Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ikon Gallery
GALLERY This internationally respected contemporary art gallery
occupies a renovated neo-Gothic building in the regenerated canal district of the city
center (just up from Gas Street Basin, p. 468). The gallery features high-quality
temporary exhibitions over a variety of forms, including sound, film, mixed media,
photography, painting, sculpture, and installation.
1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace.
&
0121/248-0708.
www.ikon-gallery.co.uk. Free admission. Tues-Sun
11am-6pm.
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Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
MUSEUM Just a 10-minute walk from the
city center is the Jewellery Quarter (www.the-quarter.com) encompassing more than
100 jewelry shops. A unique time capsule of the ancient craft of jewelry, the quarter
also offers bargain hunters the opportunity to arrange repairs, design a custom piece,
or just browse. The museum itself occupies the old Smith and Pepper factory, where
guided tours include a demonstration of jewelry-making techniques at a jeweler's
bench.
75-79 Vyse St.
&
0121/554-3598.
www.bmag.org.uk/museum-of-the-jewellery-quarter. Admission £4
adults, free for children 15 and under. Tues-Sat 10:30am-4pm.
National Sea Life Centre
AQUARIUM This is one of England's best aquari-
ums, and a must-see if you're traveling with children. Best known for its seahorse
breeding program, its one-million-liter ocean tank also houses giant green sea turtles,
hammerhead sharks, and thousands of tropical reef fish, with a fully transparent
underwater tunnel you can walk through. The latest attraction is the Sensorama 4-D
Cinema, where 3-D glasses are enhanced by sensations such as wind, salt spray, and
real oceanic smells depending on the film.
The Waters Edge, Brindleyplace (from New Street station follow signs for the ICC and the NIA).
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0121/643-6777.
www.sealifeeurope.com. Admission £18 adults, £17 seniors and students, £14 chil-
dren 3-14. Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm.
Sherborne Wharf Heritage Narrow Boats
CRUISE One of the more intrigu-
ing ways to see Birmingham is by water, as the city is laced with canals created as the
“motorways” of their day during the Industrial Revolution. Many of these canals have
been cleaned and restored, and sightseeing boats depart from the International Con-
vention Centre Quayside, taking you on 1-hour tours of Birmingham from the water.
It's the best way to appreciate the renaissance of the city, as swathes of abandoned
wharves and warehouses are gradually converted to offices, shops, and cafes.
Heritage Marina (near the junction of Macclesfield and Trent & Mersey Canals in Scholar Green).
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0121/455-6163.
www.sherbornewharf.co.uk. Tickets £6.50 adults, £5.50 seniors, £5 children 5-16.
Departures Easter-Oct daily at 11:30am, 1, 2:30, and 4pm. Call ahead in off season, when tours are
conducted Sat-Sun at 1 and 2:30pm, only if weather permits.
Thinktank at Millennium Point
MUSEUM This science museum is both
educational and fun, appealing to adults and kids alike. It examines the past, presents
today's technology, and explores future scientific breakthroughs that may occur. Sci-
ence and history meet in 10 different galleries across four floors, where children can
have close encounters with the exhibits, doing everything from grabbing a handful of
polar-bear blubber to taking control of a digger. An IMAX theatre plays educational
movies.
Curzon St.
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0121/202-2222.
www.thinktank.ac. Admission £12 adults, £8.40 seniors, students, and
children 3-15; with IMAX £21 adults, £15 seniors, students, and children 3-15. Daily 10am-5pm. Call for
IMAX schedule.
