Skyscrapers, canals, and old industrial buildings. Birmingham certainly has a ‘look’, but when you start to wander around, you may have your expectations shattered. Because there are some truly extraordinary places in the Second City and the wider West Midlands region that feel they shouldn’t belong here—but believe me, they do!
1. The Birmingham Oratory
Birmingham’s ‘Little Rome’ was constructed between 1907 and 1910 as a memorial to the community’s founder, Cardinal John Henry Newman. In the Baroque style, the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception often echoes the Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica with its breathtaking architecture and ornate details. Fun fact: J. R. R. Tolkien was a parishioner here for nine years during his childhood.
The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, 141 Hagley Rd, Birmingham B16 8UE
2. The Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple
Just west of Birmingham in Tividale is one of the largest Hindu temples of its kind in the UK and Europe. The Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, aka Balaji, who is an avatar of the god Vishnu. Inspired by the Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in India, it’s been open to the public since 2006 and also houses shrines for many major Hindu deities like Shiva, Ganesh, and the Navagrahas.
The Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple, Dudley Road, Tividale, Oldbury B69 3DU
3. Bacchus Bar
Named after the Roman god of wine, situated under the Burlington Hotel on New Street, Bacchus Bar dates back to 1398. But being one of the oldest pubs in Birmingham is probably the least interesting thing about it. Probably the most bizarre bar in the Second City, it’s like a location out of ‘Harry Potter’. Inside, choose between uniquely themed rooms, filled with everything from Roman mosaics and Egyptian hieroglyphics to Gothic archways and Medieval armour.
Bacchus Bar, Burlington Arcade, New St, Birmingham B2 4JH
4. Winterbourne House and Garden
In many ways, Winterbourne House and Garden is very Birmingham. Tucked away in leafy Edgbaston, the Edwardian home employs the Arts and Craft-style that this city played a significant role in creating (made famous by the Birmingham Set’s William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones).
The botanical gardens tell a different story, however, as you stroll around their magnificent seven acres. Home to over 6,000 different rare and exotic plant species, it was designed by Margaret Nettlefold in the early 20th century and is full of surprises. Within the grounds, you’ll find an Italian-style garden, while elsewhere there’s a Japanese bridge.
Winterbourne House and Gardens, 58 Edgbaston Park Rd, Birmingham B15 2RT
5. Serbian Orthodox Church of the Holy Prince Lazar
The first purpose-built Serbian Orthodox church in the UK is located in the one-of-a-kind model village of Bournville. If that doesn’t boggle the mind, nothing will. Built by exiled Serbs post-WW2, the church is a rare example of 14th–century Byzantine–Moravian style—adorned with medieval frescoes copied from the oldest Serbian monasteries in Kosovo.
Serbian Orthodox Church of the Holy Prince Lazar, 92 Griffins Brook Ln, Birmingham B30 1QG
6. Dhamma Talaka Pagoda
With a name meaning ‘Reservoir of the Teaching’, referring to the nearby Edgbaston Reservoir, this is the only traditional Burmese-style peace pagoda in the Western hemisphere. Also on its grounds are a Buddhist monastery and teaching hall, as well as a meditation garden to the side overlooking the reservoir’s dam.
Dhamma Talaka Peace Pagoda, 29/31 Osler St, Birmingham B16 9EU
7. Lucky Claw
The whole of Birmingham’s Chinatown will have you thinking you’re 5,000 miles away—from endless rows of red lanterns and pagoda-shaped archways to the oldest Cantonese restaurants in Birmingham, Chung Ying. But the Chinese Quarter is only growing bigger and better every year. Most recently, Lucky Claw became the first East Asian-style arcade in the city—a hub of youthful activity in the Far East.
Lucky Claw, Han Dynasty Food Hall, 2nd Floor, 143 Bromsgrove St, Birmingham B5 6RG
8. Moseley Bog
There’s no arguing that Moseley Bog feels ‘otherworldly’—and it even inspired the world of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. A short walk from the author’s childhood home, the ancient woodland appeared in The Fellowship of the Ring. Described as dark and tangled, the hobbits are fearful of the ‘Old Forest’, believing it to be “awake”, and are even trapped by Old Man Willow before being rescued by the whimsical Tom Bombadil.
Moseley Bog, Yardley Wood Rd, Moseley, Birmingham B13 9JX
9. Warstone Lane Cemetery Catacombs
Catcombs aren’t a common sight in the UK, but Warstone Lane Cemetery’s are unique among them. Built to deal with a rapidly growing number of deaths during the 19th century, they are arranged in a semicircle, almost like a Roman amphitheatre. As a result, the tiered catacombs in the Jewellery Quarter feel quite grand, but largely house Birmingham’s poor—although world-renowned typographer and printer, John Baskerville, is among them.
Brookfields Cemetery, 22 Pemberton St, Birmingham B18 6NR
10. Kinver Edge
I can hear you know—‘That’s nowhere near Birmingham!’ But, less than an hour from the Second City, the Black Country’s Kinver Edge is too mind-blowing not to include. That’s because it’s home to a large, red sandstone cliff where a series of houses are carved out of rock. As recently as the 1950s, people actually lived here, but today it serves only as a tourist attraction.
The most famous of these homes, at Holy Austin Rock, have been restored to Victorian-style cottages and a cafe—where you will also find the only cave-dwelling, secondhand bookshop in the world! But you can also check out the houses at Vale’s Rock and Nanny’s Rock. Plus, there’s an Iron Age hill fort nearby, too.
Holy Austin Rock House, Compton Rd, Kinver, Stourbridge DY7 6DL
11. Back to Backs
It’s not that the Back to Backs don’t look like they belong in Birmingham. It’s more that they fit in too well and you won’t notice the city’s most underrated landmark. Inside the city’s last surviving court of back-to-back houses, you’ll find a time-travelling discovery—offering a unique insight into what working people’s lives were like 200 years ago. You won’t believe you’re still in modern-day Birmingham.
Birmingham Back to Backs, 50-54, 55-63 Inge St, Hurst St, Birmingham B5 4TE