T

he building alone makes this place worth a visit. You’ll find it in Chamberlain Square, right in the centre of the city – it’s the one with the rather gorgeous clock tower (known by locals as ‘Big Brum’) and the grand entrance with those huge pillars.

It might look really posh, but it’s free to get in (at least to see the main exhibits) and once inside you’ll find treasures to check out from all over the world. Whatever your bag – history, art, science, ancient jewellery – it’s all here under one aesthetically-pleasing roof.

We love the art gallery bit, which has a huge collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings from the era’sheavy hitters, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Ruskin and William Holman Hunt. In fact there are pieces by big names throughout the ages and you’ll also see work by Canaletto, Turner, Hogarth, Constable, Rubens and tons more.

Then of course, there are Egyptian mummies (every museum should have one), ancient coin collections and treasures from Rome and ancient Greece. Where on earth will you start?