Car Rental Birmingham Airport

A quick guide to Birmingham

Birmingham is renowned as a fine place to visit. With stellar shopping, intriguing architecture and a wealth of things to do, plus a competitive sports scene, it’s a must-see when in the UK. Beyond the city boundaries, you’ll also find yourself in the Midlands, an area rich in history, heritage and with no shortage of breath-taking countryside. 

Post-industrial wow factor

Birmingham has been a relative latecomer to the growing list of Britain’s post-industrial tourist hotspots, but the city is making up for lost time. A crop of exciting, cutting-edge buildings - from warehouses to an old custard factory, and an extensive network of canals - showcase its redevelopment and readiness for the future.

The revamped city centre plays host to a vibrant cultural life, for Birmingham is one of Britain’s most cosmopolitan cities, with a first-rate restaurant scene and high-octane nightlife.

The city’s famous Bull Ring has been given a new lease of life and is now a gleaming shopping mall, featuring the dazzling, space-age design of its Selfridges department store, which looks like a space ship has come to town. Spend the afternoon window-shopping or grab a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants in the food quarter.

It’s a brief stroll to the elegantly restored Victoria and Chamberlain Squares, where you’ll find the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - the city’s finest, with a stunning collection of Pre-Raphaelite work. Further west, Gas Street Basin is the prettiest part of the city’s extensive canal system. Close by is Brindleyplace, a smart, brick-and-glass canal side development of slick cafés and bars, street markets and summer festivals, as well as the acclaimed Ikon Gallery of contemporary art.

The Bard’s birthplace

A trip to this part of the country wouldn’t be complete with a visit to one of England’s most visited places - ‘Shakespeare Country’. Just under an hour’s drive from Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon is known the world over as the birthplace of this famous Bard. In addition to a pretty town, you can explore Shakespeare’s birthplace, his wife Anne Hathaway’s cottage and even a Tudor farm once owned by his mother. There are also few better ways to take in an adaptation of one of his masterpieces than by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), right in their spiritual home.

Cathedral cities

South-west from Birmingham along the M5 corridor is Worcester, with its mighty cathedral. Filled with the tombs of royalty, including Prince Arthur and King John, and the magnificent library which holds the UKs second largest collection of medieval manuscripts, it’s well worth a day trip.

Follow the M6 and A45 to reach the breath-taking Coventry Cathedral. An icon of peace, this beautiful place of worship opens its doors to visitors from all over the world. Climb over 180 steps to reach the top of the cathedral tower and bask in incredible views across the whole of the city.

Peak season

For sweeping dales and long country walks or to find famous homes and intriguing museums, hop in your hire car and head to Derbyshire. Around an hour away from the centre of Birmingham, this region offers everything from the stunning Peak District to quintessentially British villages and towns. Chatsworth House is around an hour and 30 minutes from Birmingham and literary buffs will love to see the setting that inspired Pemberley in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

Car rental in Birmingham opens up this whole area to you, the buzz of the city and the bucolic charms of the countryside all at your beck and cal.

Driving in and around Birmingham

Birmingham is an easy city to navigate by car and, as it’s encircled by major motorways on all sides, is ideally located if you wish to get out and explore more of what the region has to offer. From the airport you’ll find it’s around a 20-minute drive into the city center via the M42, M6 and A38. You can navigate the outside of the city by using the A4540, the city’s ring road.

The M5 is the main access route for all points south and west, including Worcester, the Malvern Hills and Hereford. For places of interest in Shropshire, take the M6 north out of the city and turn-off onto the M54 that runs west to Telford, where the A5 continues to Shrewsbury. Heading south from the airport, the M42 meets the M40, which runs South East to the A46 and on to Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick. 

If you’re heading northwards, the M6 toll road is a handy way to avoid congestion on the M6. It runs in a north-westerly direction between Junction 9 of the M42 and Junction 11 of the M6. Turn off the M6 toll road at Lichfield to visit this lovely little Cathedral city or take the A38 north to Derby. From there the A6 heads north to Matlock, the county towns of Derbyshire, and the neighbouring spa resort of Matlock Bath, on the south-eastern fringes on the Peak District National Park.

You’ll be driving on the left hand side of the road in the UK, while overtaking on the right. Seatbelts are compulsory and mobile phone use by drivers is not allowed. Speed limits vary by area and are displayed in miles per hour. There are ample car parks in the centre of Birmingham, while you should keep an eye out for several one-way systems and pedestrianised areas in the very centre.