The Birmingham Back to Backs is a National Trust property which were rescued from destruction a few…read moreyears ago. They had been turned into shops and this is why these are the only remaining back to backs that have survived in Birmingham. The national trust have worked very hard and are still working on census records so these buildings can be brought back to the living standards of the time. There are 3 houses to see, all set in different times from the mid 19th century to the 1950's. Visits are by guided tour only and have to be booked. I am afraid that I cannot remember our guide's name, but she was a local lady as she said her parents had been born in back to back property and she also lived in one up until 1990's and she was a brilliant tour guide. We have no idea just how bad the living conditions were at the time and he really brought the the place and the era to life. You can even touch things as you time travel though not in the tailors shop! I can certainly recommend this place as being one of the best properties in the National Trust, but do take heed of what they say regarding access. I cannot recommend a visit highly enough, but be warned - although you will be under cover for most of the time, the tour starts and ends out in the (uncovered) yard, so bring a brolly in case it is raining. You will need comfortable shoes, as although there is not a lot of walking, there is a lot of standing around and few seats for visitors. And finally, allow nearly 2 hours - there is a lot to see.

As I was planning my first trip to Birmingham, I kept seeing the Back to Backs tour pop up at the…read moretop of lists and decided to give it a try. I am very happy that I did! Tickets can be purchased in the little, clearly marked shop. Next, you'll head to the corner to await your tour guide. Our group's leader was Les and he was amazing; insightful, engaging, knowledgeable and funny. He led us quickly from place to place during the nearly 2 hour tour with interesting stories about the lives of the skilled tradesmen and their families who lived in the homes as well as asked thought-provoking questions about many of the features that made me think about what it must have been like to live during the decades covered by the tour and how differently our lives are today. The Back To Backs is an excellent, affordable tour that you can't get almost anywhere else. If you enjoy history, you'll love it.

I have a soft spot for Anthony Gormley's work, so much so I was even one of the lucky ones that…read morestood on the 4th Plinth in London. The statue represents the traditional skills of Birmingham and the Black Country practised during the Industrial Revolution. The controversy of public opinion when it was installed makes me further believe that it really does represent the Brummie and Yam-Yams naysaying nature. I can't really recall why it was so hated back in 1993 when it was given as gift from the Trustee Savings Bank, but when they moved down south there was an outcry that the Iron: Man should be moved with them. I love that it started out as an untitled work until the Iron Man nickname stuck, only for the artist to insist on making his own stamp by insisting on a stupid colon in the middle. Brilliant! Maybe my soft spot for Gormely is because he utilises many local resources to make his large scale iron works with the Iron:Man being cast at Bradley and Fosters Castings (now Firth Rixson Castings) in Willenhall. Whether you love or hate it this 6m tall, leaning man whose feet are sunk in the ground is worth a look.

The most overlooked art in victoria square. I love this art by one of my favourite artist/sculptor.read more

A public square adjacent to the Chamberlain Square. We happened to visit the city the day after the…read moreCommonwealth Games had ended, so the place was still decorated in bright rainbow colors. The place has nice sights of historical sculptures and landmarks, plus important buildings such as the Town Hall and Council House. Although it was bustling with people at our weekday evening passthrough. I was astonished to witness the sheer number of children playing in the waters of The River "Floozie in the Jacuzzi". If visiting, I recommend coming in the morning when it is not so crowded.

Home to The Town Hall and the Council House in Birmingham, Victoria Square is a rather nice open…read moresquare and is in-between New Street and Colmore Row in the city - although partially ruined at the moment by ongoing construction works which make parts of the city a mess for the metro extension, I can't let this affect my opinion on the square as the construction is only temporary and of course the metro extension will bring lots of benefits to the West Midlands city as a whole. With fountains and benches, although there aren't really many cafes directly in the square - there is both a Starbucks on New Street and Colmore Row, however, where you can get multiple train and bus services respectively, it can be a nice place to sit in the city away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping areas on a nice sunny day - sadly in the UK we don't get many of them. In the square, you also have the Queen Victoria Statue, it is pretty much a common attraction most people will pass through while in Birmingham - this was pretty much part of my journey into the main city centre having to pass through the square to get to and from Broad Street, where many of the hotels from the Jury's Inn, Hampton by Hilton and Garden Inn Hilton, Hyatt Regency brands and more are located. I do feel there could be more of a welcome to tell people about the square including the historical parts of it including the Grade I listed building which is nice to see rather than having to look online after a visit and find it out. Pretty cool place in the city and it doesn't get as busy as the Bullring / New Street too on a regular day - pretty much Birmingham's answer to Piccadilly Gardens in a way. 3*

