Entertainment

Birmingham today has finally shed its image as a cultural wasteland and is fast gaining a reputation as an exciting and entertaining place to live. The city centre boasts theatres, museums, shops, galleries and many, many great places to eat. From visiting the famous Cadbury World in Bournville, to dancing your socks off at The Sanctuary in Digbeth, you are guaranteed a huge variety of entertainments in Birmingham.

One of the most expensively redeveloped areas in the city is the canal network around Brindleyplace. This is where you will find a seemingly endless choice of places to drink, dine and dance, as well as the ICC and National Indoor Arena. The former plays host to conferences and conventions of international importance, whereas the latter is a vast multi-purpose venue used for major sporting events, TV programmes, pop concerts and shows. One of the best contemporary galleries in the city is also found in Brindleyplace, namely the Ikon Art Gallery, providing a bit of culture between stuffing your face in one of the many great restaurants here. Broad Street offers a choice of food that will satisfy even the most picky eater and holds dozens of pubs, bars, cafes, and brasseries — if you want to munch, sip, or dance the night away, come here. For those after a more refined evening's entertainment, the Symphony Hall, also located on Broad Street, is reputed to offer the best acoustics in Europe and is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Broad Street is famous for its vast array of late bars and nightclubs – two of the most popular being Bobby Brown's and Key Largo.

The university area of Edgbaston has more than just the usual smattering of student bars on offer. Indulge a passion for Pre-Raphaelite art at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, a small gallery with an intimate collection that also includes works by Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh – and it's free of charge, too. As well as this, the Barber Institute hosts classical and chamber music concerts and operas on a regular basis. Edgbaston is also home to the mac - Midlands Art Centre, which houses a cinema, six galleries and three performance spaces within its grounds making it a premier spot for all aspects of culture and the arts in the Midlands. It's set in the beautiful Cannon Hill Park which itself has many entertainment possibilities, particularly for young families.

Hockley is the jewellery district. By day, distractions on offer include many excellent small jewellery shops, some top restaurants and the award-winning Museum of the Jewellery Quarter. This promises to amuse even those who aren't enthralled by diamonds and sapphires. There is no shortage of night-time pursuits in Hockley – check out the thriving club and bar scene for a great night out at venues as diverse as the Jam House and The Venue.

However, many world-class entertainments are on offer 20 minutes east of Birmingham (by road or rail) at the National Exhibition Centre. This is the largest exhibition space in the country and it would be foolish to try to list all the attractions on offer. But to give some idea, the NEC frequently hosts international superstars of all musical spheres and it is the home of famous annual events such as Crufts and Clothes Show Live – the largest fashion event in the world.