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Entertainment and the arts in Birmingham

As a thriving cultural centre, Birmingham has a colourful mixture of entertainment to offer. The major theatres are the Hippodrome (home of the internationally acclaimed Birmingham Royal Ballet), the Alexandra and the Birmingham Repertory Theatre with its associated studio theatre, The Door, all of which offer a mix of classics, ballet, opera, musicals and major dramatic productions. The Midland Arts Centre, set in Cannon Hill Park, stages a more eclectic range of theatrical events and films as well as workshops and exhibitions. And of course Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace and the home of the excellent Royal Shakespeare Company, is only 45 minutes from the city.

For film buffs, there are the Odeon, the Arcadian, and the recently-opened 30-screen Star City, the UK's largest cinema. The Electric Cinema offers a more avant-garde choice.

Birmingham has some of the finest art galleries in the country, the City Museum and Art Gallery housing the world's leading collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, contrasting with the modern, innovative work on show at the Ikon Gallery. For a 'living museum', visit the Jewellery Quarter, where craftsmen and women still produce jewellery by traditional methods which is then sold direct to the public.