Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England Places

Birmingham

The dynamic cultural life of Birmingham—the result of the museums, art galleries, theater, ballet, and symphony that thrive here—comes as a refreshing surprise. The city's visual appeal, thanks to heavy industry, German bombing during World War II, and some unfortunate late-20th-century civic architecture, may be less than instantly evident, but treasures and historic civic architecture remain. Creative redevelopment and public art are increasingly making areas more attractive, too. The redeveloped Bullring shopping center, part of which has a striking, curving facade of 15,000 aluminum disks, is one creation that has won praise.

Birmingham, with a metropolitan area population of 2.6 million, lies 25 mi north of Stratford-upon-Avon and 120 mi northwest of London. "Brum," as it's known, is one of the country's most ethnically diverse urban areas, with nearly a third of its residents from minority groups. The city first flourished in the boom years of the 19th century's Industrial Revolution. Its inventive citizens accumulated enormous wealth, and at one time the city had some of the finest Victorian buildings in the country. It still has some of the most ravishingly beautiful Pre-Raphaelite paintings, on view in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.