10 Unusual Things To Do In Birmingham

Location: L6-L7, Bullring.

Lane7 is an entertainment venue spread across two floors above Bullring that combines bowling with a full bar.

Alongside the lanes are karaoke pods, shuffleboard, darts, beer pong, American pool, shooting pods and a room of retro arcade machines.

Groups typically move between several games over an evening, and the food menu is designed for sharing between rounds.

Drinks are brought to your lane, so play continues without a trip to the bar.

Vegan and vegetarian options are also available, and step-free access runs throughout the venue.

Note: From 7 PM, Lane7 operates as an adults-only venue, and staff will ask for physical ID at the door.

➡️ We’d recommend you book in advance.

Location: Unit 25A, Grand Central Shopping Centre.

Sandbox VR is a full-body virtual reality venue at Grand Central, built around games designed for groups.

Players are fitted with a headset and body sensors, then placed in a room-scale environment where they move freely and see their teammates as characters inside the game.

Scenarios range from zombie sieges to deep-space missions, and a session lasts around half an hour.

A robotic bartender also serves themed cocktails and mocktails once the game has finished.

Food is not served on site, although catering can be arranged in advance for private events.

The venue has free WiFi, step-free access, and welcomes assistance dogs.

➡️ Note: Walk-ins are accepted, though booking in advance secures a slot.

Location: 11 Saint Martin's Walk, Birmingham B5 4BU.

TOCA Social is an interactive football and dining venue at Bullring, where each booth has a screen-based game attached to it.

Players kick real footballs at targets on the screen, and the system scores each attempt automatically, so the game runs alongside the meal without interruption.

The menu covers Asian street food, American diner classics and Latin American plates, together with a dessert selection and a separate kids' menu.

A full cocktail list is available, and the venue caters for groups and celebrations.

Boxes are booked in timed slots, and the format works for players of any ability.

➡️ Booking is strongly recommended for evenings and weekends.

Location: Grand Central, B5 4BF.

The Kitty Café at Grand Central operates as a cat rescue and rehoming centre alongside a café.

Visitors can book a table for a one-hour slot and share the room with the resident cats.

The space is designed around the animals: open floors, high shelves and toys throughout, and sofas and armchairs for guests.

The menu covers hot and cold dishes and drinks, and vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are available.

💡 A welfare charge applies per adult and per child, and the money goes towards the care of the cats.

You can also book a table in advance.

Korean beauty has a firm foothold at Bullring, with two dedicated K-beauty retailers and one major beauty chain stocking overlapping brands:

PURESEOUL

Location: Level 5, B5 4BU.

PURESEOUL is a specialist Korean beauty retailer stocking skincare, makeup and haircare.

Staff are trained across the range and can recommend products for specific skin concerns.

Moida K-beauty

Location: Level 2, Bullring, B5 4BU.

Moida K-beauty (translated as ‘’to gather’’) stocks Korean skincare, makeup, haircare and body care in a single shop.

The team offers personalised consultations and will build a routine around your skin type before you buy.

Sephora

Location: Upper Level, Bullring, Birmingham, B5 4BU.

Sephora is a beauty retailer carrying makeup, skincare, haircare and fragrance, and Korean brands are now stocked alongside its own exclusive labels.

Advisors are available on the shop floor, and appointments can be booked for a consultation or a full makeup application.

➡️ Testers are available at all three shops. You can patch test anything new before you buy it.

Location: Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3 3DH.

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Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is a free public museum in Chamberlain Square, housed in a Grade II* listed building.

The permanent collections include the Pre-Raphaelite galleries, the Staffordshire Hoard, the Round Room, the Birmingham History Galleries and the Industrial Gallery, along with Wild City, a family gallery built around handling and play.

The museum also runs Hidden Spaces tours, which take small groups onto the roof and down into the basement, areas otherwise closed to the public.

A rotating exhibition programme runs alongside the permanent displays.

➡️ General admission is free, but tours and some exhibitions are ticketed and run on set days. Check the museum's listings before travelling.

Location: 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS.

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Ikon Gallery is a free contemporary art gallery in Brindleyplace, housed in a neo-gothic former board school.

Its passenger lift contains a permanent sound installation by Martin Creed, a choral piece recorded in 2005 by the Birmingham choir Ex Cathedra, which plays on every journey between floors.

Two floors of exhibition space above hold contemporary work across sound, film, photography, sculpture and installation, and the programme changes every few months.

Entry is free, and a donation box is placed by the entrance. Ikon closes on Mondays, apart from bank holidays.

Location: Starts at Moor Street Station, Birmingham, B4 7UL.

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Digbeth is Birmingham's street art district, and its murals are free to view at any time.

An established self-guided route runs roughly 4 km from Moor Street Station, taking in Bordesley Street, Floodgate Street, Heath Mill Lane and the Custard Factory before returning towards Bullring.

Along the way you will see work by Annatomix, known for geometric animal murals, together with pieces by Philth Blake, Gent48, Dan Kitchener and Justin Sola.

The Custard Factory holds a high concentration of work, much of it behind buildings, under archways and around the car park, so it is worth looking down side streets and alleys.

💡 Street art is temporary. Individual pieces are painted over, and buildings are redeveloped, so treat any published route as a guide.

Location: Centenary Square, Broad Street, Birmingham, B1 2ND.

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The Library of Birmingham has two public roof terraces, both free to access.

The Level 7 terrace, known as the Secret Garden, is the quieter of the two, and its planted paths and enclosed seating areas overlook the city and the canal network.

The Level 3 terrace is busier and is used for events, play, performances and exhibitions, and it includes a growing area for edible plants.

Bird and insect boxes are installed on both levels to support pollination and local biodiversity.

Terrace access is limited to set hours and depends on the weather, and the library is closed on Sundays.

💡 The Level 7 terrace stays quiet even when the lower floors are busy.

Location: Westbourne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3TR.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens is a 15-acre Grade II* listed landscape in Edgbaston, a mile and a half from the city centre, laid out to an 1829 design.

Four Victorian glasshouses run in sequence, taking visitors from tropical rainforest conditions through to arid desert.

The wider site holds more than 30,000 plants across a Japanese Garden, alpine gardens, a pinetum, bog and fern gardens, and a lawn leading down to a restored bandstand.

Admission is ticketed, and the gardens are run as a charity that receives no regular public funding.

A long-term restoration project on the glasshouses is under way, and parts of the site can close at short notice.

➡️ Book a day ticket online, and check the gardens' visitor announcements page on the morning of your visit.

From fighting off zombies with a VR headset to spending time with rescue cats, you can have the best unusual day out at Bullring.

You can plan your visit to Bullring here to see how you can arrive by car, taxi, train, bus or bike.

If you are driving, you can register for our smart parking solution, which removes the need for a ticket and reduces queuing when you leave.