Things to do in Birmingham

Best Things to do in Birmingham

Planning a trip and wondering about the top things to do in Birmingham? From historic landmarks to modern experiences, the city offers something for every traveller, making it a perfect getaway in 2026.

With over 91 activities in Birmingham, there is plenty to explore. Visit some of the most popular tourist attractions in , including iconic sites, vibrant neighbourhoods and cultural hubs. Whether you’re exploring bustling markets, sampling local delicacies or relaxing at scenic spots, every corner has something new to discover.

With experiences starting at INR 286, it’s never been easier to plan your perfect trip. Make the most of your visit to Birmingham in January and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Discover the Best Things to Do in Birmingham: A City That Moves Between Past and Present

About Birmingham

Birmingham does not dazzle in the way some cities try to. It takes its time. The first impression might be a tangle of roads and modern glass, but wander a little and the layers begin to show. The canals catch the light differently in the morning, and the slow ripple of water softens the hard edges of the warehouses. The air in Digbeth carries the scent of fresh paint from a new mural mixed with the smoke of food stalls, and it tells you the city is still inventing itself.

What makes Birmingham compelling is the way its past and present lean into each other. In one afternoon you can stand in the Jewellery Quarter where centuries of metalwork continue almost unchanged, then walk a few streets and find a gallery showing art that could not have existed twenty years ago. Families move easily here too, drifting between chocolate tours, science exhibits and sprawling gardens.

The city’s spirit is not about standing still. It has always been about what comes next. That is why Birmingham feels more like a story in motion than a postcard frozen in time.

Unique Experiences

Walking the Canals and the Victorian Heart

The canals are Birmingham’s quiet stage. Early in the day you might pass joggers on the towpath, or a café setting out chairs by the water, but the stones and the bridges carry older memories. This walk is not just about moving through space. It is about standing where coal once arrived, where factories turned noise into prosperity, and where Victorian ambition shaped a skyline. A good guide pulls those stories forward, and suddenly the walk feels less like sightseeing and more like reading a long chapter of the city’s diary.

• Where: Central Birmingham, around the Library and Brindley Place canals
• Pricing: INR 1,800 to INR 2,500 per person
• Timing: Tours usually set out in the afternoon around 2:00 PM, lasting about two hours.
• When to Visit: Any time of year, though spring light makes the water glow differently

Stories of the Slogging Gangs

In the quiet of the evening, narrow streets in Birmingham hold onto old rumours. The slogging gangs once ruled here, and their reputation still carries a kind of weight. On this tour you walk into those stories, hearing how ordinary life mixed with fear, rivalry and survival. It feels atmospheric, almost like stepping into a novel, except the stones under your feet and the worn corners of the pubs are real. The city’s gentler side is never far away, but for a couple of hours you see Birmingham through the eyes of its roughest past.

• Where: Birmingham City Centre
• Pricing: INR 2,400 to INR 3,100 per person
• Timing: Runs in the evening, typically starting around 7:00 PM, lasting about two hours.
• When to Visit: All year, though the night tours draw out the atmosphere more clearly

Top Attractions

Winterbourne House and Garden

There is something calming about stepping into Winterbourne. The Edwardian house sits quietly in Edgbaston, surrounded by gardens that feel far removed from the city’s hum. Inside, rooms have been carefully restored, giving you a glimpse of domestic life from another era. Outside, paths wind through orchards, woodland and floral borders. In spring the air carries the scent of fresh blooms, while autumn covers the grounds in warm colour. It is the kind of place where families linger longer than planned, and solo travellers often find themselves slowing their steps without realising it.

• Where: Edgbaston, Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 1,200 to INR 1,800 per person
• Timing: Open daily 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• When to Visit: Best from March to October when the gardens are in full life

Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Glasshouses

The Botanical Gardens feel like a world in miniature. Walk into one glasshouse and you are in a humid tropical forest, another brings you into the dry quiet of the desert, and outside fifteen acres of landscaped grounds stretch into lawns and flowerbeds. Children run to the aviaries, couples linger by the koi ponds, and visitors of all ages pause to sit beneath trees that have stood for generations. It is not only a garden but a living collection of climates and stories, all framed within the city.

