Top Rated Attractions in Birmingham

The Rep is one of Britain's most successful and prestigious producing theaters, having achieved national recognition for quality and excitement. The theater offers an eclectic mix of productions. Past performances have included Noel Coward's Private Lives, Patrick Marber's award-winning Closer and a version of Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men. The theater also has a cafe bar, which is extremely popular in the evenings and on weekends, often offering live jazz.

The Black Country is a large industrial area to the north-west of Birmingham and this museum is a reminder of how things used to be here 100 years ago. It comprises many historic buildings, taken down from elsewhere and re-erected to make an authentic town of a century ago. Highlights include an old-fashioned funfair, a narrowboat ride and a trip down a coal mine, light is deliberately kept to the levels that would have been experienced by the miners. All children and adults can take a lesson in an 1840s school and tour round a Victorian sweetshop, chemist's, nail-making shop and stables, among many other exhibits.

This 80-hectare (200-acre) safari park is located less than a 60-minute drive from Birmingham. It will take you about an hour to drive through the animal reserves, where you can see elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions, monkeys, wallabies and tigers. The amusement park has many different rides, and a wristband ticket that gives you access to all of them. Other attractions include a seal aquarium, reptile house and sea lion show. There are also plenty of themed places to eat and buy souvenirs.

The jewelry industry developed in the city from the mid-19th Century. At its peak in the early part of the 20th Century, it employed nearly 20,000 workers. Today, the Jewellery Quarter is a bustling area that produces over a third of the UK's jewelry, and you can find tons of bargains in its many small shops. It's also home to the award-winning Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and some good restaurants.

One of United Kingdom's finest vestiges of medieval-age military architecture, the legendary Warwick Castle sits right in the heart of the Warwick Castle Knight's Village. The castle, William I's iconic stronghold that he built in 1068, encapsulates nearly 1000 years of history. Originally built as a motte-and-bailey castle, it was equipped with a stone keep in the 12th Century, during Henry I's rule. Its displays today include a host of medieval weaponry, vivid waxworks, and the Herculean 18-meter (59-foot) Warwick trebuchet, known as one of the largest siege engines of its kind in the world.

Established in 2001, the Thinktank (Birmingham Science Museum) is located with the Millennium point complex. A hands-on museum is an exciting place for children and adults alike. Within the fours storied building, each floor symbolizes a theme. There are scientific demonstrations, future exhibitions that talk about technology and inventions including the study of robotics, that are path-breaking and thus have drawn large crowds. With over 200 scientific displays, the museum draws curious science addicts from all over. A visit to this museum calls for a fun and educational outing.