Not everything is going to be London!
"It's not a particularly pretty city, but its people who come from all over make it a warm and welcoming place," they tell us before we go for a walk. Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun . But, like everything that is not 100% beautiful or perfect, it has its charm! "From our point of view, birmingham It is in a very interesting moment, latent and in full transformation. At the cultural level, many artists are moving from London to here , because it is a lot cheaper and very well communicated . There are many spaces and a spirit of collaboration that in London, as it is the capital, does not exist because it has become a very difficult, expensive and competitive city," they point out.
Because, precisely, one of the advantages of B'ham (which by the way is the cradle of modern tennis and heavy metal, which was born in the garages of this industrial city) is that, being very central and very well connected ( just an hour and a half by train from London), it is "perfect for very interesting excursions everywhere. It is known as the heart of the midlands and it's not a bad idea to have her with base to discover England (30 minutes from Stradford Apon Avon, an hour from Oxford, Nottingham, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, an hour and a half from Liverpool, Manchester, London, Bristol….) ".
But let's go there, this was a guide and we have come here with a good list of recommendations under our arm.
Be Festival started in an old factory in the Jewelery Quarter.
NEIGHBORHOODS
JEWELRY QUARTER
"The neighborhood of jewelers", Isla and Miguel point out. "It is a very central neighborhood that retains all its industrial flavor full of old factories that in recent years are experiencing a process of gentrification: many of its old buildings have been rehabilitated and new inhabitants appear". ** Be Festival had its first venue in one of its factories**, the AE Harris Factory , which gave it its image and helped create the identity of the festival.
"We live in a building that was an old car factory from the beginning of the 20th century. Currently, in the Jewelery Quarter there are many cafes, pubs, small shops, music venues, restaurants , small hotels, a beautiful cemetery (Warstone Lane Cemetery) in which charismatic characters of the city and the St Paul's Square, with a beautiful and unusual church that currently has various uses...".
What charming places in the neighborhood , the creators of the Be Festival invite us to discover:
- The Pen Museum , "a small museum stuck in time about the history of the pen and how the Jewelery Quarter was the first feather production center that were exported throughout the country, until the BIC pen appeared ".
The new Library, the largest in Europe.
- **The REP/ Library of Birmingham **. The most important theater in the city. It has three rooms and shares a building with the new library. We can miss its unbeatable views of the city from the terraces. "Our office. Our second home," Isla and Miguel point out. the new library , which, by the way, is the largest public library in Europe. "On the outside it tries to represent the hanging gardens of Babylon, the entire roof was supposed to be covered with vegetation, but they ran out of money and there is something pretentious that is not understood. Too ostentatious for my taste, however, inside It is quite beautiful, spacious and with a lot of light (something difficult in B'ham), a place that works as a refuge in the center of the city", explains Isla.
- IKON Gallery: An old Victorian school converted into a contemporary art gallery.
- Don't forget to walk around the birmingham canals !
Exterior of the Custard Factory.
DIGBERTH
"Another downtown and industrial neighborhood that is currently being occupied by artists and it's full of alternative galleries very interesting", the Spaniards suggest. Here they suggest us to visit the Custard Factory, a creative multi-space where events are also organized and where you can find independent designer shops.
MOSELEY
"It's like a town within the city, a residential area with large mansions and green areas , but full of cafes, small shops, pubs, restaurants and charities (second-hand shops where you can find everything)," says Isla, who also explains that, it is said, Tolkien imagined his landscapes from the hobbit shire strolling through the green areas of this neighborhood.
KING’S HEATH "It's a Moseley-type neighborhood with cheaper houses and progressive, professional motley people." good roll
Shall we have tea in the Edwardian Tearoom of the Birmingham Museum?
CENTER
As in all the great centers of a city, there are points that, yes or yes, must be seen. Among them, the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery , with one of the best Pre-Raphaelite Art Collections, and a wonderful edwardian tea room one of those that hook us to the brittish!
Of course, we have to go to the market area, and we will not miss an essential appointment: Electric Cinema is " the oldest cinema in england still standing. You can have a beer while you watch a movie and they always have a good selection of independent films, particularly during the Flatpack Festival film festival," our friends tell us.
Friends who don't like anything" bull ring , the horror mall, which unfortunately has become one of the typical postcards of the city". But if you want to see it, there it is.
The mythical meatloaf from The Jekyll & Hide.
OUR FAVORITE PUBS
Yes, we already know that after so much culture you wanted the real English flavor. The one with the pubs! Well, point, point:
The Jekyll & Hyde
The best gin and tonics in town . Not to mention their impressive meat pies. There are movie sessions on Wednesdays.
28 Steelhouse Lane. birmingham
lord clifden
In the Jewelery Quarter, self-styled Urban Art Bar, this is a pub with a lot of atmosphere and a fun back garden.
Great Hampton St, Jewelery Quarter. Birmingham.
Church Inn
a pub with food and cocktails made to suit the consumer.
22 Great Hampton St. Birmingham.
Prince of Wales
A pub with a back garden. Perfect for a drink in Moseley. They also organize markets and fun events.
118 Alcester Rd. Moseley. birmingham
In the courtyard of The Prince of Wales there is a lot of life.
** Cherry Red's Cafe Bar **
A very nice pub. Near the station , an area that has been developed. On that corner there are five pubs and restaurants.
16 York Rd. birmingham
**Canalside Cafe**
Perfect for brunch You have this very charming pub on the canal. And it is also pet friendly.
Gas Street. birmingham
The Eight Foot Grocer
Our neighborhood store. They sell sandwiches and salads. Good coffee and they just opened a great pizzeria next door. They are lovely.
15 Caroline St, Birmingham
The Lost & Found
A nice big place, with a elegant point and very brittish , with atmosphere, perfect for a drink after work!
8 Bennetts Hill, Birmingham
Inside of The Lost & Found.
WHERE TO EAT
In addition to several of the above pubs, there is a variety of exotic offer and for all tastes in the city. Here, three proposals.
Syrian
lebanese food , well priced and very nice. Upstairs you can smoke shisha.
1 Constitution Hill, Birmingham.
Diwan Balti
A Indian restaurant in Moseley where you can also order at home. "There on a napkin we imagined the festival for the first time and six months later we opened the doors of the first edition", recall Isla and Miguel.
3A Alcester Rd, Birmingham
Ort Cafe
a coffee with organic food in Moseley with live music, exhibitions, language classes, yoga...
Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham
The always lively and healthy Ort Cafe.
WHERE TO SLEEP
**Hampton by Hilton (Constitution Hill) **
This hotel is practical, good service and it is close to the center.
98-104 Constitution Hill, Birmingham
** St Paul's House **
A Boutique hotel with a lot of charm in the Jewelery Quarter. Its café and terrace are also worth a visit.
15-20 St Paul's Square, Birmingham
**Hatters Hostel**
For the more sociable and lively, this very nice hostel in the center, in the Jewelery Quarter. Inexpensive, well decorated, and with a lot of young people.
92-95 Livery St Birmingham
One of the common spaces of Hatters Hostel.
PLACES WHERE TO LISTEN TO MUSIC
The Jam House
Where to hear good jazz and soul concerts from Birmingham.
3-5 St Paul's Square. birmingham
Hares & Hounds
The most underground concert venue in the city.
106 High St, Birmingham
The Spaniards Isla Aguilar and Miguel Oyarzun, creators of Be Festival.