** Collaborative Post. I was gifted spending money from Hotels.com to complete my trip but all views and opinions are my own.

Recently I took a day trip to Birmingham to complete some Christmas shopping and to see what the city has to offer in the way of a decent attraction for shopping this coming festive season.

Birmingham has so much to offer and this blog post will highlight just how much. For you to experience all that this great city has to offer I really do recommend a full day/overnight trip staying over in a Birmingham airport hotel or nearby.

I live in Newport, Shropshire just on the border with Staffordshire so opted to get a train into the city from Stafford Station. I personally prefer getting a train into the city as it’s a lot easier than navigating city-centre traffic and then parking up. Luckily there is a great railway network which connects to Birmingham New Street station which is right in the centre of the city.

The day I chose to head into Birmingham, unfortunately, turned out to be the wettest day in recent weeks. But I tried to not let that bother me.

What’s going on

First of all, it’s only right I give a mention to the largest arrival in the city for this festive season. Taking place in Victoria Square and New Street is the annual Frankfurt Christmas Market Birmingham.

Here you will find a vast array of Market Stalls all selling festive items in the lead up to Christmas. All wonderfully lit, well-stocked and presented its hard to not look as you walk past.

Not forgetting the amazing food stalls here too, where you can find bratwursts, chocolate-coated marshmallows, crepes and much more.

As I left Victoria Square I headed towards Birmingham Library where I was pleased to see that the annual outdoor Ice Skating Rink and Big Wheel had returned. This year though the Ice Rink is undercover making it more inviting on days where the weather isn’t so favourable.

From here I headed back towards the Christmas Market to take shelter from the persistent rain to have a wander around the hundreds of stores within the Bullring.

Food and Drink

There is no shortage of food and drink opportunities in Birmingham, and that was before the Frankfurt Christmas Market arrived in town. The city has a massive array of bars, cafes and restaurants for its visitors to choose from. Or should you want to eat at the Markets you can enjoy a Bratwurst from one of the gorgeous smells stalls or grab a crisp German Beer from the beer stall. There is plenty of places to sit to eat and drink or stand at one of the shelters should it be busier.

Transport

As mentioned earlier it goes without staying that any huge City like Birmingham comes with some great transport connections making it easy to leave the car behind. A majority of the train network is connected to Birmingham New Street station and its neighbouring Birmingham International Station for Birmingham Airport making getting into the city a piece of cake.

Since my last visit to Birmingham, over 12 months ago, I couldn’t help but notice the arrival of trams to the area. These lines were being worked on during my last visit. The trams also lead right up to Birmingham New Street station and travel as far out of the city as Wolverhampton.

Should you wish to drive into the City for the Birmingham Christmas Market there are a number of carparks close by. These are Town Hall Car Park (2 hours for £3), Navigation Street (2 hours for £3), Hill Street (2 hours for £3.40) and Grand Central (2 hours for £5).

When is the best time to go

As with any public event, there are quiet and busy times. Weekends obviously being the busiest and mid-week being the quietest. Also with the closer to Christmas, we get the busier the markets get too.

Find out more about our days out and adventures here.