birmingham

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham serves as a concert hall as well as an art gallery in the UK. It was designed by Robert Atkinson and inaugurated by Queen Marry in 1939. It’s a Grade-II Art Deco building and is the first space for the study of art history in the UK. The design of the museum is beautifully created with a big concert hall at the centre surrounded by art galleries on the first floor and lecture halls, libraries and offices on the ground floor. The museum has on display some renowned masterpieces by Bellini, Degas, Botticelli, Gainsborough, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Magritte, Monet, Manet, Poussin, Rubens, Rossetti, and Turner. A fine collection of art on paper, beautiful sculptures by Roubiliac, Rodin and Degas and one of Europe's most important collections of Byzantine, Roman and medieval coins are also worth a watch at the museum.
 

The Bullring is a historic shopping centre that fits Birmingham which is known as the city with a thousand shops. Formerly a marketplace with an active trade in meat and horses Bullring is now a vast retail complex with an ultra modern design. One can admire its clean architecture, shop in the shops and enjoy a snack in the dining area. When Birmingham first appeared as a large European city, it built its reputation on trade. The site of Bullring, whose name is inspired by the grassy area where the bulls were baited before slaughter, hosted its first market in the 12th century. As Birmingham gained importance as a centre dedicated to textiles, the market changed direction accordingly. In the 1960s, the Bullring had become one of the most important shopping centres in the world. 
 

The Lapworth Museum of Geology has the finest and most extensive collections of fossils, minerals and rocks in the West Midlands. Dating back to 1880, the museum is one of the oldest specialist geological museums in the UK. Throughout its long history the Lapworth Museum has provided a valuable resource for students, schools and colleges, research workers, enthusiasts and anyone with an interest or desire to learn about geology. The museum supports teaching and research in the Earth Sciences and natural history within the University and the West Midlands region. The Museum is named after Charles Lapworth, one of the most important and influential geologists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the first Professor of Geology at Mason College the forerunner of the University of Birmingham.
 

Pype Hayes is one of the largest parks in Birmingham and covers over 100 acres. The park contains a number of ornamental gardens, with many bedding areas. Tourists can fish in Pype Hayes Park and can play golf at Pype Hayes Golf Course, next to the park. There are a number of Grade-II listed buildings in the park including Pype Hayes Hall. To the left of the main drive to Pype Hayes Hall is a car parking area and further on towards Pype Hayes Hall is a children’s play area with swings and other attractions. Returning to the main drive one can get to the front entrance of Pype Hayes Hall and round there are gardens. The older gardens have a traditional layout with many fairly straight flower beds and dwarf yew hedges.
 

The Barclaycard Arena is an indoor sporting and entertainment venue in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The Arena which is owned by parent company, the NEC Group is situated in central Birmingham. When it was opened in 1991 it was the largest indoor arena in the UK. Previously known as the NIA the Barclaycard Arena is a 15800 capacity venue. With a range of restaurants in the complex as well as the popular Brindley place a 2 minutes’ walk away this is a popular venue for those looking to catch today’s stars when they visit the city. Acts to have played here in recent years include Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney, Muse and Justin Bieber.
 

The beautiful thing about Birmingham has to be the amount of picturesque houses and gardens that it has to offer and Winterbourne House is at the top of its league. Restored to its original Edwardian era arts and crafts splendour it really does prove itself to be a rather unique heritage attraction. Tourists can look through the house and the intense number of beautiful antiques or take a relaxing stroll through the beautiful botanic gardens featuring more than 6000 plant species from around the world. Within the grounds one will find everything from a woodland walk with numerous routes to a 1930’s style Japanese bridge.