Places of interest

Chamberlain SquareBirmingham has a rich industrial history which is now preserved in many museums located all over Birmingham city centre and outside the city centre boundaries. Many museums are preserved buildings which are restored to the time period in which they were most significant.

The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery looks over Chamberlain Square. Its renowned displays of artwork include a leading collection of work by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the largest collection of works by Edward Burne-Jones in the world. It also contains collections of archaeological findings, ethnography, and social history and also hosts exhibitions in adjacent halls.

The Birmingham Thinktank is one of the newest museums in the city which replaced the Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Science Museum. It is part of the Millennium Point complex in the Eastside area of Birmingham.

Aston Hall is a large hall in Aston built between 1618 and 1635. It is now preserved, along with gardens, but is closed for renovation, throughout 2007.

The Birmingham Back to Backs are the last surviving court of back-to-back houses in the city. They are decorated in different time periods to give visitors an idea of what living in each house was like during different decades.

The Jewellery Quarter in Hockley is the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter shows the history of the area and the building it is situated in. The interiors are maintained to the standard to what was found when the building was first accessed after being abandoned.

Sarehole MillSarehole Mill is a water mill museum in Hall Green. J. R. R. Tolkien lived within 300 metres of the mill between the ages four and eight, and would have seen it from his house. This makes the mill a favourite destination for fans of the author.

Blakesley Hall is a Tudor house in Yardley which has been preserved as an attraction along with the gardens and a visitor centre.

The Gun Quarter was once the foremost gun manufacturing community in the UK and now contains a wide range of Victorian style buildings.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is both an art gallery and concert hall. As well as housing some famous works by Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, it also has one of the worlds most detailed and largest coin collections. In 2004, the gallery received the title, Gallery of the Year.

Cadbury World is a museum showing visitors the stages and steps of chocolate production and the history of chocolate and the company which started on Bull Street in the city centre. However, the museum is located in Bournville, which can be reached by taking the train from Birmingham New Street Station (15 minutes).

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