Birmingham Life
Situated
at the heart of England, Birmingham is well-served
by road and rail networks and has its own
fast-growing international airport. A popular hub
from which to explore the wider region, the City has
a range of excellent hotels to suit every taste and
pocket. The City is a mix of things both traditional
and modern, proud of its manufacturing past, but
forging a new identity for itself as an
international destination for conferences, shopping
and leisure. The many canals that weave their way
through and beneath the City have their heritage in
the transport of the products that made Birmingham a
centre of trade and commerce. However, now they
provide a focal point for the cultural quarter of
the City, providing waterfront views for cafés,
restaurants and theatres.
Birmingham’s cultural life is strong. It is the home of the internationally acclaimed City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. There is an annual ArtsFest every September where thousands of people flock to see hundreds of free performances over a single weekend. The City Museum and Art Gallery and the University’s own Barber Institute of Fine Art house some of the most outstanding collections by artists such as Renoir, Degas, and others from the Pre-Raphaelite School. In addition, the IKON Gallery, most famous for its sometimes controversial exhibitions, the Number Nine Gallery and the Water Hall Gallery represent the very best of contemporary art.
Prominent sporting championships
are staged at the National Indoor Arena and the
Alexander Stadium. Major golf tournaments are held
at The Belfry, just north of the City and
Premiership football is also a regular feature of
Birmingham’s sporting calendar.
The National Exhibition Centre regularly hosts
concerts and other large-scale entertainment events.
The shopping experience in Birmingham has been
transformed by the introduction of new retail
arcades, the most striking of which is The Mailbox,
which houses exclusive designer stores ranging from
Armani to Harvey Nichols. In addition, the old and
famous Bullring market area is currently undergoing
Europe’s largest re-development into a major
shopping area where the flagship store is
Selfridges. Star City is another new major shopping
and entertainment multi-screen complex just a short
distance away from Birmingham’s City centre.
This is a multi-cultural and multi-faith city making it a truly cosmopolitan place to live. This broad ethnic mix is represented by the abundance of restaurants where nearly every cuisine from across the face of the globe is represented. Of course, Birmingham is also famous for both its Chinese quarter and ‘Balti Triangle’ district, popular with locals and tourists alike.
