About Birmingham

Birmingham is a city that showcases England’s history at its finest, being the home to many Industrial Revolution-era landmarks going back to the 18th century. The city celebrates all nationalities and religions and the city is the youngest in Europe, with 40% of its population being under 25 years of age.

Places to visit

Cadbury World allows you to experience an exhibition tour at the famous chocolate company which includes games to play, a 4d cinema experience, samples to try and a chance to make your chocolate.

The National Sea Life Centre showcases many different creatures such as penguins, seahorses, sharks and more. If you book online 24 hours in advance you can get money off the ticket price. Actors recreate history at the Black Country Living Museum, giving you a chance to look at 300 years of history in one place.

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Social Events

Birmingham caters for all different music tastes with many different venues like bars, underground clubs and comedy clubs.

For those with classical tastes, Birmingham has the Symphony Hall where you can see the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. If you’re a fan of chart-topping artists you can see some famous faces in huge crowds at the Barclaycard Arena. To watch up-and-coming acts head to the Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath.

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Not a music fan or fancy doing something different? You could go to The Electric Cinema, the UK's oldest working cinema where you can enjoy cinematic masterpieces of independent, classic and contemporary films.

The Hippodrome is the city’s biggest theatre and you can watch ballet or classic theatre pieces .

The nightlife in Birmingham gives you a selection of places to visit with cocktail bars and pubs. The city has loads of options for clubs you can explore and it will take you a long time to get through them all!

Food

Birmingham offers a variety of places for people to eat, including high street favourites as well as offering International cuisine.

With a flourishing Chinatown you can choose one of many restaurants for meals, takeaways or all-you-can-eat buffets. Birmingham is the city for a curry, especially in the Balti Triangle the centre of Asian food. In this area, there are also traditional dressmakers, jewellery shops and sweet shops.

Birmingham has a small food festival weekly called the Digbeth Dining Club, where you can visit different places and eat a bit of everything instead of just choosing one. Find out more about food festivals that take place by clicking here.

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Shopping

Grand Central shopping centre opened in 2015 and has become one of Birmingham’s best shopping centres for high-end stores such as John Lewis and Selfridges.

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The iconic Bullring is a shopping experience like no other with over 200 shops including a four-story Selfridge store. The Bullring offers restaurants, cafes, bars, takeaways and fast food.

Ten minutes on the train is a large outlet called Resorts World that includes an IMAX cinema.

Vintage shops can be found at Selly Oak and King Heath and there’s a Jewellery Quarter located in the heart of the city where you will find the jewellery Birmingham is famous for.

Transport

The eco-efficient buses are a fantastic travel option for transport in Birmingham, whether you are going long distances or short distances, as they now integrate with train and tram so you can make travel plans and make the journey seamless. If you want to travel further use the National Rail network to go to London, Scotland, Birmingham Airport and more. Birmingham Airport is around 3o minutes from the city centre, and you can get there by car, train and bus

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Did you know?

You can progress from an NCUK qualification to study for a UK degree in Birmingham. Aston University and the University of Birmingham both accept students who have studied an NCUK qualification, so start your journey with NCUK today!
Click the button below to apply with NCUK now!