• Where: Westbourne Road, Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 1,000 to INR 1,500 per person
• Timing: Regular hours 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• When to Visit: April to September when the glasshouses and outdoor gardens show their best

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Birmingham

The pull of bright colour and imagination is strong at the Discovery Centre. For children it is a place to build, play and dive into worlds of their own making. For adults it is often a nostalgic return to the creativity of childhood. Rides, 4D cinema and workshops keep the pace lively, while models of Birmingham made entirely from bricks reveal the city in miniature. Few places combine fun and design with this much energy under one roof.

• Where: Arena Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 2,000 to INR 3,000 per person
• Timing: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, allow three to four hours
• When to Visit: All year round, weekends are especially busy with families

Cadbury World

• Birmingham’s sweetest experience is also one of its most famous. Cadbury World is less a factory tour and more a journey through the history and magic of chocolate. Exhibits explain how cocoa became a global story, rides add excitement for children, and tasting stations remind visitors why the brand has lasted so long. Families often spend most of a day here, leaving with both knowledge and more than a little chocolate.
• Where: Bournville, Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 2,500 to INR 3,500 per person
• Timing: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, allow three to four hours
• When to Visit: All year round, advance booking recommended on weekends

Thinktank Science Museum

Thinktank takes curiosity seriously. Walk through its halls and you move from giant steam engines to futuristic space exhibits. Children crawl through interactive zones while adults stand quietly before the sheer scale of early machinery. The planetarium adds another layer, taking visitors from the heart of Birmingham to the edge of the stars in a single sitting. It is both playful and profound, and it leaves you seeing science as a story of constant discovery.

• Where: Curzon Street, Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 1,800 to INR 2,500 per person
• Timing: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, allow three to four hours
• When to Visit: All year round

National SEA LIFE Centre

In the middle of Birmingham you can walk under water. The SEA LIFE Centre draws you through tunnels where sharks glide overhead and rays sweep past with slow grace. Smaller tanks reveal the colourful precision of coral and tropical fish, while the ocean tunnel remains the highlight. Children press their faces to the glass, adults pause in wonder, and the city outside feels very far away.

• Where: Brindley Place, Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 2,000 to INR 3,000 per person
• Timing: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, allow two to three hours
• When to Visit: All year round

Sightseeing Tours

City Centre Walking Tour

The centre of Birmingham is best learned step by step. A guided walk here is not just about ticking off landmarks, but about listening to the stories that unfold between them. Victoria Square, the canals, and the historic Town Hall carry the weight of centuries, yet feel alive in the present. With a guide pointing out details most people would overlook, the city centre becomes more than a backdrop — it becomes a story told in bricks and bridges.

• Where: Birmingham City Centre
• Pricing: INR 3,000 to INR 3,500 per person
• Timing: Groups usually depart at 10:00 AM or 2:00 PM, each walk around ninety minutes.
• When to Visit: All year, with mornings offering quieter streets

Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

Sometimes the best way to see a city is to let it roll past you. The open top bus loops through Birmingham, carrying you from the Bullring to the Jewellery Quarter, past museums and back along the canals. You can step off when curiosity calls, and rejoin later to continue the journey. It is not rushed. Instead it allows you to take in the scale of Birmingham at your own pace, with the wind in your face and the city spread out around you.

• Where: Central Birmingham, along designated routes
• Pricing: INR 3,500 to INR 4,000 per person
• Timing: First bus leaves around 10:00 AM, last loop ends around 5:00 PM.
• When to Visit: Best from April to October when the weather favours open top views

Self Guided Audio Tour

For those who prefer solitude, the self guided audio tour is a quiet companion. You download the stories, slip on headphones, and wander the streets at your own rhythm. No schedules, no groups — just you, the city, and a voice that fills in the background of the buildings you pass. It is flexible, personal, and often the most intimate way to meet a new place.

• Where: Various neighbourhoods in Birmingham
• Pricing: INR 1,500 to INR 2,000 per person
• Timing: Flexible. Once downloaded, you can start at any time of day, and access is valid for two to three days.
• When to Visit: All year round, with evenings giving a different atmosphere

Day Trips

Stonehenge and Bath Day Tour

A day out from Birmingham can take you deep into the story of England. At Stonehenge, the stones rise stark against the sky, a puzzle that has stood for thousands of years. Standing in that circle, you feel the same mix of awe and mystery that has drawn people here across centuries. From there the road carries you to Bath, where Roman baths still hold the memory of ancient rituals and Georgian terraces curve elegantly through the town. The contrast between ancient ritual and graceful architecture makes this trip feel like two journeys in one.

