One Day in Birmingham: What to See on Your Day Trip to Brum

Day trips are excellent for quick getaways. They’re budget-friendly and allow you to be spontaneous. Also, you can travel light, so no extensive packing is necessary. You just book a flight, grab a bag and off you go – Birmingham, right in the heart of the West Midlands, is waiting for you with an exciting mix of attractions. Here are our top recommendations to make sure your short visit will give you lingering memories.

One day in Birmingham starts the evening before. Fly in the day before your trip so you can be up bright and early the next morning, ready to explore as much of what the city has to offer as possible. A hearty breakfast – full English, what else? – at your city-centre hotel guarantees you will have the energy needed to start your adventure.

A little-known fact about Birmingham is that it has 56 km of canals. Once busy waterways for commercial traffic, the canals are now surrounded by parks, shops and restaurants. Take a walk along the Birmingham Canal Old Line to have a taste of the city’s industrial history – Old Turn Junction, an ideal spot to start your stroll, is only an eight-minute walk from the city centre. From there, head northwest, as far as the 10-hectare Summerfield Park, where you can spend a while communing with nature before you follow the canal back.

After a four-year renovation project, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery reopened in October 2024, and if you’re an art lover, this must-visit attraction needs to be at the top of your list during your one-day trip to Birmingham. The exhibitions range from Victorian art movements such as the Pre-Raphaelites to contemporary portrait drawings and wildlife photography. And that’s just a tiny fraction of the highlights. There are nearly a dozen spaces that welcome you and tell the story of Birmingham, including the Round Room with a bronze sculpture of Lucifer, the Industrial Gallery and a tearoom.

• Address: Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH
• Opening hours: 10am-5pm Wed-Sun
• Admission: £8 (aged 16+)

Whether you enjoy going on shopping trips alone or see shopping as an opportunity to spend some quality time with friends, at Bullring & Grand Central you’re guaranteed to find all your favourite brands as well as hidden gems you didn’t know you were missing out on. That said, calling it a shopping complex doesn’t do it justice. In addition to all the stores, it also houses over 60 cafés and restaurants, two mini-golf courses, a boutique bowling venue and an interactive experience that combines football and dining. There’s always something exciting going on at Bullring & Grand Central, so make sure you swing by for plenty of bargains and lots of fun.

• Address: Moor Street, Birmingham, B5 4BU
• Opening hours: Bullring (10am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm Sat, 11am-5pm Sun)
• Opening hours: Grand Central (10am-8pm Mon and Fri, 9am-8pm Tue-Thu and Sat, 11am-5pm Sun)

Now, you wouldn’t normally look for a railway station unless you wanted to travel somewhere, right? Still, make sure you find Moor Street Station just across the road from Bullring & Grand Central. Why? Because that’s the best place to start the 3-km walk that treats you to all the exciting graffiti art on display in the streets of Digbeth, Birmingham’s most charismatic neighbourhood. You really must go and see it for yourself, but let’s just say that brick walls have never looked more flamboyant. Grab a burger at Hanbao – "burger" in Mandarin – an excellent fast-food eatery that gives you a unique “East meets West dining experience” (46 Floodgate Street).

If street art isn’t quite for you and you’re more interested in life before graffiti, this attraction courtesy of the National Trust is the place to be. You can gain an insight into the lives of working-class people who lived here – in houses crammed around a courtyard – and shaped the city from the 1840s to the 1970s. Filled with period furnishings and artefacts, each one of these authentically restored homes tells compelling stories. It’s an intimate experience that takes you to the past, evoking the sights, sounds and smells of a bygone era.

Good to know: It is a guided tour and tickets must be booked in advance.

• Address: 55-63 Hurst Street/50-54 Inge Street, Birmingham, B5 4TE
• Opening hours: 10am-3pm Tue-Sun
• Admission: £11 (aged 18+), £5.50 (aged 5-17)

Depending on your energy levels, you can hop on a tram or take a 30-minute walk to Edgbaston Village, an estate with cultural and leisure attractions, great art and a variety of fine restaurants. Nature lovers will find their spell in this quarter of the city particularly thrilling: the so-called Blue Plaque Walks help you explore Edgbaston’s historic sites and grand Victorian architecture, and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens are also located on the estate. Can’t get enough of green fields? Make a quick stop at the Warwickshire County Cricket Club in Edgbaston Stadium – you might even catch a match if you’re lucky.

You’ve covered a good deal of ground and you deserve a relaxing experience to complete your day trip to Birmingham. And what better way to do it than with a night at Symphony Hall, one of the finest concert venues in the world and home to the City of Birmingham Symphonic Orchestra? While it primarily puts on performances of classical music, fans of pop, rock, country, folk or jazz will also find something to their taste. Regardless of your preferences, though, it’s worth booking a ticket to whatever is on the day you happen to be in town: the acoustics are simply magical.

• Address: Centenary Square, Birmingham, B1 2EA

Day trips are great fun – but short. Whatever your destination, there’s only so much you can do and see in a day. And Brum is definitely one of those cities that, once you’re there, will make you wish you could stay much longer – if only to sample the delicious wares at these inspiring food markets. One day in Birmingham will pass in a flash, but, luckily, you can come back for an extended trip in the future. No, make that "will" – because you’ll be planning your return long before you board your flight back home.