Birmingham Itinerary: How To Spend 1 Day in Birmingham

Birmingham is the UK’s second-biggest city but, despite the fact I’ve never lived more than two hours away, I hadn’t spent much time there ’til recently.This all changed last week as I headed for a busy 1 day in Birmingham, England.If anywhere can rival London for me, it’s probably cool and quirky Manchester or beach town, Brighton. However as I had arranged to catch up with a friend in the Midlands and we’d picked Birmingham as the location, discovering the city was on the agenda.
Birmingham is also one of the cheaper cities in the UK which is a blessing if you’re travelling the UK on a budget.

Modern architecture in Birmingham

Birmingham 1 day itinerary

Birmingham is definitely an urban jungle. It was once the heart of industry and now seems to be more about shopping, eating and nightlife.Whilst researching I couldn’t find any major tourist sights but that was quite nice… Often when I visit a new city my must-do list is as long as my arm and I feel exhausted before I’ve arrived.
Here’s how to spend 1 day in Birmingham:

Morning – The Chinese Quarter

As we were staying in an Airbnb near the Chinese Quarter, this was the first place we wandered. The streets were lined with Chinese lanterns and not-so-Chinese multicolored umbrellas making it a really vibrant area.

As you can imagine, the area boasts loads of Chinese restaurants, as well as Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai and Korean eateries.So often in the UK I find Asian restaurants serve a bit of a mish-mash – Vietnamese places add pad Thai to the menu and Thai places also serve sweet and sour chicken.In contrast, Birmingham’s Chinese Quarter feels really authentic. The Vietnamese place we ate at had nothing but Vietnamese dishes on the menu and I knew from my time in the country they were true representations of what the people eat.At Miss Vietnam I had prawn summer rolls to start followed by bun cha, my favourite meal from Hanoi. Bun cha is basically slow-cooked pork balls in a broth with a side of noodles, herbs and fried spring rolls to dip.
I washed it down with a sweet Vietnamese iced coffee and the whole experience brought back so many delicious memories of my Asia trip.

Lunch in Birmingham’s Asian Quarter

Street art in Birmingham

Street art fans will enjoy their 24 hours in Birmingham. Most of the art is in quirky quarter, Digbeth, where I glimpsed this mystical purple girl. Check out this Birmingham street art blog for more details and exact locations.

Find this image at the back of the coach station

There are a couple of other arty locations out of Digbeth, too. I glimpsed the fox below in Chinatown and the Bowie image on Dudley Street in the city centre.

Fox street art in Bromsgrove Street car park

Find Bowie at the entrance to the car park of Meridan House

Afternoon – The Bullring

Next, we walked off our food with a trip to the Bullring, an absolutely enormous shopping centre.

Shopping isn’t really my thing as I spend all my money on travel but if it was – wow. This place is super glam with every shop under the sun inside.

The Mailbox

Not far away is the Mailbox, an area of shops, cafes and restaurants all set around the canal. This is a buzzy area which is always busy at weekends.Simply sitting on the steps on a sunny day with a coffee is a great way to people-watch during a Birmingham itinerary for 1 day.
From there we took a walk over the bridge, which is adorned with love locks, and along the canal on the other side.

Early evening drinks – Regency Wharf

After walking along the canal, we ended up surrounded by colourful canal boats at Regency Wharf. A cool pub to check out is the Canal House where we stopped for a G&T (okay, three).

Dinner in Birmingham – Shiraz Restaurant

No 1 day in Birmingham would be complete without sampling some Indian or Middle Eastern food.With a large Indian population, the city is actually the birthplace of the balti. Apparently, it was invented in a Pakistani restaurant in the 1970s as a way to combine the country’s flavour with Western tastes.
A helpful Insta follower told me about Iranian restaurant, Shiraz, and I’m so glad she did. I’d recommended the chelo kabab koobideh which is a lamb kebab with rice and veg. Even though it was delicious I couldn’t finish it all – it was an absolute feast!
We did have a tiny space for dessert however which was a FREE creamy rice pudding topped with pistachio and cinnamon.

Chelo kabab koobideh at Shiraz

Nightlife in Birmingham

Nightlife is one of the things Birmingham’s best at. Even though I didn’t go on a fullscale night out, we fitted in drinks at a few of the Birmingham bars. Top picks if you have just 1 day in Birmingham include:

Sunday morning brunch – Boston Tea Party

If you have 1 day in Birmingham, you’ll likely have time to grab a hearty brunch before you leave the city. I would recommend Boston Tea Party which has been voted one of the top 25 places to have brunch in the UK.
During our Sunday morning visit, I ate the sweetcorn hash with halloumi, poached eggs and chilli sauce – an amazing mix of sweet and spicy.

Brunch at Boston Tea Party

Where to stay during 24 hours in Birmingham

Airbnbs are great value in Birmingham and if you don’t mind being slightly further out and hopping on a bus to town, you’ll find rooms for £20 a night.
You’ll pay more in the city centre but they’re still reasonable – as are hostels which start at £10 a night and hotels which start at £30.

Getting to Birmingham

Birmingham New Street station is connected to the Bullring so if arriving by train, you don’t even need to step outside for shopping and dining. Journeys to London start from £5.50. Book on Trainline for the best prices.
During weekends and at peak time they’re more expensive so you can also consider a journey on the National Express coach which leaves from the Digbeth station. Compare and book UK buses on Busbud.

My verdict on 1 day Birmingham

I can’t say I fell in love during my Birmingham itinerary. Because the shiny, modern Bullring and Mailbox dominate the centre of town and get all the regeneration work and customer spending, the surrounding area can feel quite shabby and I didn’t find much in the way of local or independent shops and businesses.However, if you like shopping, it’s heaven so maybe that was just a bit lost on me. If I’d been there for a night out I’d have probably been more impressed too as the nightlife is well renowned.
Still, I had a great time during my 1 day in Birmingham. The food in Birmingham is awesome and I’d return for my Vietnamese meal alone. Also, if you’re visiting around Christmas time, Birmingham is famous for its Christmas markets.

Visiting the UK? Flights (international and domestic) – I use Skyscanner and Kayak and search by month to see the cheapest dates.Car hire – use Rentalcars.com to compare car rentals in the UK (and all around the world).Confused about visas? I useiVisa to check visa requirements and apply for visas online.For UK trains, I use Trainline. The search feature allows you to compare prices, and they show live departure times on the website.For buses, I use Busbud. It’s the only site that compares UK coaches and buses. Find London to Manchester journeys for £1! For hotels and self-catering apartments, I use Booking.com. You can filter by review score and price to find the best-rated budget places. For hostels, I use Hostelworld.com.To save money on accommodation, I use Trusted Housesitters, a website that connects homeowners going away and travellers who can sit their homes & pets.I use GetYourGuide for tours & activities when I don’t want to travel solo. The guides are knowledgeable and you can’t beat the prices. I also check Viatoras they often have fun and unique offerings.For food tours pairing travellers with passionate local chefs and foodies, check out EatWith. Pack the latest copy of Lonely Planet UK.Need travel insurance? I use World Nomads. They cover 150 countries and have 24-hour emergency assistance.
Check out my resources page for more travel discounts and budget tips from my 10+ years on the road!