• Where: From Birmingham to Stonehenge and Bath
• Pricing: INR 8,000 to INR 10,000 per person
• Timing: Coaches leave around 8:00 AM, returning close to 8:00 PM.
• When to Visit: April to October for clearer skies and comfortable walking

Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Castle

In Stratford upon Avon the air seems filled with words. Shakespeare was born here, and the town still feels like a stage for his plays. Timber framed houses lean over narrow streets, and the River Avon drifts quietly past. Not far away, Warwick Castle rises with medieval weight. Towers, ramparts and chambers draw you into a different kind of drama, where history is told not through literature but through stone and spectacle. Together, Stratford and Warwick give you a day where imagination and history run side by side.

• Where: From Birmingham to Stratford and Warwick
• Pricing: INR 6,000 to INR 9,000 per person
• Timing: Tours set out around 9:00 AM and come back by 7:00 PM.
• When to Visit: Best between April and October when outdoor performances and castle grounds are lively

Boat Tours

Roundhouse Kayak and Canal Tours

To understand Birmingham, you must step onto the water. The canals were once the arteries of industry, carrying coal, iron and goods that kept the city alive. Today, they offer something gentler. Launching a kayak from the Roundhouse, you drift into a world where bridges arch overhead and the reflections of warehouses ripple on the surface. The noise of the city fades, replaced by the dip of paddles and the occasional call of a bird overhead.

Guides lead small groups through the network, sharing stories of how these waterways shaped Birmingham’s rise. It is history told in motion, but it is also deeply calming. Families take shorter taster sessions, while travellers who want a fuller experience spend two hours tracing loops of canal. By the time you return to the Roundhouse, the city feels both familiar and transformed, as if you have seen it from a secret angle.

• Where: The Roundhouse, canals near Brindley Place
• Pricing: INR 1,100 to INR 4,000 per person depending on the session
• Timing: Several daily slots, usually between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
• When to Visit: Best between April and October, with limited sessions offered year round

Gettin Around

• Birmingham is best understood at walking pace. The centre is compact, and many of its surprises hide in corners you would miss from a car window. One moment you are in Victoria Square with its fountains and statues, the next you slip down a side street and find yourself by the water, the hum of the city softened by the stillness of the canal.
• Trams and local trains connect the wider city, carrying you out toward the Jewellery Quarter or the leafy edges where parks begin. The rides are short, and from the window you catch glimpses of red brick terraces and spires that tell you Birmingham is bigger than the centre suggests.
• Cycling works too, especially along canal paths that double as green corridors. Yet the best discoveries often come on foot. Digbeth’s murals, the arches of old viaducts, the way light falls across the Library’s rooftop garden — these reveal themselves only when you are unhurried.
• Moving through Birmingham is less about efficiency and more about rhythm. Allow space between one attraction and the next. The city rewards pauses, whether that is a bench by the water, a café tucked into an old warehouse, or a quiet moment in a square where the past and present meet.

Traveller Tips

• Spend mornings outdoors. The gardens, the canals, even the streets around Victoria Square look softer in early light, and you avoid the busiest hours. Afternoons are better suited to museums or galleries when the sun feels stronger and the city slows indoors.
• Weather in Birmingham is never predictable. A clear morning can turn into rain within an hour. Carrying a light jacket or an umbrella becomes less an inconvenience and more a habit that saves the day.
• Book ahead for the big family favourites like Cadbury World or the Discovery Centre. Weekends especially can mean long queues, and early reservations leave more space for unplanned wandering later.
• Balance your days. One major attraction paired with a slower walk or a quiet garden gives you time to absorb rather than rush. It also keeps the energy steady, especially for families.
• Food is not just a break between activities. In Birmingham, it is part of the story. A Balti in its home neighbourhood, street food in Digbeth, or tea in a garden café can anchor the day as much as any tour.
• Comfortable shoes matter. The city has cobbles, uneven paths by the water, and longer stretches between districts than maps sometimes suggest. A day spent walking feels easier if your feet are looked after.
• Leave space for chance. The best discoveries in Birmingham often come without a plan — a mural on a side street, a local market you did not know was on, or music spilling out of a theatre you had not planned to enter. These are the moments that give the city its texture.