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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Attractions in Birmingham

Birmingham’s places to visit, starting with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

This is a list led by museums or galleries, 36 of its 61. Look within 5 km of its edge and the list grows by 13 beyond the 48 inside Birmingham’s built-up area. A typical year brings about 856K visitors to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. On the list, 2 places are looked after: 1 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage. Travel 29 km and you reach Warwick Castle.

Photo: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, David Stowell (CC BY-SA 2.0)
In Birmingham
48
inside the built-up area
Within 5 km
13
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
36
in or near town
Castles & historic places
11
in or near town
Cared for
2
National Trust, English Heritage, Cadw and others
Best known

Highlights of Birmingham

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery aside, the next best known are 3 museums and 2 cathedrals.

Big drawMuseumBirmingham Museum & Art Galleryin town · 856K visitors a yearCathedralSt Philip's Cathedralin townMuseumNational Motorcycle Museumin town · 250K visitors a yearCathedralSt Chad's Cathedralin townMuseumAston Hallin townMuseumThe Barber Institute of Fine Artsin town

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

Finding your way

Furthest from the centre is Maxstoke Castle, 15 km away.

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The dashed line is Birmingham’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022

By kind

Kinds of place

Museums or galleries are the biggest group (36), then castles or historic places (11).

Museums & galleries 29 museums · 7 art galleries30 in town · 6 nearby
Castles & historic places 3 cathedrals · 3 historic houses · 2 castles · 1 ruins · 1 historic site · 1 abbey or priory7 in town · 4 nearby
Gardens & estates 4 gardens2 in town · 2 nearby
Zoos, theme parks & days out 3 theme parks · 2 zoos · 1 aquarium5 in town · 1 nearby
Other attractions 4 attractions4 in town

Green: inside Birmingham. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

2 places are cared for: 1 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Back To Backs and Halesowen Abbey).

Every place

Every place, in and near Birmingham

The 48 inside Birmingham come first, then 13 more within 5 km of its edge.

The 48 inside Birmingham come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.

1,410 listed buildings and 11 scheduled monuments are on Birmingham’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Birmingham →

Big names nearby

Day trips from Birmingham

Of the 12 day trips, Warwick Castle (29 km) is the best known.

CastleWarwick Castle29 km southeastCathedralCoventry Cathedral Church of St Michael26 km eastCathedralLichfield Cathedral24 km northCastle · English HeritageKenilworth Castle24 km southeastCathedralCathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary, the Virgin of Worcester39 km southwestCastleDudley Castle14 km westMuseumHerbert Art Gallery & Museum27 km east · 300K visitors a year (2010)MuseumWolverhampton Art Gallery21 km northwest · 159K visitors a yearHistoric house · National TrustBaddesley Clinton19 km southeastHistoric house · National TrustPackwood House16 km southeastHistoric houseShakespeare's Birthplace33 km southCastleCaludon Castle30 km east

Places well known beyond Birmingham (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.

Questions before you go to Birmingham

What are the main attractions in Birmingham?

The best known inside Birmingham’s built-up area are Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, St Philip's Cathedral, National Motorcycle Museum and St Chad's Cathedral. In all, 48 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 13 more within 5 km.

Does Birmingham have a museum?

36 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Birmingham: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, National Motorcycle Museum, Aston Hall and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Birmingham?

Yes. In or within 5 km of Birmingham, 2 places are cared for: 1 by the National Trust and 1 by English Heritage (Back To Backs and Halesowen Abbey).

What are the best-known days out near Birmingham?

Within 40 km: Warwick Castle (29 km), Coventry Cathedral Church of St Michael (26 km), Lichfield Cathedral (24 km), Kenilworth Castle (24 km).

Where are Birmingham’s historic buildings listed?

Birmingham has 1,410 listed buildings, 24 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.

How is this list made?

From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Birmingham when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (46)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.