Lifestyle

Attractions

Birmingham boasts unique visitor attractions for tourists and residents.

• The Botanical Gardens
  Comprise 4.7 hectares (14 acres) of manicured gardens and impressive glasshouses with rare, exotic and unusual horticultural life.
  
  
• Cadbury World
  The only purpose-built visitor centre in the UK devoted entirely to chocolate, it attracts over half a million visitors each year.
  
  
• Custard Factory
  Birmingham's revolutionary new arts and media quarter is home to a dynamic bohemian community of 500 artists and small creative enterprises. The 5-acre development was built 100 years ago by Sir Alfred Bird, the inventor of custard. Recently completed and further planned additions to the scheme mean it will take its place as the largest and most exciting concentration of artistic and creative activity in Europe.
  
  
• The Jewellery Quarter
  The largest working Jewellery Quarter in Europe, the Quarter also includes the world's largest Assay Office. With over 500 businesses involved in the jewellery trade, more than one third of the UK's jewellery is produced here.
  
  
• Midlands Arts Centre
  The venue for the most extensive programme of performances, exhibitions, films and courses in the UK, with over half a million visitors each year.
  
  
• The National Sealife Centre
  Birmingham has the UK's largest National Sealife Centre, which incorporates the world's only 360 degree transparent tunnel.
  
  
• Theatres in Birmingham:
  Alexandra Theatre
  Birmingham Hippodrome
  Birmingham Library Theatre
  Birmingham Repertory Theatre
  Crescent Theatre
  Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)
  Old Rep Theatre
  
  
• Thinktank
  Thinktank, at Millennium Point, is made up of ten themed galleries of interactive, informative exhibits. It is a truly modern, award winning museum, attracting some 280,000 visitors since it opened in September 2001. It is one of the biggest museums outside London and offers four floors of interactive learning, with a 200-seat theatre and education rooms.
  
  Birmingham lays claim to over 8,000 acres of parks, and public open spaces - more than any other European city, including:

Birmingham Nature Centre
Edgbaston Reservoir and Harborne Walkway
Fox Hollies Park
Lickey Hills Country Park
Millstream Project (Southern Cole Valley)
Plantsbrook Community Nature Park
Project Kingfisher
Sheldon Country Park
Woodgate Valley Country Park

• Sutton Park
  Birmingham's largest park, covering 971 hectares (2,400 acres) consisting of woodlands, heathlands and wetlands. The park has been designated a National Nature Reserve by English Nature and is the largest urban nature reserve in Europe.
  
  
• Cannon Hill Park
  A few miles from Birmingham city centre, this is the flagship and the most varied and attractive of all Birmingham's parks. The Midlands Arts Centre is also located here.

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