Birmingham

A big Midlands city with more canal miles than Venice, the Library of Birmingham, the Jewellery Quarter and Cadbury World at Bournville. For Indian visitors it is home: the Balti Triangle in Sparkbrook where the balti was popularised, the Punjabi shops and gurdwaras of Soho Road in Handsworth, and the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in nearby Smethwick, one of the largest in Europe. Birmingham Airport (BHX) has a main-line station; New Street is 1 hour 25 by train from London and 1 hour from Stratford.

Highlights

• Dinner in the Balti Triangle
• Soho Road's Punjabi shops and gurdwaras
• Cadbury World
• Canal walk from Gas Street Basin
• Library of Birmingham roof terraces
• Jewellery Quarter

Things to do

• Canals, the Library of Birmingham and the Jewellery QuarterMorning · 3h 30m
• Cadbury World, BournvilleAfternoon · 3h
• Balti dinner in SparkbrookEvening · 2h
• Gurdwara visit and langar in SmethwickMorning · 2h

Tours & tickets

When to go

Best time: April – September

• Vaisakhi — Vaisakhi in mid April brings nagar kirtan processions and fairs: Birmingham's in Handsworth Park is one of the biggest in Europe, and Southall's in London draws huge crowds. Free; expect road closures.
• Christmas markets and lights — From mid November to Christmas: Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, Edinburgh's market in Princes Street Gardens, Manchester's and Birmingham's German-style markets, and the markets in Bath and York. London's Oxford and Regent Street lights go up in November. Weekend crowds and higher hotel prices; most attractions close on 25 December, and trains don't run on Christmas Day.