Birmingham is one of the United Kingdom’s largest cities, with about 1.15 million people in the city itself and a much larger West Midlands urban area around it. Set in central England, it grew from a medieval market town after a 1166 market charter into one of the great engines of the Industrial Revolution, famous for metalworking, canals, factories and the nickname “the city of a thousand trades.” Today Birmingham is known for its diverse food scene, shopping, universities, museums and strong live-music culture — and for metal travellers, it has major historical weight as the birthplace of Black Sabbath and one of the key cities in the development of heavy metal. Key sights include the Bullring, Victoria Square, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, the Library of Birmingham, the Jewellery Quarter, the canals around Brindleyplace and Gas Street Basin, and the historic Back to Backs. Getting in and around is straightforward via Birmingham Airport, New Street station, the tram network, buses and rail links across the West Midlands. Birmingham is often cited as the birthplace of heavy metal, as both pioneers Black Sabbath and Judas Priest are from the city. Other important bands from Birmingham include Napalm Death and Godflesh.

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