AEGON Classic: Things to see & do while you’re in Birmingham for the tennis

Visiting Birmingham for tennis? Find out what else you can see and do.

There is plenty for both visitors and locals to do in Birmingham. Whether it be cultural, parks and gardens, shopping or chocolate there is something for everyone.

Cadbury World

The suburb of Bournville is the home of Cadbury’s. There is still a working factory in this tranquil residential area producing all your favourite chocolates.  Visitors can enjoy Cadbury World and the world’s largest Cadbury store.

Find out more on the Cadbury World website.

Image from Cadbury World website

Parks and Gardens

Cannon Hill Park or the Botanical Gardens offer pleasant places to walk, especially if you need to burn off some calories after visiting Cadbury World.

Note: Its costs GBP 7.50 to get in to Botanic Gardens

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cannonhillpark

http://www.birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk/

The Black Country Living Museum

Birmingham was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. The city’s entrepreneurs made a number of advances in science, technology and economic organisation that led to it being hailed as the first manufacturing city in the world. The Black Country Living Museum is an open air attraction that demonstrates what life was like in the Industrial Revolution.

Photo from BCLM website

If this whets your appetite for life in the nineteenth century then the National Trust’s Back to Back houses are worth a visit.

http://www.bclm.co.uk/

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/birmingham-back-to-backs/

Jewellery Quarter

http://visitbirmingham.com/files/2012-02-09/Jewwllery_Quarter_Guide_2011.pdf

Whether you want to buy handcrafted jewellery or just marvel at the jewellery making process Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is the place to visit. The area also contains Birmingham’s last Georgian square, St Paul’s. There are plenty of good bars, restaurants and cafes in the area if you need to recover after shopping.

http://www.the-quarter.com/
http://www.jewelleryquarter.net/about/

Images of the Jewellery Quarter

Birmingham’s Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is housed in a Grade II listed city centre landmark building. The museum shows its collections of art, applied art, social history, archaeology and ethnography in over 40 galleries.

Admission is free. http://www.bmag.org.uk/

Birmigham might be a long way from the coast but The Sea Life is a great aquarium.
http://www.visitsealife.com/Birmingham/

New Developments

In recent years there have been a number of new developments in the city including:

• the Custard Factory, an arts and cultural precinct
• Bullring shopping centre
• Millenium Point, home to Think Tank science
• The Cube, mixed use development whose design is based on a jewellery box

Christmas market

The Christmas Frankfurt Market has been held in Birmingham for over 10 years. It’s not on during the tennis but it’s still worth mentioning. In 2011 Birmingham’s Christmas Frankfurt market was the largest such market outside of Germany.

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/frankfurtmarket

Near to Birmingham

In addition to all of Birmingham’s attractions the following places are all near and easy to get to:

• Warwick – visit the famous castle

• Stratford – Shakespeare’s birth place, need I say more. Catch a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company

• Wales – mid and north Wales is particularly accessible, go hiking in Snowdonia

• Shropshire- Shrewsbury is the birth place of Charles Darwin and a picturesque town, filled with listed buildings, on the Severn river

• Stourport on Severn – enjoy the riverside in this famous Georgian canal town

Interesting facts

The people of Birmingham are known as Brummies. A sample of famous Brummies includes  George Cadbury, ozzy Osbourne, JRR Tolkien, Duran Duran and @ballboy2012.

You may have heard that Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice. This is true. Birmingham has 56km of waterways thanks to Victorian industrialists who constructed them.

With 40% of the population under 25 Birmingham has the youngest population of any city in Europe.

Birmingham is a multicultural city with a third of the population being of ethnic origin.

Guides and maps

http://visitbirmingham.com/explore-birmingham/guides-and-maps/

This was a guest post by @Ballboy2012, who grew up in Birmingham.  Also read Bars and Restaurants to enjoy in Birmingham