To begin with, to get all those bad thoughts about Birmingham out of your head, go and take a look at the beautiful Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It’s very close to the centre, and it’s been there since 1832 – modern life really doesn’t intrude into these lovely gardens.

If you like chocolate, you’ll love Cadbury World. It’s situated where Cadbury’s chocolate started, in Bournville, and it’s a huge exhibition about the history of chocolate and the Cadbury company. You can walk around the factory, see the chocolate being made, and even taste some at the end. Sure, it’s advertising in a way, but kids absolutely love it.

Another great Birmingham attraction is the National Sea Life Centre. It is one of Britain’s largest aquariums, with a million-litre ‘sea tank’ where all sorts of sea animals can be seen, including turtles and sharks. A sure-fire family success.

If you’re looking for something a little more grown up, then there are a surprising number of art galleries in Birmingham. There’s the Ikon, a gallery for modern art, and the Birmingham Museum, which has a good selection of older pieces. Birmingham University has a very good art gallery, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which features many paintings by old masters like Monet and Picasso.

If you’re into trains, make sure to stop by the Birmingham Railway Museum – as Birmingham was one of the first places in the world to get railways, many particularly old and notable trains and other railway memorabilia are housed here.

Finally, even if you’ve been to Birmingham before, you might not have seen the Millennium Point complex, which only opened in 2002. It’s a leisure complex that includes Thinktank, an excellent science museum, an IMAX cinema and a shopping centre.