Top Rated Attractions in Birmingham

Designed by architect Patel Taylor, Eastside City Park is Birmingham's first public park for 130 years. Eastside City Park is spread over an area of 2 hectares (6.2 acres). At the Royal Institute of British Architects Midlands and East awards function held at Millennium Point, it bagged four awards. Some of the notable features of Eastside City Park include public squares, formal lawns, 310 trees and a canal that consists of 21 fountains. The Science Garden by Gillespie's, a part of the nearby Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum, is also found inside Eastside City Park's premises.

There are relatively few monuments to the Crimean War, which seems surprising considering its scale and significance. This red granite obelisk, standing at the edge of St Philip's churchyard in the city center, is one of them. It particularly commemorates one Lt Col Thomas Unett, a Birmingham man who was killed at the siege of Sebastopol in 1855. The obelisk bears the names of some of the most famous battles of the war: Alma, Inkerman and Sebastopol.

This square has transformed over the past decade from a grassy slope where office workers would picnic on a summer's afternoon to a pedestrian-friendly European plaza accessible all year. Birmingham's Town Hall and Council House are located on the square, but graded steps replace the slope and there's now a large fountain containing a sculpture known fondly by locals as the Floozie in the Jacuzzi. Stone lamps and statues of sphinxes adorn the grounds, as does a statue of Queen Victoria. Victoria Square has now become a popular meeting point and a relaxing place for people to watch.

Constructed between the years 1777 and 1779, St Paul's Square is one of the oldest squares of Birmingham city. Featuring Georgian architectural style, St Paul's Square is also Birmingham's only remaining square featuring Georgian architecture. Around St Paul's Square, you can find many cafes, restaurants and bars, be it some of the finest Italian restaurants or live music bistros. St Paul's Square also houses St Paul's Club, the earliest private members body of Midlands. St Paul's Square underwent significant restoration in the 1970s and several structures surrounding it are marked as Grade II listed.

Digbeth Branch Canal was constructed between the years 1783 and 1799 and it passes from an erstwhile industrial region and only has a handful of access points connecting local streets. Digbeth Branch Canal is slighly more than 1.60 kilometers (1 mile) in length and it houses several locks, an aqueduct, couple of tunnels and is enveloped by listed and heritage structures. The tunnel found at the eastern end of Curzon Street railway station is a Grade II listed structure. Digbeth Branch Canal also passes through this heritage tunnel.

Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice (as any local will only too proudly tell you), though many of them are hidden beneath street level. Gas Street Basin is where several canals meet and was once a thriving port. Today, you can still see colorful canal boats moored here, just a stone's throw from Broad Street in the city center. It's also an up-and-coming spot for new bars and cafes, and is close to popular Brindleyplace.