10 Best Things To Do In Birmingham With Your Family 2026
Quick summary
- For animal lovers: The Kitty Café at Grand Central and Old Rectory Farm at Sheldon Country Park.
- For a rainy afternoon: Treetop Golf and daytime bowling at Lane7, both at Bullring.
- For a sit-down meal: Nando's, Bill's, Haidilao Hot Pot, PizzaExpress and Comptoir Libanais at Bullring & Grand Central.
- For shopping together: LEGO, MINISO and JD Sports at Bullring & Grand Central.
- For free culture indoors: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, the Library of Birmingham and the Lapworth Museum of Geology.
- For fresh air further out: Lickey Hills Country Park.
Planning a family day out that keeps a toddler and a grandparent happy at the same time is harder than it sounds.
One wants to run around while the other is after a rest and a cup of tea.
We've pulled together ten of the best things to do in Birmingham with your family, and we'll take you through what each one offers along with the practical details worth checking before you set off.
Every pick was chosen with mixed ages in mind, and half of them cost nothing to get into.
1. Introduce the kids to rescue cats at The Kitty Café
Location: Grand Central, B5 4BF.
The cats padding between the sofas at The Kitty Café came in through the café's own rescue team, who look for new homes for them.
Tables are booked in one-hour slots, though families who want longer can contact the team before their visit to ask.
On top of anything ordered, each person pays a welfare charge towards the cats' care at a lower rate for children, paid by card since the café does not take cash.
Children get a version of the house rules written for them, asking for gentle stroking and no picking up or tail pulling.
Quiet voices and keeping food away from the cats are on the children's list too, while adults are asked to keep hot drinks at the table and stop anyone climbing the cat walkways.
2. Take on both jungle courses at Treetop Golf
Location: Ground Level, Bullring, B5 4BA.
Jungle characters line both 18-hole courses at Treetop Golf, an indoor mini golf venue where families choose between the rainforest-themed Tropical Trail and Ancient Explorer.
Once a month, the strobe lighting and background noise are switched off for a Quiet Session between 9 AM and 10 AM, which Treetop Golf says is popular with autistic visitors.
Tickets are sold for one course or for both, with separate prices for under-fives and for children aged 5 to 15.
A family of four ticket is also available when at least one child in the group is 16 or under.
Walk-ins are always welcome, although Treetop Golf now takes online bookings for anyone who prefers a set start time.
Between rounds, Pizza Cabana makes fresh pizza and the Jungle Buzz Café serves hot drinks, while The Thirsty Toucan mixes tropical cocktails for the adults.
➡️ The Birmingham Quiet Session currently falls on the second Sunday of the month, so check the date on the Treetop Golf website before planning around it.
3. Bowl as a family at Lane7 before 7 PM
Location: L6-L7, Bullring, 1 Queens Drive, B5 4PJ.
For families who want to bowl, Lane7 pairs ten-pin lanes with pool, darts, shuffleboard, karaoke pods and retro arcade machines, and children are allowed in during the day.
Up to seven bowlers fit on one lane, so larger family groups can spread across more than one lane.
The kitchen serves sharing plates, which is handy for a family picking at something between frames.
Note: Children under 14 have to stay with an adult for the whole visit. Anyone under 18 needs to have left by 7 PM, when Lane7 turns over-18s only and starts checking physical ID.
➡️ Book weekend lanes ahead, choosing a start time that has the last game finished well before 7 PM.
4. Eat out as a family at Bullring & Grand Central
Each of these five restaurants across Bullring offers highchairs, a children's menu or both:
Nando's
Location: Lower level, Bullring, B5 4BP.
Nando's flame-grills chicken after 24 hours in its marinade, with each person picking a heat level on the PERi-ometer from mild through to extra hot.
The Nandino range is Nando's children's menu, while plant-based dishes suit family members who skip meat.
Staff will also warm a baby's bottle, a small extra that helps on a long day in town with an infant.
Bill's Restaurant and Bar
Location: Middle level, Bullring, B5 4BE.
Bill's Restaurant and Bar serves food from breakfast through to dinner, opening at 8 AM on most days and 9 AM on Sundays, earlier than any other restaurant in this section.
Stacked burgers and spicy duck curry are among the mains on a menu with gluten-free and vegetarian choices throughout.
💡 Bill's is also pet-friendly, which means that you can also bring along the family pet!
Haidilao Hot Pot
Location: Lower level, Bullring, St Martin's Square, B5 4BA.
Haidilao Hot Pot serves Chinese hotpot, where each table cooks fresh ingredients in its own simmering broth, making it perfect for a day out with the family.
First-timers will get guidance from staff through the meal, including at the sauce station, where diners make up their own dipping sauces.
Robot servers help out in the dining room, and anyone waiting for a table is handed complimentary snacks.
Pizza Express
Location: Upper level, Bullring, B5 4BF.
Freshly made pizzas and the chain's signature Dough Balls make up the core of the menu at Pizza Express.
Family members who eat vegan or gluten-free will find options for both on the Pizza Express menu.
The restaurant opens at 11:30 AM daily but closes at 6 PM on Sundays, which leaves time for a late Sunday lunch.
Comptoir Libanais
Location: Grand Central, Central Street, B2 4BF.
When the extended family is coming, Comptoir Libanais takes reservations and offers catering for parties and large groups, all built around Middle Eastern and North African food.
