Book Hotel in Birmingham

Birmingham is one of the largest of England's core cities, and is widely considered to be the United Kingdom's second city. The city's reputation was forged as a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, a fact which led to Birmingham being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades".

The City of Birmingham has a population of 1,001,200 (2005 estimate). It forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census) and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.

People from Birmingham are known as 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of Brum. This comes in turn from the city's dialect name, Brummagem, which is derived from an earlier name of the city, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive Brummie dialect (distinct vocabulary and syntax) and accent (way of speaking), both of which differ from those of the adjacent Black Country

Tourism is also an increasingly important part of the local economy. With major facilities such as the International Convention Centre and National Exhibition Centre the Birmingham area accounts for 42% of the UK conference and exhibition trade. The city's sporting and cultural venues attract large numbers of visitors, as does the nightlife district around Broad Street. In total the West Midlands County attracts 1.1 million international visitors and 4.2 million domestic overnight visitors per year, making it the UK's third most-visited county after Greater London and Devon.

With an annual turnover of £2.2bn, Birmingham City Centre is the UK's second largest retail centre, with the country's busiest shopping centre - the Bull Ring with 36m visitors per year, and its third largest department store - House of Fraser (formerly Rackhams) on Corporation Street. Other major shopping areas include New Street, High Street, the Pavilions and Pallasades shopping centres and the upmarket Mailbox.

Birmingham's industrial heritage pre-dates the Industrial Revolution, and up until the 20th century the city maintained a tradition of individual craftsmen, sometimes working independently in their own back yards or on piecework rates in rented workshops, alongside larger factories. During the Industrial Revolution many factories, foundries and businesses prospered in the city, including the areas known as the Gun Quarter and Jewellery Quarter. Pen manufacture in Birmingham helped revolutionise writing across the world with many companies based in and around the Jewellery Quarter. The Jewellery Quarter is still the largest concentration of dedicated jewellers in Europe, and one third of the jewellery manufactured in the UK is made within one mile of Birmingham city centre. Until 2003, coins for circulation were manufactured in the Jewellery Quarter at the Birmingham Mint, the oldest independent mint in the world, which continues to produce commemorative coins and medals.

Welcome to Book Hotels in Birmingham