Public art in Victoria Sq includes modernist sphinxes and artist Dhruva Mistry's 1994-installed fountain, The River. Topped by a naked female figure, it's nicknamed 'the floozie in the Jacuzzi' by locals. At the time of writing, the fountain taps were indefinitely switched off as leaks made it inefficient to run; feasibility studies are being carried out to determine whether it becomes a permanently dry statue instead.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
19.18 MILES
Founded in 1068 by William the Conqueror, stunningly preserved Warwick Castle is Warwick's main attraction.
17.43 MILES
The evocative ruins of St Michael's Cathedral, built around 1300 but destroyed by Nazi incendiary bombs in the Blitz, stand as a memorial to Coventry's…
0.23 MILES
Resembling a glittering stack of gift-wrapped presents, the Francine Houben–designed Library of Birmingham is an architectural triumph. The 2013-opened…
17.32 MILES
This stupendous museum has hundreds of vehicles, from horseless carriages to jet-powered, land-speed-record breakers. There's a brushed-stainless-steel…
21.62 MILES
When Shakespeare retired, he swapped the bright lights of London for a comfortable town house at New Place, where he died of unknown causes in April 1616…
21.43 MILES
Start your Shakespeare quest at the house where the renowned playwright was born in 1564 and spent his childhood days. John Shakespeare owned the house…
2.28 MILES
At the University of Birmingham, 3 miles south of the city centre, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts has an astonishing collection of Renaissance…
14.52 MILES
Crowned by three dramatic towers, Lichfield Cathedral is a Gothic fantasy, constructed in stages from 1200 to 1350. The enormous vaulted nave is set…
Nearby Birmingham attractions
0.01 MILES
Built in 1879 in classical style, the dome-topped Council House – the seat of local government – forms the northeastern face of the city centre.
0.02 MILES
Victoria Sq's 1993 fountain The River, aka 'the floozie in the Jacuzzi', is overlooked by this disapproving statue of Queen Victoria.
3. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
0.03 MILES
Major Pre-Raphaelite works by Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and others are among the highlights of the delightful Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery's…
0.05 MILES
Constructed in 1834 and styled after the Temple of Castor and Pollux in Rome, Birmingham's neoclassical Town Hall is now used as a venue for classical…
0.17 MILES
Dedicated to St Philip, this small but perfectly formed cathedral was constructed in a neoclassical style between 1709 and 1715. Pre-Raphaelite artist…
0.23 MILES
Resembling a glittering stack of gift-wrapped presents, the Francine Houben–designed Library of Birmingham is an architectural triumph. The 2013-opened…
7. Statue of Boulton, Watt & Murdoch
0.25 MILES
Birmingham's Industrial Revolution leading lights Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch are depicted in this gleaming gilded statue. It's…
8. International Convention Centre
0.3 MILES
Birmingham's International Convention Centre is situated at the western end of Centenary Sq.