Mezze platters for the middle of the table work well for a big group, alongside wraps and rice bowls for those who want a plate of their own.
Vegan and gluten-free options are plentiful, with baklawa to round off the meal.
5. Shop for toys and trainers at Bullring & Grand Central
Three shops at Bullring & Grand Central stock something for most ages in the family, running from building sets and blind boxes to trainers and streetwear:
LEGO
Location: Upper level, Bullring, Rotunda Square, B5 4BU.
The LEGO Store at Bullring carries sets sold as LEGO exclusives, including the Titanic and Concorde models.
Free building events and workshops for children run in the store alongside demonstrations of the sets.
The Bullring shop is billed as the second largest LEGO Store in the UK and the biggest outside London, with the largest Pick & Build Wall in the country.
MINISO
Location: Upper level, Grand Central, B5 4BU.
Blind boxes and surprise bags at MINISO keep their contents hidden until the packaging comes off.
The shelves also carry licensed ranges from Sanrio, Snoopy, Lilo & Stitch and Harry Potter, along with plush toys and gadgets.
MINISO has step-free access, which helps anyone shopping with a pushchair.
JD Sports
Location: Lower level, Bullring.
JD Sports stocks trainers and streetwear from big-name brands, including exclusives that JD markets as unavailable elsewhere.
The Bullring store offers click and collect for online orders and has an accessible changing room.
Teenagers choosing their own trainers and parents after new sportswear can shop the same rails.
6. Explore Wild City at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Location: Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH.
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery sets aside two of its galleries for children and families under the name Wild City, and general admission to the museum is free.
The displays look at nature in Birmingham, from the city's historic links with animals to the wildlife still around it today.
💡 Artwork made by children hangs in the galleries alongside Arthur Charles Shorthouse's portrait of the Official Rat Catcher to the City of Birmingham.
Some exhibitions and events carry their own charge, although no booking is needed for general entry.
➡️ The museum opens from 10 AM to 5 PM with last entry at 4:45 PM, every day except term-time Mondays that are not bank holidays.
7. Share a story in the Library of Birmingham's Children's Library
Location: Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND.
The Library of Birmingham's Children's Library runs story time, rhyme time, music and craft sessions for under-fives, many of them free, along with visits from children's authors.
Birmingham City Council ranks its collection for children and young people among the largest in the UK, taking in picture books and graphic novels as well as talking books and Braille editions.
Fiction in other languages and in dual-language editions is stocked for children who speak another language at home.
The library's two garden terraces, the Discovery terrace on level 3 and the Secret Garden on level 7, open from Monday to Saturday, and the whole building closes on Sundays.
Fruit and vegetables grow on the Discovery terrace as a lesson in where food comes from.
8. Meet Roary the Allosaurus at the Lapworth Museum of Geology
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT.
For children going through a dinosaur phase, the Lapworth Museum of Geology at the University of Birmingham traces 4.6 billion years of Earth's history through its rocks and fossils.
Entry is free with no booking, and the museum opens from 12 PM to 5 PM at weekends all year, with shorter weekday hours over autumn and winter.
The Lapworth invites visitors to take a selfie with Roary, its Allosaurus from the Jurassic period.
Another highlight is a 199-million-year-old newborn ichthyosaur, around 70 cm long, whose stomach still holds fossilised traces of the squid-like belemnites it last ate.
The collection also features John Shaw's own Milne-Shaw seismograph, designed by a Black Country-born inventor whose prototype was pieced together from tin cans and old bicycle parts.
9. Visit the farm animals at Sheldon Country Park
Location: Ragley Drive, Church Road, Sheldon, Birmingham, B26 3TU.
Ponies, goats, pigs, geese and Jersey cattle are kept at Old Rectory Farm, the free demonstration farm in Sheldon Country Park, seven miles east of the city centre.
The Park Rangers who run the farm for Birmingham City Council keep it open all year and organise seasonal activities there.
Pushchairs and wheelchairs can use the nature trail leading from the main car park, which has a hard surface.
After the animals, younger children can head to the playground beside the farm, close to the main entrance and the accessible toilets.
10. Climb Beacon Hill in Lickey Hills Country Park
Location: Lickey Hills Visitor Centre, Warren Lane, Birmingham, B45 8ER.
Lickey Hills Country Park stretches over 524 acres of woodland, heathland and grassland about 10 miles south-west of Birmingham.
On a clear day, the toposcope in the small fort on top of Beacon Hill, 297 metres up, picks out landmarks spread over 13 old counties.
Waymarked circular walks of 1.8, 2.5 and 5.6 miles let families match the distance to the youngest walker.
The Visitor Centre has a rangers' desk with a map of the routes, along with baby changing and the Grounds Café.
Younger children have an adventure playground and a free table-tennis table by the Visitor Centre.
➡️ Check the closing time on the car park signs before a longer walk, because the Lickey Hills car parks shut at dusk and the time moves through the year.
Plan your family visit to Bullring & Grand Central
Bullring & Grand Central gives families a base for a day out in Brum, with cats, games, meals and shopping in one place and the museums and country parks within reach.
You can plan your visit to Bullring here to see how you can visit us by car, taxi, train, bus, or by bike.
If you're visiting the shopping centre with a car, you can also register for our smart parking solution that eliminates tickets and reduces queues, so you can focus on enjoying your visit to Bullring.
