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Monday, 12 October 2015

CITY GUIDE | HOW TO: SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM.

Birmingham is one of the closest cities to where I live and naturally it's where I spend most of my time money. So when Premier Inn got in touch and asked if I'd be up for putting together a Birmingham City Guide for them, my initial thought was 'HELLYES' - what a great idea! So today, I'll be sharing my favourite places with you - and if you ever decide to visit, you'll at least have an idea of what you can expect to find (SPOILER: it's a lot, Birmingham is great). 

Breakfast…:
Boasting reclaimed and up-cycled furniture, this British cafe feels like it’s been picked up from central London and dropped in the heart of Birmingham's city centre. It’s completely different to anything else you’ll find here and is 100% worth a visit if you’re looking for a traditional, but friendly way to eat breakfast. From strawberry cheesecake milkshakes to Portobello Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast you’d be pretty foolish not to give it a try.

Lunch…:
Okay so guys, this is the best place in the world, not just in Birmingham. Placed precisely in the middle of the food court of Selfridges is Ekachai, an asian fast-food restaurant. Now, I don’t mean fast-food in terms of a service like McDonalds, it’s fast in a whole other aspect. This place is always super busy, but you’ll never be waiting in line for more than 10 minutes. You’ll be seated around an island that looks over the cooking theatre and the idea is, you eat, you leave. The service is top knotch and the food is insane - you’ll never feel rushed but it does what it needs to do, when you’ve got the whole of Selfridges to surf around, you don't want to be spending hours in a restaurant. I always have the crispy duck salad and it’s without doubt the most fabulous way to get in a few greens. I’ve been going since I was 14 (dedication or obsession you decide) and I can’t recommend it enough. I’ve managed to convert every one I’ve taken to visit and I’m sure you’ll love it too!
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM
Shopping…
When I think of Birmingham the first thing that will enter my head is the . A one-stop destination for all things shopping. Hosting (what I believe to be) 140 stores, including one of only 4 Selfridges and the fourth largest Debenhams it’s a beautiful beast in the centre of the city.

When visiting you’ll need to stop by…

(obviously):
There are either 3 or 4 floors, I cant remember. But it doesn't matter. IT’S FILLED WITH GREATNESS. Each floor is wonderful in it’s own way but my favourite place to visit is the beauty hall. Jo Malone’s displays are always beautiful and I’ll spend at least half an hour swooning over all the prettiness at Charlotte Tilbury, because: c’mon, that ladies make-up is the bomb diggity. And of course not forgetting the food-hall where you can get your hands on some Krispy Kremes after visiting Ekachai ;-)
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM



:
It’s one of my favourite stores for fashion. Filled with basics beautiful enough to give you heart palpitations the Bull Ring store is huge, it’s neatly displayed and easy to navigate (plus they have a personal shopper service, so you can pick up some styling tips whilst you’re there!)

:
Situated on Corporation Street, just a short walk from the Bull Ring, is my favourite high-street store in the world: Urban Outfitters. Sitting two stories high the bottom floor caters for the men whilst (the much larger) top floor features all of my dreams realised. It’s my favourite of all the UO stores, with a large section for all of their best bits: Footwear, Lingerie, Urban Renewal, Homeware and all their usual lines. There’s also a handy Photo Booth which everyones a sucker for, right?
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM

A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM





:
Mixing high-street with vintage fashion is my absolute favourite - and Birmingham allows you to do the two seamlessly. Once you've shopped out the centre, head on down to Digbeth to take in all COW Vintage has to offer. With one off, hand-picked vintage items this store offers you an on-trend but personal style service. They have original items and a re-work team so everything is super high quality, but affordable too. Digbeth also hosts regular vintage fairs, so keep your eyes peeled for those as they’re always amazing.
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM

A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM

Dinner…:
Having been only open a week or so, the new and improved Birmingham New Street station has been re-opened as Grand Central. Boasting all of the restaurants, bars and shops it’s going to have something for literally everyone. I stopped by Carluccio’s for my favourite chocolate bread and butter pudding - I know, the title isn't all that arousing and I hate normal b&b pud, but oh my god. Plus they have Kiehl’s, Oliver Bonas, a massive John Lewis and loads more still yet to open if the Bull Ring wasn't quite enough.
A CITY GUIDE TO BIRMINGHAM. HOW TO SPEND 24 HOURS IN BIRMINGHAM



Stay…Premier Inn:
I don’t know about you but when booking a hotel for a weekend away, I’ll mostly opt for a great, affordable price so that I can spend all of the money on clothes instead. I mean, surely thats a no-brainer? Situated slap bang next to Grand Central and only a few minutes walk to the Bull Ring is Premier Inn. The perfect place to rest your weary head (/shopped out feet) - if you’re catching the train in to Birmingham you can simply turn a corner, drop your bags off and head back out and if you’re finishing the day off with some dinner in Grand Central you’re right back where you started and a matter of seconds away from your bed. Perfect.

And that's a wrap!

My top places to eat, sleep, shop and repeat in Birmingham. I hope you find it useful if you've never visited before and are planning on it, I'd love to know what you think of the places I've recommended if you do ever swing by. And for anyone that's already been/lives there, please do leave suggestions in the comments below of your favourite places too!

I've really enjoyed putting this together, so if you'd like to see more of these, please let me know! I'm thinking maybe Oxford next?

This post is in collaboration with Premier Inn - however as you know, all views are my own and putting this together was SO much fun :-)

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8 comments:

said...

I live in London, so Birmingham isn't an obvious shopping choice for me but I really want to take a day trip up there just to check out the Bullring centre!


http://vodkaandarose.blogspot.co.uk

said...

I love this! With everyone jetting off abroad lately it's nice to be reminded we have some right gems at home.

xoxo
jessica
from
12 October 2015 at 17:37

said...

I live in Brum so it's super cool to see some of my fave places on here-love btp and grand central is amazing. Also really like the lost & found for quirky cocktails and yorks bakery cafe too. Brindleyplace also has lots of great restaurants and is right on the canals too :)

said...

Love this post! Two of my best friends are at uni in Birmingham so I've been to a few of these places, LOVE COW vintage! I definitely have to try Boston Tea Party when I'm next there - missed out the other times I've gone down. Great post x

ellie etc | a personal style & lifestyle blog

said...

I really liked this style of post, gets more people to make the most of places locally and enjoy them and see what they have to offer :)

VioletDaffodils
xx

said...

omg the food looks amazing!

http://www.abigailalicex.com

said...

Ah some great food recommendations here! I've just moved back to the Midlands and have really enjoyed discovering Birmingham again, in fact I was up there today and saw Grand Central for the first time, it looks great! It's so nice to have stores like Oliver Bonas and Joy in this part of the country too finally!

said...

Gosh that crispy duck salad looks amazing! I'm heading to Birmingham on Thursday for a Benefit event and wish I had enough spare cash at the moment to head in a bit earlier and do a bit of shopping as Birmingham is a pretty amazing shopping destination x

Becky @ The Little Blog of Beauty