Having worked around St Paul's Square for the past 4 years, this Georgian square is one of the most…read moreprettiest parts of Birmingham's City Centre. Located in the historic Jewellery Quarter, the square itself is the only Georgian square left in Birmingham. With St Paul's Church located in the centre, the grounds make for a lovely green spot to take a picnic or catch some rays in the Summer time. It also looks gorgeous in the winter when topped with snow. It's also far less busy than other green spaces such as Birmingham Cathedral which can attract unwanted types. Their is the 24 Carrots market held here twice a year as well as live music from Birmingham's Jazz festival and I've even attended a film event at the church for Jameson's Cult Film club and seen live painting classes. Surrounding the church and it's ground the rest of the square is a mix of residential and commercial premises as well as a flourish of bars and restaurants. It's definitely a sought after area and one people pay a premium to live in and you can see why. This is a piece of Birmingham heritage that I'm proud to shout about.

Birmingham has loads of green public spaces (200 parks maintained by the Council) and areas close…read moreto the Centre, but this space is one of the better spaces in the Jewellery Quarter. It's technically a graveyard, but doesn't feel like one! In the summer it's filled with people reading, playing games and picnicking and over Winter it's full of sledgers and urban snowman makers ready for cold weather fun! With the background of the Church, it's a great place to take your lunch or just sit and while away some time enjoying the view. The area around the square has Coffee shops, bars, art galleries and restaurants. It's really easy to get to from the City Centre (a 5 minute walk) and is reasonably well signposted if you fancy an explore. It feels like the gateway to the Quarter, as from the square you can get straight to Caroline Street which is a haven for hairdressers, signmakers, spa's and deli's. A couple of great places which are just a stones throw away from the square are the RBSA Gallery and St Paul's Gallery (which showcases album cover artwork and all manner of interesting pieces). 3 times a year a community market is held on the space, so a good chance to buy locally produced food, crafts and goods while taking in the Church and meeting the residents of the area. St Paul's Square is well maintained and green all year round. If you feel like you need a little retreat from the bustling centre of town, this is a great place to chill and contemplate.

A few months ago I read a rather mean article in the Evening Mail that questioned why Birmingham…read moreCity Council were funding the creation and installation of a rhinestone rhino in the city centre - people had responded with the usual 'y'know wouldn't the money be better spent on the pot-hole problem' type comments and for a while it looked like this wouldn't happen. You can imagine my delight - for goodness sake what isn't there to love about a rhino made out of rhinestone - when after a night of campitude at XLs myself and a friend stumbled upon it. Situated at Wynner House on the corner of Hurst Street/Bromsgrove Street the rhino is the result of a collaboration between Birmingham City Council and various other bodies, including Southside Business Improvement District, which incorporates the gay village, Chinatown and theatre districts. It's essentially a life-size rhinoceros covered in mirrors and replica gemstones - and reader I'm so glad it exists. Birmingham has a lot to be proud of - the canals, our green spaces, Central Library, Spaghetti Junction, Mr Egg, the number 11 bus route, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Cadbury's etc and without getting too soppy and right on about it - the fact that we are a city of great diversity is one of the main reasons I'm proud to be called a Brummie (that, and UB40) - and this statue, in all its glittery finery celebrates that. Which is great obviously.

Leave the ICC towards Brindley Place and you'll see the large bronze sculpture of a cloud split…read moreinto two halves. It's called the Battle of the Gods and the Giants. It's usually where you'll find several children either running around and through it or climbing all over it. Which I think is great for a piece of sculpture. The swirling forms are meant to recall the clouds of heaven painted on the ceilings of churches in Rome. The designer was inspired by classical and Baroque Roman art and sculpture. The broken cloud of this sculpture symbolises the struggle between earth and the heavens or could just as easily be an allusion to the fall of the rebel angels in Milton's Paradise Lost. Not usually the kind of thing you might think of in the middle of Birmingham, and even better as it's a magnet for children. I've no idea if that was the original intention but if nt it's a happy byproduct.

I like urban and public art, especially stuff you can sit on or kids can clamber over. Alas, I'm…read morenot much of a fan of this sculpture. It is meant to be a cloud split in two, but it looks more like a brain or, even less appealingly, a giant green haemorrhoid. Lovely. It is situated just outside the Brindley Place entrance to the ICC complex. It has been sitting at this site since its unveiling in 1994. There's some link to an ancient Greek creation myth by Hesiod. There were some gods, there were some giants, they had a tiff and some clouds got involved. Oh, I don't know. It looks like a big green haemorrhoid.

