Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the centre of the West Midlands region of England.
It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.2 million people in the city proper in 2025. Birmingham is the centre of the ceremonial West Midlands county, and borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Walsall, West Bromwich, Dudley and Solihull, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the north and northeast. Birmingham's urban area has a population of 2.7 million and its wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million. The city of Coventry lies to the east of the city, separated by the Meriden Gap. The cathedral city of Lichfield lies to the north of the city, separated by the M6 Toll.
Getting to Birmingham
- 01Birmingham Airport
- 02Birmingham New Street
- 03Birmingham Snow Hill station
- 04Birmingham Moor Street
Both of these stations are on the Snow Hill line, which sees local traffic within the region operated by West Midlands Railway.
Worth seeing
Birmingham doesn't have a reputation for being especially picturesque, but there is a lot of interesting architecture in the city centre that the shops and crowds sometimes obscure. For such a (relatively) large population centre, the countryside (in the form of country parks such as the Lickey Hills, Waseley Hills, etc.) is surprisingly close.
Things to do
Birmingham hosts some of the largest events, exhibitions and conferences in the country, which may or may not be of interest to a visitor.
- 01National Exhibition Centre
- 02Arena Birmingham
- 03International Convention Centre
A modern convention centre sharing a building with Symphony Hall.
- 04The Custard Factory
- 05Symphony Hall
Broad St, box office), boxoffice@thsh.co.uk.
- 06CBSO Centre
Berkley St (off Broad St), +44 121 780-3333 (ticket line), information@cbso.co.uk.
Where to eat
Birmingham is the balti capital of England, and the balti was invented here in 1977. It is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The much-promoted "balti triangle" covers around 50 restaurants on Ladypool Road and Stratford Road in Sparkbrook (often referred to as Little Somalia), about 2 miles south of the city centre.
Getting around Birmingham the local way
- Get aroundPopular providers include: AFJ Minibuses, Birmingham Minibus hire available 24 hours a day.
From Wikivoyage: Birmingham, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.