Guru/Birmingham/Free
Free things to do in Birmingham
The museum and art gallery, the Library of Birmingham, the Barber Institute, the canal towpaths, Cannon Hill Park and the cathedral are free.
13 picks that fit, best first. The order follows the live forecast and the time of day.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Chamberlain Square
The biggest Pre-Raphaelite collection in the world, in a Victorian palace of a museum, free.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Library of Birmingham
Centenary Square
A gold-ringed library with two free roof gardens and a Shakespeare room at the top.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Cannon Hill Park and mac
Edgbaston
The city’s favourite park, with boating lakes, a mini golf course and an arts centre on the edge.
Mostly under cover. Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
University of Birmingham
A small Art Deco gallery with Monet, Degas and Turner, free, on the university campus.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Bullring and Grand Central
City centre
The Selfridges building and the shops around it, with the Bull outside and New Street station beneath.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Ikon Gallery
Brindleyplace
Contemporary art in a neo-Gothic school by the canal, free, with a singing lift.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Birmingham Cathedral
St Philip’s Square
A small baroque cathedral with four Burne-Jones windows, in the square where the city meets for lunch.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Digbeth
Digbeth
Street art, the Custard Factory and the bars and music venues in the old industrial quarter.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
Moseley village and Moseley Bog
Moseley
Independent shops, a farmers’ market and the woodland that inspired Tolkien’s Old Forest.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Half a day
Gas Street Basin and the canals
Brindleyplace
Narrowboats, towpaths and waterside bars where the canal network meets the city.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Aston Hall
Aston
A Jacobean mansion beside Villa Park, with a long gallery and a cannonball scar from the Civil War.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Free; limited opening days
Lickey Hills Country Park
Day trip
Wooded hills on the southern edge of the city with a view from the Beacon across four counties.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Sutton Park
Sutton Coldfield
A national nature reserve of heath, woods and lakes, bigger than Hampstead Heath.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Good to know
What are the best free things to do in Birmingham?
The museum and art gallery, the Library of Birmingham, the Barber Institute, the canal towpaths, Cannon Hill Park and the cathedral are free. There are 13 free picks here, and the order changes with the weather: on a wet day the free museums and galleries come first, on a fine day the parks and viewpoints do.
Do free attractions in Birmingham need booking?
Some do, at busy times. Where a place is free but asks you to book a slot, the card says so, and the official site link takes you to the booking page.