Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery opened in 1885, and has gone from strength to strength ever since, growing to include some 40 galleries including a range of top-class fine art, people’s history, porcelain, ethnography and items from the distant past.

Art lovers will adore the huge Pre-Raphaelite collection on show, which stretches to over 2,000 pieces. Some of the highlights include the wonderful “The Last of England” by Ford Madox Brown and William Holman Hunt’s “The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple”. The master artist Edward Burne-Jones has an entire gallery dedicated to his work, which is a real treat, as well as being the biggest collection of his pieces in the world. Keep an eye out for his acclaimed “Star of Bethlehem”.

The Antiquities collection includes a fantastic haul of antiques from a huge number of ancient civilisations. These range from ancient India to Central Asia, from the time of Rome’s Caesars to that of the Egyptian pharaohs. Check out the “Sultanganj Buddha”, a bronze statue dating back between 1,300 and 1,500 years from the north of India.

Indigenous cultures are explored in the Ethnography exhibit, including a range of artefacts, from African masks to carved pieces from South America. Moving closer to home, the Industrial Revolution and the growth of the city are looked at in detail in “Birmingham: Its People, Its History”.

Inexpensive tours are available on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and there are lots of child-friendly activities which are sure to delight younger visitors. These include interactive art trails and art clubs, dressing up in period costumes and chatting with Einstein.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is on Chamberlain Square, in the bustling core of city. Pay car parks and on-street pay parking are available nearby, or you can get the bus to Victoria Square.

The museum is open all year round except on particular public holidays. Full times, as well as details on temporary shows and talks, are available on the website.