So much history all around you, whether you walk the towpath or use the waterway…read more I'm continually fascinated by the custom offshoots and bricked-up doorways halfway up walls, what were the purposes? Can we picture how it would have been? I was moved by the stories of the canal horses, on a guided walk in early spring. Our guides pointed out the deep gouges in the iron bridges and the brickwork on corners, created as the horses dragged the narrow boats toward their destination. Safer to go in company and during daylight, you have seen Peaky Blinders, yes?

I am, indeed, a fan of waterways. I think its from growing up on a peninsula. So, despite from…read morebeing about as far away from the sea as you can get, in Birmingham, I was lured here by the oft-repeated claim of Brummies: "There's more surface area of canal in Birmingham than there is in Venice." Which, I think, is true. Obviously, that doesn't actually mean that all the buildings and bridges that line the canal are anything like the Rialto, but it does break up the land-locked nature of England's second city quite beautifully. The canal actually starts up in Tamworth in Staffordshire, but the area that most Brummies will be familiar with is the area around Gas Street basin - where it joins the Birmingham-Worcester Canal. It's a surprisingly rural trip along this particular stretch of canal - that is, until you hit Spaghetti Junction. But then, to me, that's part of the interest in this particular trip, you get to experience a variety of landscapes.

I've had so many conversations about whether this is actually a cathedral or not. I was convinced…read morethat it wasn't, as otherwise Birmingham would have two cathedrals - which is just plain greedy. As it happens, I was wrong and it is indeed a cathedral. It's a rather imposing looking building - quite gothic in style. That'll be because it was designed by one of England's most renowned Gothic Revival architects, Augustus Welby Pugin. It's extremely tall, so when you're inside there's an immense feeling of space. Adding to the height are the twin spires over the entrance, which bears a large arch-shaped stained glass window. The ceiling is wooden, and contains blue curved trusses and decorated with monograms and floral patterns. All in all it's pretty dramatic, and pretty striking. It's a little out of the way of the main drag, so it doesn't get the footfall that St. Philip's cathedral gets. It's also considerably more imposing.

I always thought that Chad was an American name. I was wrong. St Chad's is known across the world…read moreas a beautiful building with a remarkable history and a rich heritage. But it is first and foremost a House of God. St Chad's is the Mother Church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham which covers five counties. It is a place for worship and prayer. Saint Chad of Mercia was a 7th Century Anglo-Saxon church man; he was also the abbot of several monasteries. He was later canonized as a Saint. The building is very grand and overpowering, like most Catholic churches. It was built in 1841, another stone time machine in the middle of a big city. The gothic architecture makes this Cathedral one of the most interesting in the country in terms of architecture. I have not been inside, but I have always admired this building from a distance. Next time I'm in the Jewelry Quarter, I'll pop in to have a look inside.

Eastside is a brilliant area of Birmingham that is only just beginning to see the development it…read moredeserves. With all the fuss around the HS2, it seems as though developers are finally starting to see potential in this area (which was, largely, a wasteland for a long time). Millennium Point is a building which I see to be the centre of Eastside. With it's large, bold design and varied services within - I am a fan... But can see so much more potential. Currently it houses several academic institutions (including Birmingham Metropolitan College and departments from Birmingham City University) as well as "The Giant Screen" (see http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-giant-screen-birmingham) and "Thinktank" Science museum (which I have STILL never visited). It's a huge space inside and currently sees the addition of a wonderfully quirky musical clock as part of BMAG's "Marvellous Machines" season. On the quarter hour, half hour and the hour birds start singing and dancing; it really is a treat to behold. Events occur in this space regularly (including food fairs and the "National Barista Championships") and there are now coffee pop ups and different bits and pieces going on seemingly every day of the week. Outside of the building is the free to enter "Science Garden" (for children, unfortunately), Eastside Park and it's around the corner from BCU's excellently equipped "Parkside" campus. You're also five minutes walk away from the sights and sounds of Digbeth and the centre of town, so it's dead easy to find and get to. If you haven't ever ventured down to Eastside, there couldn't be a better time to check it out. With art events, architecture festivals and tourist attractions such as "Thinktank"; make a date to pop down and check it out for yourself.

There has been some great developments here recently making this place a real hive of activity. I…read morevisited yesterday for a coffee at 6/8 cafe and was surprised to see so much buzz in a previously quiet part of town. Millennium point itself is a truly impressive building both inside and out but has never felt like it is being fully utilised until now. It is the home of the Think Tank and also multiple uni campus that now bring many students and families to the building. The Think Tank now has a large development at the front of the building with even more scientific loveliness in an enclosure for both kids and adults to enjoy. I was very close to going and having a look around but ill save it for another day why I can fully embrace my inner mad scientist.