to bag international Test Match tickets, though there’s often space at local games; the Twenty20 matches are pulsating, even for the uninitiated. Both are played at the Warwickshire County Cricket Club. It’s a couple of miles south of the centre; catch bus 45 or 47.
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Selly Manor
Selly Manor, dating from 1327 or earlier, was carefully taken apart and reconstructed by George Cadbury - who looks remarkably like Sigmund Freud - in order to save it from destruction. It has 18th-century furnishings and a Tudor garden.
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Victoria Square
The central pedestrians-only Victoria Square features a giant fountain of a bathing woman (nicknamed, amusingly, 'the floozy in the Jacuzzi'), and a drab statue of Queen Victoria. It is also home to the Town Hall and Council House.
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Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
One of the oldest art societies in the UK, it played an important part in the Pre-Raphaelite movement and currently displays work by some of the region’s top artists and craftspeople at its gallery in the Jewellery Quarter.
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Birmingham Town Hall
To the south of the town centre stands the Town Hall, opened in 1834, and designed by Joseph Hansom (creator of the hansom cab, forerunner to London's black taxis) to look like the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome.
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Royal Shakespeare Company
Pop over to Stratford-upon-Avon, just 50 minutes away by train or car. Under 25s can bag tickets to see the Royal Shakespeare Company for as little as £5. Book early, then settle in for a truly dramatic experience.
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Central Library
The northwestern corner of the town centre is formed by the modernist Central Library, reminiscent of an inverted ziggurat, with the Paradise Forum shop and café complex next to it.
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International Convention Centre
West of the town centre, the International Convention Centre is situated at the western end of Centenary Sq. Here, you'll also find Symphony Hall, overlooked by the Repertory Theatre.
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Bournville Village
Cadbury World is part of pretty Bournville Village, designed for early-20th-century factory workers by the Cadbury family. Large houses, each unique, are set around a green.
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Iron Man
For those who won't make it to Gateshead to see Antony Gormley's Angel of the North statue, his wingless Iron Man, on Victoria Sq, is a step in the same direction.
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Soho House
The Lunar Society met in Mathew Boulton’s Soho House, a beautiful Georgian residence on the fringes of the Jewellery Quarter. To visit, catch bus 74 or 79.
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Chamberlain Square
Chamberlain Square features a memorial to Joseph Chamberlain, one of Birmingham's more enlightened mayors, and the eye-catching Central Library.
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Birmingham City
If it’s match day, soak up the atmosphere at Birmingham City. Pick a scarf (of the right colours) and prepare to shout: ‘referee!’
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Hall of Memory War Memorial
Inside Centenary Sq is the Hall of Memory War Memorial, and there are often temporary exhibitions in the square.
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Council House
The imposing Council House forms the northeastern face of the town centre.
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