James March

The UK’s second city is teeming with museums, nightlife and nature, has the cultural chops to back up the claims, and boasts a sprawling web of leafy suburbs to set up home. Trust me, I know it: I’ve spent the last eight years exploring Birmingham’s nooks and crannies, filling my face and dousing my liver at its high-end restaurants, food festivals and indie bars.  I’ve danced to underground bands at Victorian boozers and sung along with star headliners at Symphony Hall. If it’s on this list, I’ve done it. Let me tell you, if Birmingham can win over this staunch northerner, it must be doing something right. Spend a day, spend a week. You’ll have no trouble filling your days. Here are the best things to do in Birmingham.  🍂 Autumn 2024: ‘Welcome to my favourite season here – it’s the perfect time to crunch through the autumn leaves at one of Birmingham’s many gardens, bandstands and nearby country parks.’ –Lauren Potts  RECOMMENDED:😋 The best restaurants in Birmingham🍻 The most charming pubs in Birmingham🛏 The best hotels in Birmingham🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Birmingham This guide was recently updated by Birmingham-based writer Lauren Potts. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

With Aktar Islam’s sublime modern Indian restaurant Opheem becoming Birmingham’s first ever two Michelin-star restaurant, the Second City’s food scene is quietly going from strength to strength in 2024. And it’s well-earned too. This isn’t a town too fond of hubris or vanity – certain other UK cities do a roaring trade in those particular currencies – but Birmingham deserves its spot in the sun and is now comfortably one of Britain’s best destinations to eat and drink.  But while the city’s regenerated dining scene is worth celebrating, Birmingham’s balti heritage is under existential threat.  The balti is Birmingham’s original culinary gift to the world, but today only a handful of restaurants remain following the balti house’s zenith in the ’90s. Its rise and fall has gone somewhat under the radar amid Birmingham’s continuing gastronomic accolades, but there are a passionate few still keeping the dream alive. And it starts with family.  What is a balti? Developed by Birmingham’s burgeoning Pakistani community in the mid-1970s, the balti is a one-pot curry cooked quickly, stir-fry style, over a searing heat. Using vegetable oil rather than ghee, the cooking takes place within a flat-bottomed wok, also used for eating. The balti’s distinctive caramelisation | Photograph: James March While the balti is inspired by traditional Kashmiri recipes – and packing in spices like garam masala, cumin and turmeric – it was adjusted to suit Western tastes, which meant a cooking time of