Looking for a short break? Need a couple of days away from it all? You could do worse than consider visiting Britain’s largest city and possibly its most multi-cultural. With a myriad of transport options, you don’t even need to fly, so cut down those carbon emissions.
Birmingham city centre is compact, easy to navigate and has an excellent selection of shops, funny looking pubs and bits of crap ’60s concrete. The main attraction for many is the newly developed Bullring centre, with Selfridges & Co and Debenhams at opposing ends and a plethora of retail emporia in between. Plus a few stalls selling cookies, Eng-ur-land tops and dried apricots. Whatever.
Sorry to go on about it, but Selfridges & Co is outstanding, visually and sensually. Enter on the ground floor via the food court and marvel at the sheer scale of it all. This is shopping as entertainment. Sushi bar, champagne bar, noodle bar, deli bar—this place has it all, at prices to take your breath away. In the food hall especially, chimps armed with calculators were pricing the goods for sale—it really is the only rational explanation for some of the extortionate prices on display. Shame on anyone paying them and supporting this ludicrous endeavor. However, it is a real giggle wandering around, watching the Krispy Kreme doughnut stand do its bit, eating the free sweets, drinking the free champagne upstairs and passing through the Alienware-inspired electrical department. This store is a feast for the senses and I’ve said far too much already.
From outside, the streets sweep down towards all the market areas, packed with car boot sellers and locals, picking up bargains. Birminghams famous Rag Market is also in this area, from bargains and fantastic one off pieces to vintage and collectors items. Chinatown is in this direction too, as well as the local Barfly. In addition, there is a cavernous Carling Academy, as well as many smaller gig venues, so plenty to do in the evenings.
Broad Street, over the other side of town, is the centre of the city’s nightlife and it does show. Tacky pub after chain club after stripjoint after multiplex stretches into the distance, but you know what? It’s all good, clean fun. If you can ignore the ambulances parked in sidestreets awaiting their call to duty.
This area also has the conference centre, the canal and the commercial heart of Birmingham. Many multinationals are based here, in towering spires of ferroconcrete and blond stone. Only a street away from the strip is a soothing oasis of tasteful restaurants, bland conference hotels, sedate wine bars and a floating coffee shop. On a barge. Who even do breakfasts.
Other infamous Birmingham attractions include their Sealife Centre; complete with tiddy baby seahorses, defacating otters and two giant green sea turtles, the Balti Triangle; with over 50 restaurants crammed into a tiny quarter of the city, and the former Birds Custard factory, now a massive arts and media centre with galleries, studios, an achingly stylish bar, nightclub and much more.
