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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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Barber Institute
A visit to the Barber Institute is, for art lovers, a highlight of a trip to Birmingham. The collection takes in Renaissance masterpieces, paintings by old masters such as Rubens and Van Dyck, British greats including Gainsborough, Reynolds and Turner, an array of impressionist pieces and modern classics by the likes of Picasso and Schiele.
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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
The impressive Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery houses displays of local and natural history, fine archaeology and ethnography exhibits, and a renowned collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Other highlights include a fine porcelain collection and works by Degas, Braque, Renoir and Canaletto. You can sip coffee and nibble cake in the charming Edwardian tearoom.
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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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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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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.
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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, and Ascension at the eastern end.
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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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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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Council House
The imposing Council House forms the northeastern face of the town centre.
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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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Ikon Gallery
The Ikon Gallery is a stylishly converted Gothic schoolhouse divided into smallish rooms. It has changing exhibitions of contemporary visual art. The Spanish cuisine dished up in the adjoining café is a great option for refuelling between cultural hot spots - but it will lighten your pockets.
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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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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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Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
In the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, the Smith & Pepper jewellery factory is preserved as it was on the day it closed in 1981 - including abandoned tea mugs and Marmite jars - after 80 years of operation. You can explore the long history of jewellery-making in Birmingham and watch demonstrations of the art. The Jewellery Quarter is about three-quarters of a mile northwest of the centre; catch one of a host of buses (101 is the easiest), or take the Metro from Snow Hill or the train from Moor St to Jewellery Quarter station.
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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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Soho House
Matthew Boulton, inventor of the steam engine, lived in Georgian Soho House in Handsworth between 1766 and 1809. As befits a scientific innovator he installed central heating and plumbing, which may be why he had so many friends. The Lunar Society, of which he was a member, often held their 'brainstorming' sessions there. It has been restored to look as it did in the 18th century and visitors can admire some of Boulton's own furniture and effects. Displays chart the technological advancements of the time.
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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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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.
Showing 1-20 of 20 results
