Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham (must see)

In 1829, the Birmingham Society of Artists opened a private exhibition gallery. The building was designed by Thomas Rickman and Henry Hutchinson. Elaborate metalwork covered both the interior and exterior, including the impressive cast-iron columns in the main gallery space. The Museum occupied an extension of the Council House, built above new offices for the municipal Gas Department. In June 1880, Allen Edward Everitt became honorary curator of the Free Art Gallery, the precursor of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

The main entrance is on Chamberlain Square beneath the clock tower, known locally as "Big Brum." The entrance hall bears the inscription, "By the gains of Industry we promote Art." The art promoted by industry includes collections ranging from the 14th to the 21st century. The Gallery is especially famous for its Pre-Raphaelite collection, the largest of its kind in the world, and it also holds the world's largest collection of works by Birmingham-born Edward Burne-Jones.

Among the paintings are works from the English School, including Gainsborough, Hogarth, Turner, and Constable, as well as works by Flemish, French, German, Italian, and Spanish artists. French Impressionism is represented by artists including Degas, Pissarro, and Renoir.

The Museum's collections extend far beyond painting. One of its major archaeological attractions is the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered. The Museum also contains collections devoted to Birmingham's social and industrial history, archaeology, decorative arts, natural science, and world cultures.