 Discover Birmingham, West Midlands, England
Birmingham, England
Author: JimmyGuano (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
Birmingham is the second biggest city in the United Kingdom after London. It has a population exceeding 2.2 million people. Together with the surrounding towns, the metropolitan area of Birmingham has a population of 3.6 million. The city is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England.
Guide to Birmingham Hotels
Here's a list of hotels in Birmingham that you can book online, with full description, star rating, address, location map, evaluation, and prices as offered by different booking sites. This helps you to make your room booking with the site that offers the best price.
St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham
Author: JimmyGuano (public domain)
More on Birmingham
The city of Birmingham is at the heart of the Industrial Revolution in England. This city was the engine for the many of the manufacturing industries in England. Although the manufacturing sector has declined in importance in Birmingham - as well as in much of Britain - Birmingham has reinvented itself as a regional commercial centre. It has been voted the second best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, outside of London itself.
The Birmingham area has been settled as far back as over 10,000 years ago. The city itself began as a farming village back in the early 7th century. The name Birmingham is believed to have been developed from "Beorma inga ham", which means "farmstead of the sons of Beorma". Birmingham became a market town with the royal charter granted in 1166 to hold a market.
Birmingham's role as a manufacturing centre can be traced back to the 17th century, with the English Civil War, when the town became the manufacturing base for small arms. The Industrial Revolution beginning in the mid-18th century ushered in an era of growth and prosperity for the town, and its population increased manifold. By the Victorian era, it has become the second biggest town in England, with a population exceeding half a million. In 1889, it was granted city status by Queen Victoria.
Birmingham suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War, requiring extensive rebuilding in the 1950's and 60's. By then its ethnic composition has begun to shift with immigrants from the Commonwealth countries coming to settle in the city.
Birmingham International Airport
Author: Adrian Pingstone (public domain)
Budget Travel to Birmingham
By Plane
Birmingham International Airport is roughly 8 miles to the east of downtown. The best way for budget travellers to leave the airport is to take the AirRail Link, a rapid transit people mover to the airport's railway station, and from there, take a train to the New Street Station in downtown Birmingham. The journey from the airport to downtown Birmingham takes between 10 to 20 minutes and costs £3 for the local service and £7 for the express service.
You can make the same journey by taxi for &22, but it will actually take a little longer, between 20-30 minutes, to wade through Birmingham traffic to reach downtown.
Edmund Street, Birmingham, England
Author: Erebus555 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
By Train
The Birmingham New Street Railway Station is the transportation hub of the city. This is also the station where the train from the airport arrives. You can take the train from the London Marylebone Station to Birmingham New Street station. Other cities such as Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Oxford and Sheffield also have train services to Birmingham.
By Bus
Intercity buses connect Birmingham with most of the cities in the United Kingdom. The terminus for the buses in Birmingham is temporarily at the Birmingham Central Coach Station while the Digbeth Coach Station is being rebuilt.
Budget Travel within Birmingham
You can take the bus, the train as well as the Metro in Birmingham. They are all under the authority of Network West Midlands.
Looking for Prime Office Space?
The United Kingdom was the first industrialized country in the world and has the sixth largest economy. The UK is one of the leading developed countries with great economic, political, scientific and cultural power. Due to the United Kingdom's importance as a business center new offices in Birmingham are constantly required.
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Places of Interest in Birmingham
- Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Huge garden with a diverse collection of plants.
- Birmingham Mosque
Second purpose-built mosque in the United Kingdom.
- Bullring Shopping Centre
Shopping centre with cutting edge architecture.
- Cadbury World
Centre dedicated to showcasing and celebrating chocolates.
- City Museum and Art Gallery
Museum in a Neo-Classical building with outstanding collection of art,
- National Exhibition Centre
Major exhibition centre in Birmingham.
- Thinktank - the Birmingham Museum of Science and Discovery
Museum celebrating Birmingham's role in engineering, aircraft and automobile industries.
- Sarehole Mill
One of the 17th century water mills still existing in Birmingham.
- Soho House
Home of industrial pioneer Matthew Boulton.
- St Chad's Cathedral
Cathedral of the Roman Catholic diocese of Birmingham, designated a minor basilica in 1941.
- St Philip's Cathedral
Cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Birmingham.
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Prepare for your trip!
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